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The Wonder Book of the Air (Vintage Contemporaries)
The Wonder Book of the Air - Vintage Contemporaries
Author: Cynthia Shearer
In electrifying prose and with a rare generosity of feeling, this dramatic and piercing debut novel tells the story of the fractured lives of three generations of one Southern family. "Magnificent . . . brims with characters who seem truer than life."--Kaye Gibbons.
ISBN-13: 9780679758365
ISBN-10: 0679758364
Publication Date: 5/6/1997
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 5

3.5 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
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This book is about three generations of a Southern family. At times the book seemed to me to be disjointed and I felt that the author often stereotyped men, women, the old and the young. Most of the men seemed to be controlling and self-centered whereas the women were searching for love but found themselves loathing who they were, viewing themselves as the weaker gender useful only for sex and making babies. There were exceptions. Field seemed to have more depth than others in the novel and I empathized with his yearning for a son. And, I particularly liked Adrienne as a 70-year-old individualist. It all began with Harrison Durrance who grew up in Depression-era Georgia in a dysfunctional family. Handsome and confident, he joins the Air Force but finds his love of women his downfall. His bitterness, inconsistent behavior and cruelty affects the entire family. It's a book that needs to be read slowly and thought about carefully.


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