If this is a return visit, please reload to see latest additions. This particular review is something a little different, for we here at Raven Queen's Domain. We have caught an interview with this author, and peered into some of her non-fiction works, in the past, so decided now to give her fiction a try. Read on, dear patron; we hope you enjoy this offering. by Anna Quindlen Blessings tells the tale of an old woman, a baby, and an ordinary working class man, a farm, a house. The Blessings farm gives Lydia Blessing a home base, one where she has lived most of her adult life, after a turbulent youth that left her married, a mother, and widowed in a short span of time. At eighty, she now looks back on her life and wonders, on what did she miss out? What was her brother Sunny trying to tell her? What was it that so irked her mother? Why does she love Blessings so much? Skip Cuddy also finds a home here at Blessings, and he too wonders about his life. Why did he ever let his mischievious friends, Chris and Joe, get him into so much trouble? Why did he cover for them, and spend time in jail for them? Into the middle of this comes a mysterious couple, only stopping by for a late-night visit, and leaving behind a tiny, newborn baby girl. Skip is instantly swept off his feet, by the baby, takes her in, raises her as his own, fearful of anyone finding out the truth and stealing her away. When Lydia finds the child, suddenly we realize she understands Skip's fear, and sympathizes with him, as she reluctantly begins to assist Skip, her tough and disagreeable veneer slowly melting away in the wake of the tiny baby's charms. Still, Lydia ponders on the mysteries of her life. What would have happened had she not married Benny? What would her daughter Meredith say if she knew the secret of her birth? If she knew the secret of the adorable little baby being cared for, in the garage apartment, by the quiet and ever-nervous handyman? And what about Sunny? Meanwhile, Skip dreams of birthday parties, first bikes, first dates, proms, and weddings, and wonders if he could really make a life for "his" daughter here, worries that it, and she, might suddenly disappear. And what would he ever do, if that were the case? The answers to all these questions are laid out in orderly fashion, and perfect prose--in several spots reading like the literature of the 1930s and 40s. Except for a choppy start, I did enjoy this story, and found myself reminded of the works of Carson McCullers, though I don't know if Anna Quindlen had this in mind as she worked on Blessings. Blessings is a nice little story, and a quick read; an enjoyable novel, all told. If you are looking for something a little on the light side, a little bittersweet, but also, a little mysterious and dark, give Blessings a try. You might be pleasantly surprised. ~Webmistress Links Back to Reviews Index
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