I'M SERVING: CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
Fair and Tender Ladies is going on my keeper shelf. I've never read Lee Smith before--amazing, since I love Southern authors--but I'll be spending some quality time with her backlist after this read.
This one's an epistolary, a tricky form to carry off. (The Color Purple is the best-known modern example, and word lovers should jump on Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea.) What's amazing is how fully-formed Ivy Rowe, the letters' author, comes across, despite being hampered by the first person POV required by the format.
I'll admit to some irritation with Ivy, especially during the Honey Breeding section, but she's like an old friend who's suddenly ticked you off. You get angry, but you can't stay mad for long. The Appalachian setting is nearly a character in itself, and the characters are so well-named: Revel Rowe, Silvaney, Oakley Fox. The names hint at character traits. I can't hear the name "Ivy" without hearing the old madrigal "The Holly and the Ivy" in my head, and madrigal music is so close to Appalachian music, the name is just perfect.
All in all, a terrific read.
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