I loved this book better than Peachtree Road up to 98%. The story theme was about false appearances, people acting on the surface in civilized and splendid fakery, like the elegant dancing of 18th century Baroque minuets. The setting is four middle-aged sorority girls and a reunion at a grand house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We have Kate Stuart Lee, neither a Lee of Virginia nor offspring of General Stuart. Her boyfriend Paul Sibley, a prostitute's son whose mother took the last name of a construction company her brother worked for, who dumped her to marry the rich Ginger Fowler. Then there's Cece Hart, a girl we never really got to know, and the dumpling Fig Newton who was made fun of and grudgingly accepted.The story jumps between flashback and the present day, when a sick Kate Lee gets an invitation from Ginger Fowler Sibley for a reunion. Kate's husband, Alan, for some inexplicable reason urges her to go. This felt like a set up to me. Why would he want Kate visiting the very house she was supposed to marry Paul in, especially after Kate calls Paul's name in their last lovemaking session? Incomprehensible.Okay, so suspend disbelief of Alan, the hapless husband. Now the four aged cronies are gathered together and all they do is drink and reminiscence, while the enigmatic Fig watches and waits with catlike anticipation. The similarities to C. S. Lakin's Innocent Little Crimes begin to arise as the memories become more pointed, jabbing and setting off one friend against the other. The climax comes when Paul, who was supposed to be staying elsewhere, arrives at the eve of the storm. Literally the gloves come off and once again, four women fight their feelings at his presence.It turns out that underneath all the veneer of friendship and affection lay great ugliness. This book really does make you think. While you're feigning affection to me, can you tell that I'm pretending to like you? At the end, the one true friend is the one who would risk your displeasure and her own life to drag you out of the pretend world you mired yourself in.[4.5 stars] Up to 98% this book was 5 stars. But my biggest question is unanswered. Who shot ***? If anyone knows, please comment or tell me. It seems to me the author dug herself into a hole and came up with a convenient/cliched solution that does not keep with the character she created. I would have thought this character would want to stick around and enjoy the mayhem she worked so hard to cause. This little twist ruined the entire story for me. And honestly there are better ways to work the plot to achieve the same result. Instead, it feels like the story ran out of steam and she just wanted to end it. And sadly, the coverup and lies continues.
Virginians obsesses about the Outer Banks all summer long - telling stories about it, packing for trips, posting pictures. I saw this book on the sale rack last summer and grabbed it. I've never been to the Outer Banks but am itching to. The book is the story of enigmatic Kate Lee Abrams and her relationship with her 3 college suitemates. Their bond was intense and their eventual betrayal was paralyzing. Kate tells the tale by weaving intricate stories of her college years and giving us a snapshot into her present life as a 42 year old woman - happily married, forever scarred by the tragic death of her 5 year old son, and battling ovarian cancer.What the author did well -•Kate is a well developed, interesting character. Unique. Complicated. Both as a college student and as a adult. There are many layers starting with her father's penchant for fabricating a glamourous lifestyle then his suicide.•The supporting characters (Ginger, Fig, Cecie, and Paul) are also spot on. These are not your run of the mill, prefabricated college characters. •The majority of the novel's action occurred during their college years in the 60's in Alabama. I was taken in by the girls' relationships and the ways their friendships ebbed and flowed.•Kate's life is transformed her junior year by her love affair with an alluring, older student, Paul Sibley. I enjoyed the portrayal of the intoxicating and reckless passion of the love at that age. Weaknesses•I wasn't sure what kind of book this was. Chick lit. Romance. It started off strong with an interesting psychological profile of a frustrated college gal. Then it ended overly dramatic and all Danielle Steele-y.•The author tripped over her language sometimes. She'd be rolling along then get tangled in a few sentences or vocabulary that didn't feel congruent with her overall style and tone.•The ending was off for me - interesting but different than I expected based on the rest of the book.
What do You think about Outer Banks (2004)?
Anne Rivers Siddons has a gift for story-telling. Her use of language is unsurpassed in this era in which just about anyone can write a novel and get it published. Her stories have the ring of truth. You believe they could have actually taken place.Outer Banks was the first is Siddons novel I ever read. Actually, I listened to it probably 20 years ago and I never forgot it. Years later, I took it out from the library and read it again. Recently, I bought a first edition at a local library book sale and I just re-read it for the second time. Even if you know the story, even if you know the characters, even if you know how it ends, this book will grab you and hold you. You will have to force yourself to put it down. I read its 300+ pages in less than 24 hours although it was my third go-round.This novel tells the tale of four women - Kate (the narrator), Cece (Kate's best friend), Fig (the difficult and odd character) and Ginger (the girl everyone loves). They come together as sorority sisters in a southern college. They are friends, close friends, although Fig is an outcast, ugly, annoying, irritating. She constantly writes in a diary in front of others. Everyone, including Kate and Cece laugh at her behind her back. at least they think it is behind her back. Kate is the first to find a serious boyfriend and the first to graduate. Because of something one of them has done, they do not see each other again for 28 years until Ginger invites them to her home on the Outer Banks where everything comes to a head. And the twist is something you will never see coming and will not soon forget.If you have not an Anne Rivers Siddons novel, you are missing something very special.
—Virginia
Well, I sure didn't see all of that coming. Though I feel that I should have seen that Fig was crazy. Hell, Cecie even said so but I didn't believe it. I actually thought that it might have been her that was crazy. This is the second Anne Rivers Siddons books that I have read and I have to say there is obviously something about the books that keeps me interested even though each time I have started a book I tell Derek that I don't think I am going to like it.
—Amanda
This started out so promising. A beautiful absorbing story about relationships. I fell in love with Mrs Siddons writing, her descriptions the beach and the skies of the Outer Banks. It was like I smell the ocean and feel the breeze. I found it unputdownable. I was caught between wanting it to never end, and wanting to finish it so i could tell all my friends and give it a five star rating. And then I read the ending.My reaction to the last 40 pages of this book. (view spoiler)[It was just... str
—Joshua
