The Persian Pickle Club
By Sandra Dallas
196 pgs.
St. Martins Press
Amazon Blurb -
This entertaining second novel from the author of the well-received Buster Midnight's Cafe could be a sleeper. Set in Depression-era Kansas and made vivid with the narrator's humorous down-home voice, it's a story of loyalty and friendship in a women's quilting circle. Young farm wife Queenie Bean tells about the brief membership of a city girl named Rita, whose boredom with country living and aspirations to be an investigative reporter lead her to unearth secrets in the close-knit group, called the Persian Pickle Club after a coveted paisley print. Queenie's desire to win Rita's friendship ("We were chickens... and Rita was a hummingbird") clashes with her loyalty to the Pickles when Rita tries to solve the murder of a member's husband, in the process unearthing complicated relationships among the women who meet each week to quilt and read aloud to each other. The result is a simple but endearing story that depicts small-town eccentricities with affection and adds dazzle with some late-breaking surprises. Dallas hits all the right notes, combining an authentic look at the social fabric of Depression-era life with a homespun suspense story.
*****
Thank you Julie for this months choice! I'm looking forward to reading it, and we'll check back the 3rd or 4th Thursday or Friday of the month for the ?'s!
This is a really good book. I love Sandra Dallas. Enjoy!
ReplyDeletePaula: I found you through Julie's blog. I am going to join in on this read. This is going to be fun. I love your blog, btw. I have been reading for a while but I'm going to follow now.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to this one!
ReplyDeleteFound it at a neighboring library, making it book budget friendly, too! :)
Paula: My thoughts for the "E" author would be Elizabeth Edwards. She just died of breast cancer recently and her book may be quite inspirational. I'm not sure if non fiction counts though. If not, Kim Edwards (The Memory Keeper's Daughter) has a new one called The Lake of Dreams. However, it is only available in e-read or hardcover and that could be too expensive for some. On the other hand, if not many have read the Memory Keeper's Daughter, that is an excellent book and I wouldn't mind re-reading. Let me know what you think.
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