ONE OF THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

books:


	• Fair and Tender Ladies Lee Smith Putnam Adult, 1988 - 316 pages average customer review:based on 45 reviews
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highly recommended

A wonderful book

This is just an excellent novel by a fine writer. In all honesty I'm sort of at a loss here so I'll just say that you should read this book. You'll thank all of us who have recommended it to you.

Oh, I heard Lee Smith interviewed and she's really worth hearing. She's funny, self-effacing and smart.

ONE OF THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How I hated for this book to end! I LOVE Lee Smith's writings. She is truly one of THE BEST authors of our time. If you have not read her, PLEASE DO. She NEVER EVER disappoints.

This wondeful book is written in the form of letters by one Miss Ivy Rowe. The letters span the lifetime of Ivy. She LOVES to write letters and writes to friends, family, acquaintances. Ivy chronicles her entire life from a young teenager to her death (SOB!! -- yes, SOB!!) in these letters.

Ivy lives and dies in the Appalachian Mountain area. She lives through World Wars, ups and downs, feast and famine, good times, bad times, pain, sorrow, joy, happiness. Her letters tell all and tell all very, very well. You meet her family and friends all through her letters to various people. She is outspoken, kind, tough, sweet, loving, caring. Ivy's life was never easy, yet she handles every hurdle with common sense and humor.

At first it was a little slow going reading this book as her letters are written in true form of someone who lived in the early 1900's with very, very little education. However, Ivy is one of the lucky people who can read and write and loves to do both.

Her spunk, wit, and just IVY will make this one of your favorite books of all time. I loved the format of the book, it is different than any other book I have ever read. I know this is one book that I will not soon forget. Ms. Lee Smith has the outstanding talent of making her characters so life-like and totally people you believe in. How sad I was when this wonderful tale ended. This book also contained much history of our country and I believe I learned a great deal -- in a fun and interesting way -- about our country's colorful history.

Do yourself a favor and read this book and then read all of the other treasures that Ms. Smith has waiting for you. You will not be sorry.

Thanks!

Pam

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Ramblings of an English major...

_Fair and Tender Ladies_ tells the secrets of the soul of Appalachia. Tracing the life of Ivy Rowe from youth to old age through her letters, the book is an Appalachian masterpiece. Ms. Smith was supposedly inspired to write this book after coming across a bundle of letters at a yard sale. She claims not to have read the letters (after all, they were private!), but she felt a story like this should be told.
Here, Lee Smith tells the story of Ivy Rowe, rural Appalachia, the impact big business coal mining, love, hope, and life. If you know nothing of Appalachia, let this be your introduction. If you live there, let it be your celebration. If you are alive, let this story draw you along, softly whispering the story of your own humanity to you--one letter at a time.

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How can you not love Ivy Rowe?

I love Ivy Rowe; especially the child Ivy whose words and observations make me smile and sometimes laugh out loud.
While I know some readers find adjusting to the letter-style of this book a little difficult, I found it a compelling read from the first page. I wrote lots of letters as a child, so perhaps that is why this style seems so natural to me.
I was most impressed with Ivy's words and style of speaking - this is exactly what Ivy does; she speaks through her letters because they are written exactly the way an Ivy Rowe would speak. It was very interesting to see how there are subtle changes in Ivy's words, phrases and spelings as she gets older and reads more.
I cried when Ivy hears the bell for the last time: I rarely cry when reading and I read a lot.

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great read

Our book club read this book and everyone loved it. We discussed it for 2 hours. I would highly recommend it.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

"A TOUR DE FORCE"
- Los Angeles Times

"The story of Ivy Rowe, born near the turn of the century in the Virginia Mountain enclave of Sugar Fork, is told completely through letters that Ivy is forever writing family and friends...Lee Smith exhibits her own understanding and affection for the traditions of the Appalachians. She is at home with the down-home speech and ways of her characters. They come vividly to life, and none more so than Ivy, whose voice and heart and humor sustain Fair and Tender Ladies."
- Philadelphia Inquirer

"Because of Ivy's narrative ability and her zest for living, Fair and Tender Ladies opens for us like a flower with a gloriously unexpected center. There are unforgettable characters...Few readers will be dry-eyed as they watch this extraordinary woman disappear around that last bend in the road."
-Chicago Tribune

"These beautiful letters...display Ivy's soul up close, the way a just-caught firefly illuminates a jar. So real does she become that it is hard to believe that Ivy did not actually live to write her letters."
-USA Today

"This is about a moving a work of literature as has ever been written." ANNIE DILLARD

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