Now You Know: A Novel

by Susan Kelly

Their friendship is born an early September day in 1947, in a freshman dorm, when the brassily Yankee and free-spirited Libba Charles first meets her roommate, a near perfect flower of modest young Southern womanhood in the person of Frances Simpson; and for forty-six years it flourishes. It ends with a promise. On her deathbed Frances extracts it from her three daughters—the utterly capable homemaker Alice; the recalcitrant Allegra, a recovering alcoholic; and bohemian Edie, who shrinks in the face of any commitment: their promise to “look after Libba.” As if the formidable, tough-minded Libba Charles, author of ten books, a literary celebrity, needed looking after. Yet when they are summoned by Libba to Creek Cabin, their mother’s summer hideaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, they go. None of them is prepared, though, for what they will discover there—about their mother, about Libba, about themselves—in this poignant, adroit rendering of reunions and farewells.

Genres: Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

I've lived most of my life in North Carolina, and have set my books here, at both the mountains and the beaches. I have a BA in English from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson's Program for Writers. Warner Books published my first two novels (believe it: the first one, HOW CLOSE WE COME, won a contest and got picked up by the big boys) and Pegausus Books is my current publisher. I've had a checkered publishing past, including 5 agents, and a book that came out concurrent with 9/11... and vanished. My complete bio can be found on my website, http://www.susanskelly.com

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shows the twists and turns of a friendship that started in college and lasted a lifetime.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. A review on the cover of my copy of this novel says "Susan Kelly has a quiet dignity and honesty" and I agree wholeheartedly. The writing is complex yet still approachable. The characters are incredibly real; meaning they have many flaws that Kelly is honest about and doesn't try apologize away in an attempt to make them more likable. It's a little Ya-Ya-esque (or Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, what have you...)but the writing is so well-done, never indulging in cheese or over-sentimentality, that it's still okay.

[Katrina Stonoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating study of the relationships between five women: best friends Libba and Frances and Frances's three daughters, who have grown up jealous of Libba. On her deathbed, Frances makes the girls promise to take care of Libba, and they soon learn there are secrets their mother has kept their entire lives.

*Now You Know* isn't perfect: I found some of the emotions in the last half of the book unlikely, and Libba didn't ever feel real to me. But the descriptions of the Appalachian country were exquisite, and I loved the interaction between the sisters.

[Becky Morlok · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up with Susan Stafford Kelly and enjoy reading her work given she writes about locations we frequented and often her characters have names or descriptions of folks I know. AND I'm proud of Susan.....

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Southern Fiction about a friendship formed in college and lasting through the years. This was a page turner, I could hardly put it down.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You could see what was coming, but it was still a good read.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book. Interesting

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have ever read. The characters are complex and became very real as their stories unfolded.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! The enduring friendship between Frances and Libba is amazing! I loved it, envied it and so very much respected it. Worth the read!!

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

too long

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting dynamic between the characters...some I found unbelievable, but an overall good, quick read.

[Kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted this to be better and it had the characters to do that, but the writing had me lost and wondering where the story was going. I loved Libba and Frances's friendship and all the twists it had!

[Robin Malcomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick light read with interesting characters. A bit predictable, but with an edge.