A Smile from Andy Book

[

Of COURSE the story had to end with a big white wedding! That signifies catharsis in every woman's life, right?

By the end of the book, I was ready to scream if I had to read one more description of what brand of clothing every female character donned in each scene. When she branched out beyond fashion, Wells's metaphors were mixed and repetitive, if not cliché. And when she did touch on several potentially provocative issues such as love, loss, racism, poverty, domestic abuse, and religion, in each case she only tapped the tip of the iceberg, threw in some dramatic action like an Indian campfire or arson in a Catholic school, and tried to let that pass for profound literary philosophy.

Her treatment of Southern racism made me terribly uneasy. Only twice does she express outright disapproval. In the case of her showing how the working class treatment of black servants in Louisiana was superior to the high-society approach in Georgia, she once again seemed to be superficially addressing an issue that for me needed more attention and in-depth analysis sheerly to avoid controversy.

With the crux of her story orbited by the ever-lasting loyalty among the Ya-Ya's, she also completely failed to address the fact that it is generally abnormal and unhealthy to remain in a clique from high school on into senility. It usually signifies a failure to branch out, explore, and learn. Considering the quality of the book, maybe the author proves this point therein. (hide spoiler)]