Isle Of Palms: A Lowcountry Tale
by Dorothea Benton Frank
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dorothea Benton FrankEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-06-24
ISBN: 0425191362
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Book Reviews of Isle Of Palms: A Lowcountry Tale
Book Review: Good beach book...
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are looking for a fun and entertaining beach book (especially about the low country beaches of South Carolina), Dorothea Benton Frank's Isle of Palms is just the book. Having previously written Sullivan's Island and Plantation, Frank's third book is her best effort yet.
Summer is coming and 37-year-old Anna Lutz Abbot decides that it is time to take control of her life. Three traumatic events occurred during Anna's childhood, and she has pretty much lived her life as a victim. A divorcee' raising an 18 year old daughter, Anna decides to buy a house, make a career change and find a romantic interest. A terrible wrong in her life must also be righted. Things don't always develop as Anna expects, but sometimes the surprises are the most rewarding.
What makes Frank's books so much fun are the sassy writing, witty dialogue, and colorful characters. Frank's descriptions are hysterical. At one point, she tells us the difference between Southern gentlemen, bubbas and red necks-something that only a person raised in the South could do without offense. Her characters are especially memorable from gay ex-husband Jim, to Lucy the intellectually challenged and surgically altered bombshell neighbor to beautiful daughter Emily, who comes home from college in Gothic attire.
On the minus side, this story is a bit unbelievable in parts. Anna doesn't quite deal with issues involving both parents and her childhood. Also, the book is written entirely in the first person. Most of the chapters are seen through Anna's eyes, but several are told by the nosy neighbor, Miss Mavis. At the start of a new chapter, it was sometimes confusing to figure out who was speaking.
But negatives aside, Isle of Palms is an entertaining read. It was especially timely as I actually read it on a South Carolina beach, and am familiar with many of the sights Frank mentions. Her latest book, Shem Creek, has just been published. I think I'll save it for my new low country vacation.
Summary of Isle Of Palms: A Lowcountry Tale
Anna Lutz Abbot thinks she has her independence, and therefore her happiness, intact. She is a capable woman, a sensible woman, not someone given to risky living.This all seems to be true enough until her lovely daughter returns from college for the summer a very different person, her wild and wonderful ex-husband arrives, and her flamboyant new best friend takes up with her daddy, turning a hot summer into a steaming one--only to be cranked up another ten degrees by Anna's own fling with Arthur, who is, heaven help us, a Yankee. All the action unfolds under the watchful eyes of Miss Mavis and Miss Angel, her next-door neighbors of a certain age, who have plenty to say about Anna's past, present, and future.
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