Helpful Score: 1
Quotes from the Longfellow poem earned my one-star rating.
Written by a woman, about five women, and definitely only meant to be read by women, NOW YOU KNOW is one of those modern novels that I quite literally cringe away from - one step above chick lit. But at least chick lit makes no pretensions of being anything but what it is - light headed; usually light hearted, escapist fun. NOW YOU KNOW, on the other hand, is one of those tiresome pieces of Women's Literature that try to be revelatory about womens' lives, but to me, always end up sounding false, pompous and overblown. This is a slice-of-life novel gone stale because it never was really alive or fresh in the first place.
Libba the free-spirit eventual author, and Frances the traditionally-bound mother figure, form a friendship at their college, circa 1947, a friendship which continues through the whole of their lives. If the name Libba wasn't a pointed enough hint, she never changes a wit throughout the story, except to become more and more annoying, intrusive (using Frances and her daughters as copy for her novels), and free-spiritedly ridiculous - I felt sorry for Frances's daughters, who have to put up with this bull-flopper all their lives, even after their mother's death. The daughters are also as stereotypical as their mother-figures: Alice the oldest, repeating her mother's organization and traditionalism with her kids, and secretly feeling the pull of a more 'liberated' life, especially as her children grow older; Allegra, the alcoholic who's shambled through marriage & motherhood, who's trying to sober up; Edie, the youngest who's still helpless like a baby, can't make a decision because she's been coddled all her life... Oh, the pitifulness of it all. The lack of humor and joy in these women's lives is appalling and unreal.
Male characters exist over time in NOW YOU KNOW, but they don't offer any consolation to these women. They are there to be slept with, or not; to father children, or not. Sometimes they provide a necessary shoulder of support, usually during a crisis, but that rarely. All that matters to these women is their relationship with each other, forever and ever. Men contribute nothing emotionally; only women can relate to women in the world of NOW YOU KNOW. The women's lives are on stagnant hold after Frances dies - only Libba can set them all free for the next stage, once they're gathered around her, with the predictable Big Secret now revealed. It all ends with a pointed reference to Charlotte's Web ("She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and good writer. Charlotte {read: Libba} was both.") along with some scattered references other, so much better, fiction than this one.
Mercy on me for reading this tripe.
Written by a woman, about five women, and definitely only meant to be read by women, NOW YOU KNOW is one of those modern novels that I quite literally cringe away from - one step above chick lit. But at least chick lit makes no pretensions of being anything but what it is - light headed; usually light hearted, escapist fun. NOW YOU KNOW, on the other hand, is one of those tiresome pieces of Women's Literature that try to be revelatory about womens' lives, but to me, always end up sounding false, pompous and overblown. This is a slice-of-life novel gone stale because it never was really alive or fresh in the first place.
Libba the free-spirit eventual author, and Frances the traditionally-bound mother figure, form a friendship at their college, circa 1947, a friendship which continues through the whole of their lives. If the name Libba wasn't a pointed enough hint, she never changes a wit throughout the story, except to become more and more annoying, intrusive (using Frances and her daughters as copy for her novels), and free-spiritedly ridiculous - I felt sorry for Frances's daughters, who have to put up with this bull-flopper all their lives, even after their mother's death. The daughters are also as stereotypical as their mother-figures: Alice the oldest, repeating her mother's organization and traditionalism with her kids, and secretly feeling the pull of a more 'liberated' life, especially as her children grow older; Allegra, the alcoholic who's shambled through marriage & motherhood, who's trying to sober up; Edie, the youngest who's still helpless like a baby, can't make a decision because she's been coddled all her life... Oh, the pitifulness of it all. The lack of humor and joy in these women's lives is appalling and unreal.
Male characters exist over time in NOW YOU KNOW, but they don't offer any consolation to these women. They are there to be slept with, or not; to father children, or not. Sometimes they provide a necessary shoulder of support, usually during a crisis, but that rarely. All that matters to these women is their relationship with each other, forever and ever. Men contribute nothing emotionally; only women can relate to women in the world of NOW YOU KNOW. The women's lives are on stagnant hold after Frances dies - only Libba can set them all free for the next stage, once they're gathered around her, with the predictable Big Secret now revealed. It all ends with a pointed reference to Charlotte's Web ("She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and good writer. Charlotte {read: Libba} was both.") along with some scattered references other, so much better, fiction than this one.
Mercy on me for reading this tripe.
