Fair and Tender Ladies Audiobook

" This book is slim and the story is simple, but it is strong on writing, tone, graciousness, culture, and human nature. If I were an author, I'd strive to write like this. "

" This book has given a look into the coal mining towns life at the turn of the century. This has been illustrated through letters written by Ivy. So real it becomes that it is hard to belive that someone wrote them. "

" A lovely book. Ivy Rowe is a dedicated letter writer with a powerful voice that changes in subtle increments as she ages. Although she never travels far from her Virginia mountain top home, she becomes wise in the ways of life. "

" This took a little while to get into. I was a bit thrown because I couldn't tell what period of history she was in. Finally a date appeared at the top of one of the letters indicating it was 1919. Anyway, the story became more interesting at about that point in the book. All in all, it was OK. "

" Being a mountain lass myself, this book resonated with me, and has for years. A favorite in my library, and close to my heart. Lee Smith is a wonderful storyteller. "

" Interesting look at the life of a girl/woman living in the back woods of West Virginia as told through her many letters. "

" This book was hard to understand at first due to the dialect. I enjoyed reading about the life of a woman of the southern mountain areas. "

" I cannot say enough good things about this book. I just loved Ivy, the main character who tells her story through letters. I cried like a baby when it was time to say good-bye. "

" I enjoyed this book. I love Southern Literature, and this is a different genre of it. I also liked the format. "

" This still stands as my favorite book. Ivy Rowe is a literary soulmate. It's a beautiful story of a woman's journey and truly captures Appalachia. Love it. "

" Always meant to read something by Lee Smith. Well worth the time. Loved the local lore and characters. "

" The life story of Ivy Rowe is told through letters. Her family's story of life, death, love and loss in the mountains and coal mining towns of Southwestern Virginia was remarkably vivid and believable. Our book club read this a couple of months ago and we all really loved it. "

" I normally don't like books that do retrospective views- but I loved this book. It was my first Lee Smith and I've read everything. "

" I enjoyed every page. Great book. "

" I love Appalachian lit and Smith captures the dialect beautifully with what seems to be good historical accuracy. "

" As a North Carolinian and someone who has spent a great deal of time in the mountains, I really enjoyed this. It took a bit to get into to, but once I did, I could not out it down. "

" This was a lovely, sad read. I liked the main character and enjoyed watching her make crazy decisions. It made me miss my Aunt Minnie. "

" A novel that seemed so real. "

" I especially loved the first half of this book, I liked the second half ok but the years just flew by too quickly...I found the story telling great. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Southern Lit and coming of age novels "

" I didn't like this book at all. I had to read it for an Appalachian Literature seminar and I thought it sucked. Too long, too slow, too....blergh. That's the sound of me not liking a book. "

" This was a great insight into women of our grandmother's and great grandmother's generation. I liked the way it was written. The novel is done as letters from the main character to the people in her life. Wonderful, wonderful book. Sweet and touching, but not overly emotional. "

" I read this book back in 1992 and I am rereading it a second time now. It is artfully written and difficult to put down once you start reading. I am very surprised that this book did not become a New York Times Bestseller. "

" My bookclub read this one. It is a bit of a strange book. I didn't really like it but it was interesting, about a sub-culture I know nothing about. (Churches that do snake "charming" etc.) I guess in the end I found the main character kind of annoying. "

" read for Southern Lit, spring 11 "

" Smith owes a huge debt to O'Connor, but at least she acknowledges it. The ending feels flat, but genuine to the character of Grace. "

" Great book! The text flows easy and freely. The characters are realistic as well. "

" This is a great book. It's a little strange and depressing, but totally worth the read. "

" This book is wonderful. The story comes full circle; each section is distinctly different and unpredictable (except for the parts that the narrator wants us to know); and the end leaves you wondering and wanting more. A++++ "

" A wonderful character and disturbing story. Such vivid fiction you feel like you're in the middle of a documentary about Appalachia, snake handlers, and fundamentalists. "

" My good friend passed this on to me. A fascinating book about believers in "signs" like snake handling in Appalachia. Lee Smith makes her characters so believable. "

" Love this writer. Even though I don't normally read this type of book, she brings a poignancy to her stories that make it hard to put down. "

" Interesting story of the about fundamentalist belief. Humility and humanity are present everywhere in this novel. "

" Another different view of someone's life. Not too intense, very interesting and I really enjoyed it. It was a random pick up from the library. I would like to read more by this author. "

" interesting read about poor applachian girl who's dad is a snake handler fanatic. yeah, i'd say read this one "

" The first half, it totally had me captive--well-written, vivid characterization and good story. The second half, it went off the deep end a bit, and I was a little disappointed. But it was truthful. I recommend Gods in Alabama if you liked this book. :) "

" One of the most depressing, sad books I have ever listened to. "

" I really wanted to like this book! I liked Grace but everyone else in the book seemed distant. Rich characters but it was hard to like or empathise with any of them because their flaws were so raw. "

" A well-written story about Grace's crazy life in Eastern Tennessee that kept me wanting to sit down and finish it quickly. I fell in love with Grace and could relate to her struggles with God as she viewed Him through her own experiences versus others' experience in Church and with life. "