Louise Shaffer started out as a soap opera actress, and a graduate of Yale's School of Drama. At some point as she aged, she realized she didn't want to stop the process and moved into behind the scenes work of writing the soaps. Gradually, she moved into Southern chick lit. I'd ordered one copy of her novel The Ladies of Garrison Gardens, but was sent the large sized font since all the regulars were out of stock. I donated the book and now, after reading Serendipity, I wish I hadn't.
Carrie has just buried her mother, the great philanthropist Rose Manning after a two year struggle with cancer. Now everything she's had is gone. She left her fiancée because her mother didn't approve of him for her. She's left several of her start up businesses because they don't measure up. Her best friend Zoe recommends getting in touch with her estranged grandmother, legendary musical stage actress Lu Lawson, and find out what caused the rift, and what made her mother so deeply unsettled that she gave away everything of her life when her husband died when Carrie was three.
Devoted to her mother, Carrie refuses to see her grandmother, and starts with the man who committed the grievous error of sending white roses to Rose's funeral in lieu of the requested donations to her church, Lu's brother Paulie. So Carrie heads to Paulie, and he explains to her that while he understands her need, she needs to start by understanding her great grandmother, an Italian woman raised by nuns and shipped overseas to an arranged marriage. Paulie tells her as much as he can about Mifalda and about Lu, but tells her to know more she'll need to meet Lu's best friend and head of her orchestras, George. Carrie learns much about her family on this journey, and more about her mother.
Ultimately, she learns about herself.
This was a charming read that I could not put down for anything other than work. And even then, I didn't want to. My only wish is that I would have watched soaps when Shaffer was a writer for them, as undoubtedly it would have been much more entertaining than any of Passions' storylines. I look forward to reading her novel Family Acts as soon as I can get my grubby hands on it.
Carrie has just buried her mother, the great philanthropist Rose Manning after a two year struggle with cancer. Now everything she's had is gone. She left her fiancée because her mother didn't approve of him for her. She's left several of her start up businesses because they don't measure up. Her best friend Zoe recommends getting in touch with her estranged grandmother, legendary musical stage actress Lu Lawson, and find out what caused the rift, and what made her mother so deeply unsettled that she gave away everything of her life when her husband died when Carrie was three.
Devoted to her mother, Carrie refuses to see her grandmother, and starts with the man who committed the grievous error of sending white roses to Rose's funeral in lieu of the requested donations to her church, Lu's brother Paulie. So Carrie heads to Paulie, and he explains to her that while he understands her need, she needs to start by understanding her great grandmother, an Italian woman raised by nuns and shipped overseas to an arranged marriage. Paulie tells her as much as he can about Mifalda and about Lu, but tells her to know more she'll need to meet Lu's best friend and head of her orchestras, George. Carrie learns much about her family on this journey, and more about her mother.
Ultimately, she learns about herself.
This was a charming read that I could not put down for anything other than work. And even then, I didn't want to. My only wish is that I would have watched soaps when Shaffer was a writer for them, as undoubtedly it would have been much more entertaining than any of Passions' storylines. I look forward to reading her novel Family Acts as soon as I can get my grubby hands on it.
Posted by Ashley
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1 comments:
I saw this and thought about getting it to read. I have no idea why I passed but now I wish I had picked up a a copy. Thanks for the review.
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