Something to Look Forward To by Fannie Flagg 3

"He also observed that most of the humans he met had an opinion on everything and were happy to tell him what it was, even though he hadn't asked. And the interesting thing to him was they all believed that they were right."               -Special Agent William Frawley

I am quite a fan of Fannie Flagg and have enjoyed several of her novels, but this one was quite different---a collection of short stories with a theme of the resilience of the human spirit in handling life's unexpected curves.

The series started with the leader on Planet 8676 sending Special Agent William Frawley to Earth to report on what was going on down there. He lands in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he learns how good ice cream is and lots more including how the people on earth behave (see quote). 

Another of the 30 stories tells of great-grandmother Velma in Cottonwood, Kansas trying to understand her daughter Cathy and granddaughter Tracie Ann who live in California. Their story continues in a few more segments through the book.

Another interesting character is Helen who finds a clever way to get even with her husband for dumping her for a younger woman. The ending is surprising along with the ending of one where a man tells how he got shot being a hero in foiling a robbery when the truth is.....? I'll not spoil it for you,

The book was well-written with some of Flagg's signature humor and some surprises, as I mentioned but I am rating it a 3 since I just don't find short stories as compelling as a full novel. I liked it, didn't love it.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick 4

 

"Books sprung from an author's imagination can be just as meaningful as those based on facts, figures, and events, or even more meaningful. Novels force you to think---to make your own conclusions about characters and themes and decide if they're valid or relevant or true or good, or the opposite, or maybe somewhere in between. My personal preference is for in between. I don't think I've ever met anybody who was all one thing or the other, have you? Most people are a walking bundle of contradictions."

    -Helen Babcock, bookstore owner to Margaret

This was our Page Turners book club selection for October. I didn't like it at first but about halfway in I got to know the characters and could relate in some ways. I've rated in a 4.

In the 1960's Margaret Ryan, a Virginia housewife and mother, becomes interested in Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique and decides to invite 3 of her neighbors in Concordia to form a book club. Vivian Buschetti, Bitsy Cobb and Charlotte Gustafson agree to read the book and meet to discuss it. They soon decide to call themselves the Bettys.

Two of the women have marriage problems and all have dreams and ambitions deferred as a result of being a woman and particularly being married. Margaret wants to be a writer, Viv misses her time as a nurse during the war, Charlotte is an artist and Bitsy had wanted to become a vet. Friedan's book inspired them to try again to achieve their goals. I could identify with the women because when I went to college in the mid-60's, women were expected to get their MRS degree.

In "A Letter to Readers," the author explains which characters are fictional and which are historical figures, like Katherine Graham, the first female newspaper publisher (Washington Post) and First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who had been a journalist before marriage.

The quote above reminded me of how I have become so fond of historical fiction because you learn what people of a certain time may have been thinking and feeling.

I enjoyed the mention of book titles---all of which I've never read. I think after reading this book and seeing how it changed these women's lives, I might need to find The Feminine Mystique. 

The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth 5

 

"Questions, questions---you wear me out with your questions, child. Find out for yourself---we all have to in the end. No one can give you faith. It is a gift from God alone. Seek and ye shall find. Read the Gospels. There is no other way. Do not pester me with your everlasting questions. Go with God, child; just go with God."

           -Sister Monica Joan

When I knew that this was Book One of a trilogy that inspired the TV series "Call the Midwife," I downloaded it right away. I have been a fan of the PBS series for a couple of seasons. I didn't know at first if I was going to like the book because it didn't grab my interest immediately. However, it didn't take long to get emotionally involved with the characters and the stories. I have rated it a 5.

Author Jennifer Lee Worth was a nurse in the 1950's before going to live in a convent to train as a midwife. She meets the most amazing characters---the nuns themselves, including the inimitable and highly quotable Sister Monica Joan, and the patients. The most memorable story was that of Len and Conchita Warren. At the age of 41 Conchita was expecting her 25th child and spoke no English! 

The memoir is beautifully written and at times humorous, touching and spiritual. The Cockney accents were a bit challenging even for the author according to the Appendix of the book. My husband and I were recently exposed to the Gullah language in South Carolina which we found difficult, as well.

I may soon look for Book Two, Shadows of the Workhouse.