Hear these voices of contemporary women novelists. Their joys and sorrows, but mostly their relationships to their families and to one another.

F/BROOKNER
Brookner, AnitaBrief Lives1990, 260p.

A poignant and eloquently written novel of the uneasy friendship between two women who become acquaintances through their husbands’ business. Fay, quiet and unassuming, and Julia, overbearing and egotistical, remain friends for over forty years. Now each must face, in her own way, the loss of her husband and the readjustments brought on by age and the unexpected twists of fate.

F/COLWIN
Colwin, LaurieGoodbye Without Leaving1990, 253p.

A witty and satirical look at the life of Geraldine Coleshares who, tired of the world of academia, takes a job as the only white backup singer in a black rock and roll band. Geraldine is a free spirit and when she meets lawyer Johnny Miller marriage is the last thing on her mind. She finally succumbs to the pressures of family and friends and not only marries Johnny but has a child. Soon, however, her restless nature has her back working as a music researcher. Geraldine manages to combine being a wife and mother while never losing the “music in her soul.”

F/DALLAS
Dallas, SandraBuster Midnight’s Cafe1990, 277p.

A colorful and amusing account of the lives of three women from Butte, Montana. Effa Commander, the narrator, tells their stories including the real “truth” about her friend, May Anna, who left Butte to become a famous movie star. The reminiscences of Effa, and her lifelong friend Whippy Bird reveal an intricate weave of past experiences which binds the friends together even after many years.
F/GIBBONS
Gibbons, KayA Cure for Dreams1991, 171p.

In the tradition of oral storytelling, Betty Davies Randolph, an engaging narrator, recalls her childhood and the life of her mother Lottie O’Cadhain Davies. Told in a series of nineteen vignettes, Betty relates a true-to-life tale of these feisty women and their lives on Milk Farm Road. The reader becomes truly captivated by the poignant stories of these strong and independent women.

F/GODWIN
Godwin, Gail Father Melancholy’s Daughter 1991, 404p.

In the fall of 1972 when Margaret is six years old, she returns home from school to find her mother Ruth has abandoned her and her father, an Episcopal minister. Ruth does communicate sporadically with them, but never returns before she is tragically killed in a car accident. Why Ruth left and who she really was is a fact that continually influences the lives of Margaret and her father. As Margaret grows up she thinks of herself as only her father’s daughter until as an adult she comes to accept she is her mother’s daughter as well.

F/GUTCHEON
Gutcheon, Beth Domestic Pleasures1991, 367p.

The troubles and rewards of trying to merge two families into one is the focus of this story. Martha and Charlie are single parents who fall in love. They soon find, however, that their relationship is complicated by their two teenage children who also discover an attraction to each other. How they cope with this situation, and the other complexities of modern everyday life makes this a fascinating contemporary novel.

F/HECKLER
Heckler, JonellenWhite Lies1989, 351p.

Three sisters—Sterling, Roz, and Quinn, reveal their lives during the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s through a series of letters to each other. Each is coping with the changing status of women in a different way, and these differences force them to engage in little white lies in order to preserve their relationship to one another.

F/HOFFMAN
Hoffman, AliceSeventh Heaven1990, 256p.

The fragility of family relationships is explored in this moving and evocative novel. Nora Silk is the sexy, divorced mother of two children who moves into a typical American suburb in the late 1950s. Nora certainly does not conform to the neighborhood stereotype of “motherhood.” Her presence in the community is unsettling and causes the residents to question their relationships to one another as husbands, wives, lovers, and friends.

F/KINGSOLVER
Kingsolver, BarbaraAnimal Dreams1990, 342p.

The strange yet beautiful landscape of the Southwest is the setting for this compelling novel of one woman’s attempt to reconnect with her roots. Codi Noline returns to Grace, Arizona to care for her ailing father. It is a homecoming filled with both pleasure and pain as Codi struggles to come to terms with buried childhood memories. She eventually discovers her true heritage and embraces the memories that once sent her away.

F/LIPMAN
Lipman, ElinorThen She Found Me1990, 307p.

This hilarious and captivating story brings together April Epner, a high school Latin teacher and her birth mother, Bernice Graverman, a flamboyant talk show hostess. April at first rejects Bernice’s repeated attempts at mother-daughter bonding, but eventually April sorts out her feelings and comes to find love in unexpected places.

F/OTTO
Otto, WhitneyHow to Make an American Quilt199l, 179p.

Finn Bennet-Dodd goes back to her small home town, and introduces us through a series of vignettes to the woman of the weekly quilting circle. The women’s stories are introduced by quilting instructions that soon become metaphors for life. The women share a lifetime of experiences, including marriage, betrayal, mother and daughter relationships, and most of all, friendships.

F/QUINDLEN
Quindlen, AnnaObject Lessons1991, 262p.

This poignant coming-of-age tale follows Maggie Scanlan through the summer of her twelfth year. Everything is changing for Maggie that summer. Her relationship with her pregnant mother becomes strained when her mother resumes a friendship with an old beau, her dominating patriarchal grandfather has a stroke, and her best friend doesn’t want to be best friends anymore. As she moves from the simple world of childhood to the complex world of adolescence, she and her mother come to a new understanding of themselves and each other.

F/READ
Read, DorisThe Lydia Chronicles1991, 223p.

A delightful episodic novel which tells of Lydia, a widow of a certain age, from the Midwest who moves to Southern California and takes up residence with Herm, a widower. (Tax laws and annuity rules prevent legalizing their relationship.) Each chapter explores a different adventure in the lives of this engaging and sprightly twosome.

F/SIDDONS
Siddons, Anne RiverOuter Banks1991, 401p.

Kate Abrams travels to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a reunion with three college friends. Wary of rekindling the intimate relationship she had with these women, Kate nevertheless renews the friendships and eventually is forced to face the truths buried deep within her past. By doing this Kate soon realizes that true friendships survive even the most extraordinary circumstances.

F/SUSSMAN
Sussman, SusanThe Dieter1989, 299p.

North Shore housewife Barbara Avers is the witty and unpredictable heroine of a story about a woman’s realization that being thin doesn’t always mean a perfect life. When Barbara’s best friend dies of lung cancer she vows to give up smoking. She succeeds in this endeavor, however, her weight takes on a steady rise, her husband spends more time with his female campaign manager, and the kids refuse to be seen with her. How Barbara comes to terms with herself will move the reader to laughter and tears in this remarkable novel.

F/TAN
Tan, AmyThe Kitchen God’s Wife1991, 415p.

An engrossing novel dealing with mothers and daughters and the secrets they choose to keep to themselves. Winnie, Pearl’s mother has had both a tragic and happy life; tragic until she left China and then happy when she subsequently married Pearl’s father and came to America. Pearl has no knowledge of the desperate life her mother led while in China. Pearl, too, has her own secret and it is not until they are forced to confide in each other that they realize the significance of these revelations.

F/WEST
West, Michael LeeCrazy Ladies1990, 335p.

Set in the rural South, this story is a fascinating character study of six women and their relationships to one another. Each of the women is touched by something dark, secretive, or violent. The story follows the lives of Miss Gussie, her two daughters, Dorothy and Clancy Jane, and their two daughters Bitsy and Violet as they become more and more entangled in a complicated family web.

Prepared by Sheila Guenzer, October, 1991