Book Overview
Southern housewife Linwood Breedlove Scott was happily content in her comfortable, complacent thirty-year marriage, but when her husband cleans out their bank accounts and runs off with a stripper, her life takes a hilarious, yet touching, right turn into reality. With no place to go but home, she's forced back to her insular hometown and the "eccentric" family she escaped by marrying at nineteen: her senile father, her loving-yet-controlling mother, her long-suffering aunt, her crazy uncle, and her good-for-nothing brother. But despite her newly dependent situation and her family's genteel insanity, Lin begins to stand on her own two feet and wake up to the joys-and perils-of life as a single woman. And she also learns surprising lessons about her family: that things aren't always what they seem, and that the power of love governs even the most dysfunctional of relationships. This joy-filled, moving, and wise-cracking novel delivers a portrait of Southern life, Southern families, and self-discovery that readers will never forget.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0312300565
ISBN13:9780312300562
Release Date:October 2002
Publisher:St. Martin's Press
Length:352 Pages
Weight:1.23 lbs.
Dimensions:1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
Funny, Brilliant Southern Fiction
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
Well, as I've said many times before, sometimes you just have to be born and bred in the SOUTH to 'get' good Southern fiction. Those yankee reviewers are just out of the loop and need to spend a few summers below the Mason-Dixon line. And it helps to even better understand this one if you're a Boomer and have already experienced a hot flash/mood swing or two!! LOL! This book had me howling with laughter and nodding my head in appreciatation of Ms. Linwood's fabulous wit. And her family is priceless. Talk about typical Southern family!! I loved every single character. My only regret was that Lin didn't get a good romp in the hay with old Grant before she booted his butt out the door...but her munching the (unknown to her at the time) marijuana-laced brownies from her old lesbian pal more than made up for the disappointment. I highly recommend this book if you need a good laugh. Thanks for a great novel, Ms. Smith. How about a sequel???? Pretty please!!!
Heartwarming and inspirational!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Lin has been through a LOT. Yes, she's understandably bitter, but not overly so, and we root for her as she finds herself in this honeyed southern tale. This is a great book for curling up on the porch with your mint-spiced tea. Funny, poignant, and at times bittersweet, there is a lot to love about this book! I highly recommend it!
I loved this book!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
I opened this book and couldn't put it down. It was so refreshing to read about a character who could laugh at herself as she started over and tried to date again after thirty years as a sheltered housewife. I laughed out loud right along with her. And I cried as she faced her father and her uncle's Alzheimers. I especially liked the wonderful small-town chartacters and the way Lin pulled the rug out from under the corrupt mayor to bring about truth, justice, and the American way. Wish we could clean house on the national level that easily. I can't wait to read Haywood Smith's next one.
Colorful,
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Haywood Smith has typified the characters in small town Georgia.Her colorful descriptions and attention to the smallest detailsmake this a much better read than the typical "southern belle"humor novels. As to the review from Library Journal, I agree that Alzheimer's is not funny but those who care for the peoplewho suffer from this dreadful disease could use any help making light of a sometimes dire situation. Read this book!
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