Skip to main content

All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank: book review



All the Single Ladies (2015) is set in Charleston in the American state of Georgia from June to October 2014. The narrator is 50+ year old Lisa St. Clair, divorced from her husband Mark, with a daughter, Marianne. Lisa’s specialty is geriatrics, and she works as a part-time nurse at the Palmetto House Assisted Living Facility – it’s like a hospice. 

Marianne – who lives in Colorado – surprises her mother by marrying ‘a druggie by an Elvis impersonator in Vegas.’ But Lisa’s closest friends, Carrie and Suzanne, are good for a laugh and to vent her frustrations.

Lisa’s favourite patient, Kathy Gordon Harper, dies of cancer at the age of 58. With no known relatives, the staff at Palmetto House, and especially Suzanne, who is the executor of Kathy’s estate, are tasked with sorting out her possessions. Kathy’s landlady, Wendy Murray, takes Kathy’s furniture, maintaining that it is hers. Lisa and Suzanne don’t have proof that it isn’t.

At Kathy’s funeral, the organist is Paul Gleicher, who was Kathy’s ex-partner. Paul, divorced with no children, loved Kathy and wanted to marry her. He didn’t know she was ill. Kathy told him she didn’t want a committed relationship and ended the relationship abruptly.

Paul Gleicher is also the architect of the Green House project. Paul and Lisa meet – Lisa knows that he was in love with Kathy, and this links them together. When sorting out Kathy’s estate, Lisa finds a marriage certificate and divorce papers. She had been married to David Inmon Harper. No one knew this. Paul didn’t know this either. Then in the library, in the book, Gone with the Wind, the librarian finds an envelope of Kathy’s – in it is a birth and death certificate. Kathy and David had a daughter who died at the age of two. David was implicated in the child’s death, but an article clipping in the envelope said that he was cleared of blame.

There was so much about Kathy Gordon Harper that staff at Palmetto House did not know. But now Carrie, Suzanne, and Lisa set out to find David Inmon Harper – mainly to settle the estate, but they have other questions too. Paul, in particular, wants to know more about Kathy’s life.

When they learn the truth, Carrie, Suzanne, Lisa, and Paul confront landlady Wendy Murray – but why would they do that, just for two pieces of furniture?


The novel is light and easy to read. It is comical with a bit of intrigue, mystery and love. The relationship between the three main characters – Carrie, Suzanne, and Lisa - is quite well described, but some other characters are not deeply developed. Readers can whizz through the novel is no time at all, because there is not a lot to think about.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That
1 comment
Read more

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass
Post a Comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing
1 comment
Read more