The Hurricane Sisters
Dorothea Benton Frank
I am a fan of Dorothea Benton Frank. I have never visited South Carolina but
for some reason the Lowcountry interests me. It could be because it seems so
different from where I am from, dry high plains desert, Wyoming. Ya think?
In this story, we are introduced to three headstrong women
each with a secret and each with a contentious relationship to the others.
Maisie Pringle is 80 and a bit eccentric. She still lives alone. Well ,not
exactly, her daughter and son-in-law, Liz and Clayton have hired a younger
man (he is 65) to be her driver. Skipper has a llama farm. What could be more
eccentric than that? They seem to get
along well.
Liz and Clayton’s marriage has stale-mated in a classic way.
She is involved in an emotionally demanding career, and her stock broker
husband is basically absent and self absorbed. They have two children who refer
to them as The Impossibles. Ashley is an
aspiring artist, living in the family beach house and Ivy, their son, is a
kind, caring successful young man living in California with his partner, James.
Ashley’s personal life this summer includes a budding
relationship with an aspiring local politician. She can see herself as the next
Jackie Kennedy. Porter sees her as his next conquest. Trouble!! Even though her mother is an expert in the field of
domestic abuse, Ashley misses all the signs in her effort to fulfill her dream
of a future in Camelot.
As the summer storms keep brewing, the stormy relationship
of these three women and their partners and friends comes to a dramatic
conclusion.
I liked this book for the most part. At times I felt it was
a bit stilted as each Mother/daughter relationship played out. I have a bit of
familiarity about the secrets revealed and felt a little of it did not ring
true. I will reveal no spoilers here, but I found Liz and Clayton hard to
grasp. That being said, I liked the book a lot and will wait to post this
review until my book club has their discussion Tuesday. 5-17. Just to keep you informed, my book club did not much care for this story. Several said they "couldn't relate to the characters" because they were wealthy?? Don't we sometimes read books to live the lives others live, to see how the other half gets by? Oh, well! Like I always say, "It is good we all don't have the same taste in books, food, or men!" I recommend this book.
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