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Rating:  -
I purchased this book as a beach book and was not disappointed. This is the first work I have read by this author and immediately after finishing Four Seasons began to search for more books by her. This was a wonderfully woven tale of family tragedy and triumph as well as individual growth within the protagonists as women and as sisters.
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This is a book for anyone who had a sister or, like me, wished they had a sister.
Jilly, Birdie, and Rose - ¾ of the four Season sisters are gathered at their childhood home in Evanston, Illinois after the death of the fourth sister, Merry. It is Merry's last wish that will have the other three on an adventure which will not only have them searching for the child Jilly gave up for adoption 26 years earlier, but for themselves at the same time.
Jilly who left home years ago for elegance and wealth in Europe has returned for good. Despite her fancy clothes and furs, she is broke and all alone. Seemingly without purpose in life, her modeling career over, she really doesn't know who else to turn to but her sisters. Her whole life is a sham - will she be able to tell her sisters how broke she really is? Will she ever find the love of her life? And will her search for the daughter she gave up for adoption be successful?
The second sister, Birdie, has become a physician. Always the studious one, she has married Dennis Connor, a man who Jilly dated as a teenager, and has a teenage daughter, Hannah, who in typical teenage fashion is giving her mother a rather difficult time. Birdie's husband, too, is giving her grief. They don't seem to have the closeness they once had, and when Birdie insists on accompanying Jilly on her search for her birth daughter, Dennis gives her an ultimatum - come home now or our marriage is over. Birdie still chooses to side with her sister.
Third sister, Rose has been living at home taking care of the youngest, Merry, after the death of their parents. She really didn't mind and has juggled her caretaking duties with word processing at home. Rose doesn't get out much but she has traveled the world and met many people via the internet. She has been corresponding with one person in particularly, a truckdriver who calls himself "Dannyboy." She hasn't let her sister in on the fact that in his emails, Dannyboy seems to be coming more and more romantically interested. What will happen when Dannyboy insists on meeting Rose?
Event though the fourth sister, Merry, has died by the time the book begins, she is as much a character as any of other others and, in fact some might argue she is the most important character. She becomes known to the reader through a series of flashbacks and via her sisters' recollections. All that is known to the reader in the beginning is that Merry had a childhood accident leaving her forever a child. It is her final request that brings the sisters together on a quest which makes up the second half of the book - a quest which will definitely, for all of them, reveal more than any of them had believed.
There are so many wonderful and realistic scenes in this book that it's hard to know where to begin. Each sister is so different from the other, it's hard to believe they were raised by the same set of parents. Each of them too is still baring the guilt of Merry's accident - each of them feeling somehow responsible.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. And although I would tend to view this book more as women's fiction because of its depth, the fact that there are three characters finding love instead of just one, and the fact that the main focus of the book appears to be the growth of each character from within -- but with finding love as a consequence of that growth. The use of flashbacks proved very effective in getting to know the characters. And that's the author's strength - characterization - and she does it admirably well, giving each character their individual strengths and weaknesses, and each their individual "voice" as well.
This book would appeal to readers who enjoyed THE SAVING GRACES by Patricia Gaffney, THE HOUSE ON OLIVE STREET by Robyn Carr, TALK BEFORE SLEEP by Elizabeth Berg, and even Mary Alice Monroe's previous book, THE BOOK CLUB.
I found it to be one of the best books I've read so far this year and highly recommend it as I believe it would appeal to readers of women's fiction and romance as well.
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You know a book is really good when you want to pass it on to everyone you know! Absorbing, real women, real feelings, interesting story line. You feel as though these women are your friends writing a letter to you to relate what they've just been through. Read 140 pgs in one sitting -- read 'til after midnight.
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Mary Alice Monroe is a skilled storyteller. Her prose is beautiful and her understanding of human nature profound. I was toally absorbed in the lives of these sisters. This book is what good writing is all about.
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Mary Alice Monroe always has wonderful insight into emotions and relationships. Her style of writing is crisp and beautiful. In The Four Seasons, she does a great job of interweaving the story of sisters who have unresolved conflicts and family issues. Their journey--literal and emotional--develops the characters on lots of levels. The story is like a symphony, with some notes and instruments taking the lead while others subside. Bottomline--this novel is uplifting, insightful, and comes to a full and deeply satisfying conclusion. Monroe is a gifted author.
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