Author: Dorothea
Benton Frank
Title: The Hurricane Sisters
Genre: Women’s Lives
and Relationships
Setting: Charleston,
South Carolina
Publication Date:
2014
Number of Pages: 318
Synopsis:
The Hurricane Sisters is
the story of the Waters family:
mother--Liz, a fundraiser and administrator for a domestic violence
shelter; father--Clayton, a successful self-made banker who spends his weekdays
in New York City; Liz’s mother Maisie, a
dynamic 80-year-old who is having a relationship with her 65-year old
driver; Ashley—their daughter who is a
young painter working at an art gallery;
Ivy—their son who owns a successful retail clothing store in San
Francisco; and friends, lovers and others.
The novel takes place in Charleston, South Carolina and Frank’s
descriptions of the setting are very charming and picturesque.
The story opens on the evening of Maisie’s eightieth
birthday and many of the family squabbles come to light at her birthday
dinner. All of the family is there in
addition to Ivy’s partner, a successful businessman from Hong Kong. During the dinner, there is obvious tension
between family members. Maisie
repeatedly mentions Liz’s sister, Juliet, who died years previously. Liz feels her mother wishes that Juliet was
still alive instead of Liz. Liz and
Clayton freely discuss the fact that Ashley can’t afford to live on her own on
her salary without their help and Liz is scandalized by Ashley’s attire. When Ivy’s partner leaves the table, Liz
interrogates Ivy about the relationship. And finally, Maisie announces,
Skipper, her driver is moving in with her.
The conflicts and issues that come to light during Maisie’s
birthday dinner continue throughout the novel.
The story progresses one chapter at a time, each told through a
different family member’s viewpoint. One
of the main recurring themes throughout the novel is domestic violence and it
is encountered in different ways by different characters. Ashley gets involved
with a handsome state senator who becomes abusive and when her roommate Mary
Beth comes to talk to Liz about it at the domestic abuse agency where Liz
works, Mary Beth also reveals that her father was abusive. There are many side-plots but in the end,
everything is resolved perfectly. The
Hurricane Sisters is a hilarious exploration of one South Carolina family
and the issues that divide them and eventually bring them back together.
Genre Elements:
·
Mostly Female Protagonists and Female Author.
·
Story line involves domestic violence, an issue
that affects many women.
·
Contemporary setting.
Read-alikes:
The Girls of August by
Anne Rivers Siddons
The Summer Girls
by Mary Alice Monroe
The Three Mrs. Parkers
by Joan A. Medlicott
A nicely descriptive annotation. This seems like a book that really benefits from its narration being told by multiple points of view. I get the impression that there are multiple strong characters.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thorough annotation with an impressive summary. I really enjoyed reading little blurbs about the characters--the 80 year old sounds like a hoot! This book sounds like it has a very involved plot with some great twist and turns.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thorough annotation with an impressive summary. I really enjoyed reading little blurbs about the characters--the 80 year old sounds like a hoot! This book sounds like it has a very involved plot with some great twist and turns.
ReplyDelete