beautiful and bittersweet
On the surface this novel could remind one of a Romeo and Juliet story, but underneath it is so much more. It makes a person question why we have our prejudices when underneath we are all just human beings with the need for friendship,love and acceptance.
Rated of 5
by Ilene R. (Northfield, IL)
A moving road trip of discovery...
I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. It alternates between present day and the late 1930's and 1940's. It's the story of Isabelle and Dorrie. It's about family, race relations and most of all love. The two women, from different backgrounds, have lessons to learn and to share. This book has so many layers. It's sad and touching. Keep a box of tissues handy!!!
Rated of 5
by Margaret L. (Petoskey, MI)
Great Debut Novel
Calling Me Home is a touching story about a man and a woman who come from different life styles but are joined together by love. It is also a story of two women who develop a strong friendship and a deep respect for each other on a road trip from Texas to Ohio. The story touches on many emotions. I laughed, I cried, I became angry and in the end, I felt a deep appreciation for the diverse people in my life. A great debut novel by wonderful storyteller, Julie Kibler. I will be watching for her next book.
Rated of 5
by Ariel F. (Madison, WI)
An unlikely friendship -- Miss Isabell and Dorrie!
This is an outstanding debut novel! Alternating between the present and 1930/40's, the author draws you into the lives and conversations between an elderly white woman and a young black hair dresser as they drive from Texas to Ohio. Both women have secrets that they have guarded but end up sharing with each other. In reading the novel, issues such as race,love,family, segregation are dealt with in a sensitive manner. If you liked The Help or The Kitchen House, you will enjoy this well written and researched novel. This is an ideal book for a book club to read. I am waiting on Kibler's next novel.
Rated of 5
by Helen S. (Sun City West, AZ)
A Journey to Understanding
Julie Kibler has successfully tackled the difficult issue of racial equality in her fascinating debut novel told in the first person by Miss Isabelle and Dorrie on their journey from Texas to Ohio. The long car trip gave the women the time and opportunity to divulge their life stories in a believable way; however, the ultimate purpose of the trip came as a surprise to me. As a reader who had lived in the South before desegregation, I could empathize with the societal restraints and pressures Miss Isabelle wrestled with throughout her life. The engaging style of the author kept me reading as I discovered more and more of the intimate secrets as the women revealed them to each other. When the book ended, I realized that the lives of Miss Isabelle and Dorrie were much more alike than their ages, skin color, and circumstances might have suggested. I highly recommend Calling Me Home to readers interested in a story filled with love, mystery, life-changing secrets, and the consequences of racial inequality.
Rated of 5
by Alice S. (East Haven, Ct)
Moving Love Story
Calling Me Home, which at first I thought might be a cliched story line, at the end moved me to tears (and I don't cry easily). The back and forth of the narrative between the current time and the 30's and the circumstances and hardships of an inter- racial love were both moving and hard to forget. The characters of Dorrie and Isabelle and the close bond they had was a great example of the importance of women's friendships in each others lives even though their backgrounds may be so different. A very touching book that I will be thinking about for a while.
Rated of 5
by Amber B. (East Sparta, OH)
Powerful, heartbreaking story.
While sellers may try to compare this to "The Help" - and yes, the storytelling rivals it - this is instead a love story. Powerful and gripping, you'll be surprised with the characters as the details of a forbidden romance unfold, changing two people and everyone else in their lives forever. Definitely pick up this book for your reading group, literature class, or a great read.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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of 5
by Loren B. (Appleton, WI)
