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Perfect Little Worlds
Lucy can’t hold the secret any longer. Twenty-six years ago, her sister did the unthinkable. Portland, Oregon, 1989: Lucy Mustin, living somewhat happily, pumping out wedding cakes for starry-eyed heterosexuals while she, a lesbian, can’t legally marry, is called upon to travel to Santa Cruz to help her autistic sister, Alice, care for their Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother. She knew the call was coming sooner or later. She’d just hoped it would be later. Mother issues. The possibility that resolution might be lost to dementia is a heartbreak she doesn’t feel like feeling. Santa Cruz, California, one week a trip to the family bakery ups the ante tenfold when the Loma Prieta/World Series Earthquake, racking up a whopping 7.1 on the Richter scale, traps the sisters below ground. There, Alice reminds Lucy of a promise made to their mother many years ago, a promise she plans to keep.
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First published June 12, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 30, 2018
I have never read any of Henderson books before. I know she’s been around for a while and writes books that are a little different. I like different so I decided to give this book a chance. The book is very well written but it is also quite melancholy.
I guess you could call this a family drama. That is the closest I could come to putting this book in a category. The story is about 79 year old Lucy and the secret between her and her sister that she has kept for 26 years. While some of the book takes place in the present (for the book) most of the book is what happened 26 years before.
What made the book sad is that Lucy’s mother has Alzheimer’s. While Lucy was living her life in Portland, her autistic sister Alice was taking care of a mother that had been declining rapidly. When I was younger, I took care of my Grandmother with Alzheimer’s before she passed. I will say that a lot of this book hit close to home. Henderson clearly knows what she was writing about.
The whole book is not melancholy, there is some excitement too. Henderson wrote about a real earthquake, the Loma Prieta Earthquake that happened in 1989. Those scenes in the book were pretty intense and realistic.
This is the kind of book I would never re-read, but it did affect me and was very well written. I don’t think this book will appeal to everyone but if you are looking for a realistic family drama, you might want to try this. I do think I will give reading another Henderson book a shot.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
I guess you could call this a family drama. That is the closest I could come to putting this book in a category. The story is about 79 year old Lucy and the secret between her and her sister that she has kept for 26 years. While some of the book takes place in the present (for the book) most of the book is what happened 26 years before.
What made the book sad is that Lucy’s mother has Alzheimer’s. While Lucy was living her life in Portland, her autistic sister Alice was taking care of a mother that had been declining rapidly. When I was younger, I took care of my Grandmother with Alzheimer’s before she passed. I will say that a lot of this book hit close to home. Henderson clearly knows what she was writing about.
The whole book is not melancholy, there is some excitement too. Henderson wrote about a real earthquake, the Loma Prieta Earthquake that happened in 1989. Those scenes in the book were pretty intense and realistic.
This is the kind of book I would never re-read, but it did affect me and was very well written. I don’t think this book will appeal to everyone but if you are looking for a realistic family drama, you might want to try this. I do think I will give reading another Henderson book a shot.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
June 12, 2018
A literary gem. This is not a romance which saddens me because I fear a lot of people will pass on reading this beautifully written fictional memoir. They will miss out on the bittersweet humour mixed with sadness, missed opportunities and regrets. They will miss out on the genuine empathy you feel for this far from perfect family, a family that is trying to cope as best they can.
The story begins in 2015 with 79 year old Lucy recounting the events of her life following the death of her younger sister Alice. Her wife died four years previous and her mother died back in 1989, an event which haunts Lucy and one which she feels compelled to recount.
I was fascinated with the contrast between the three major players in this story. Lucy is the narrator and supposed sane one of the bunch. To escape her challenging relationship with her mother she has been living in Portland, baking wedding cakes and living a carefree if scattered life. When her mother's neighbour calls to inform Lucy that she should come home to Santa Cruz she is reluctant to go.
Her mother is suffering from dementia and is being cared for by her sister Alice, a woman who clearly lands somewhere on the aspergers side of the autistic spectrum. Alice is a fascinating character. Her inability to accept change and her need for consistency generates much of the humour in the story. Her life is black and white.Her lack of emotion contrasts with her mother’s kaleidoscope of emotions. Lucy is the sane one, the one with a life, a job and friends. She is also aces at avoiding responsibility, ignoring her mother and sister until she can no longer pretend that everything is fine in Santa Cruz. As if Lucy’s life wasn’t already in a state of flux, an earthquake hits changing the future for every member of the family.
The title of this novel refers to the perfect little worlds Alice creates in bottles as a hobby. These miniature scenes help her to cope, allowing her the control she needs to keep her sanity. How ironic this title is in a world which is far from perfect. I fell in love with these selfish, caring, vulnerable women trying to do the best they can under the circumstances.
Humour mixed with pathos is a powerful and memorable combination. The icebergs and eskimos conversation is one I will take away and hold close to my heart.
ARC received with thanks from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for an honest review.
https://latenightlesbianreads.wordpre...
The story begins in 2015 with 79 year old Lucy recounting the events of her life following the death of her younger sister Alice. Her wife died four years previous and her mother died back in 1989, an event which haunts Lucy and one which she feels compelled to recount.
I was fascinated with the contrast between the three major players in this story. Lucy is the narrator and supposed sane one of the bunch. To escape her challenging relationship with her mother she has been living in Portland, baking wedding cakes and living a carefree if scattered life. When her mother's neighbour calls to inform Lucy that she should come home to Santa Cruz she is reluctant to go.
Her mother is suffering from dementia and is being cared for by her sister Alice, a woman who clearly lands somewhere on the aspergers side of the autistic spectrum. Alice is a fascinating character. Her inability to accept change and her need for consistency generates much of the humour in the story. Her life is black and white.Her lack of emotion contrasts with her mother’s kaleidoscope of emotions. Lucy is the sane one, the one with a life, a job and friends. She is also aces at avoiding responsibility, ignoring her mother and sister until she can no longer pretend that everything is fine in Santa Cruz. As if Lucy’s life wasn’t already in a state of flux, an earthquake hits changing the future for every member of the family.
The title of this novel refers to the perfect little worlds Alice creates in bottles as a hobby. These miniature scenes help her to cope, allowing her the control she needs to keep her sanity. How ironic this title is in a world which is far from perfect. I fell in love with these selfish, caring, vulnerable women trying to do the best they can under the circumstances.
Humour mixed with pathos is a powerful and memorable combination. The icebergs and eskimos conversation is one I will take away and hold close to my heart.
ARC received with thanks from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for an honest review.
https://latenightlesbianreads.wordpre...
May 25, 2018
Seventy-nine-year-old Lucy Mustin needs to write her sister Alice’s obituary but also feels that it’s time to tell their secret, the one they’ve kept 26 years. She remembers the phone call she got from her mother’s neighbour to say that she hadn’t seen neither her sister nor her mother leave the house in weeks and now there’s furniture on the pavement. Lucy calls Alice who informs her that her mother’s Alzheimer’s has gotten worse. Finishing off what she was doing, Lucy makes the 11-hour drive from Portland to Santa Cruz to see for herself. Alice is autistic so while it is a challenge to get information out of her, what she finds on arrival is far worse than she expected.
While the novel starts out in 2015, most of the story is set in October 1989 before and after the Loma Prieta Earthquake but it also dips into other moments of their childhood and adulthood. Lucy describes how their mother, who was Jekyll and Hyde when it came to alcohol, would make Alice watch hours of TV so that she would learn to talk normally. She also talks of the good times with her parents giving insight into the complexity of the parent-child relationship which feeds into having to look after someone who wasn’t always a terribly good parent.
I loved the sisters’ interaction with each other and the constantly changing power dynamics – how they negotiated around diametrically opposed wants and needs, how sometimes it seems like Lucy has all the ease of living but that Alice has all the coping skills. Lucy and Alice are so well-characterised that I found it easy to like and empathise with them. Alice uses language and syntax which is a mash-up of 1950s movies, C3PO and Yoda which gives her an amazing emotional detachment. The same emotional detachment also has Alice coping with whatever is flung at her where Lucy is left floundering.
In spite of this being out of my comfort zone, I could not stop myself from turning the pages. It is not just about relationships and there is a lot of suspense around the earthquake and subsequent events. It is a wonderful read and I was thoroughly engaged, but it is not a romance. Four and half stars rounded up.
Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
While the novel starts out in 2015, most of the story is set in October 1989 before and after the Loma Prieta Earthquake but it also dips into other moments of their childhood and adulthood. Lucy describes how their mother, who was Jekyll and Hyde when it came to alcohol, would make Alice watch hours of TV so that she would learn to talk normally. She also talks of the good times with her parents giving insight into the complexity of the parent-child relationship which feeds into having to look after someone who wasn’t always a terribly good parent.
I loved the sisters’ interaction with each other and the constantly changing power dynamics – how they negotiated around diametrically opposed wants and needs, how sometimes it seems like Lucy has all the ease of living but that Alice has all the coping skills. Lucy and Alice are so well-characterised that I found it easy to like and empathise with them. Alice uses language and syntax which is a mash-up of 1950s movies, C3PO and Yoda which gives her an amazing emotional detachment. The same emotional detachment also has Alice coping with whatever is flung at her where Lucy is left floundering.
In spite of this being out of my comfort zone, I could not stop myself from turning the pages. It is not just about relationships and there is a lot of suspense around the earthquake and subsequent events. It is a wonderful read and I was thoroughly engaged, but it is not a romance. Four and half stars rounded up.
Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
May 20, 2018
*I received this book from Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for an honest review*
This is the fifth book I’ve read by this author (in addition, one of these five books I’ve read twice, so in a way this is like the sixth book I've read (though not really)). Every single one of these books are oddball books that defy classification. All but one of which I’ve rated highly (2 of the 5, or 3 of the six counting rereads are marked 5 stars on Goodreads, two are marked 4 stars, and 1 is marked 3 stars). All of the books involve some bit of traveling, though I can’t really use this as a link – none of them are really what I’d call travel fiction. Several of them, three of the five if you count a prelife story, involve dealing with life – death or prelife (this book here being one of the three dealing with death). But enough of this rambling.
What’s this specific odd ball book about, then? A woman of 79, living in Santa Cruz California, talks into a recording device. Telling a tale that’s mostly directed to events before, during, and slightly after a specific event that occurred in 1989. 26 years ago – when she was 53 (her actual age of 53 was never given, but her age of 79 was given, the fact that she tells the story in 2015 is given, and the fact that the story she tells is mostly focused on events in 1989 lead me to an age of 53).
What specific event occurred in 1989 that she relates? Why, that’d be the time she got a call from the neighbor of her mother and sister. The neighbor indicated that there might be an issue. After a bit of back and forth, Lucy, who – in 1989 when she got the call – was/is living in Portland Oregon at the time, must attempt to help her mother and sister living in Santa Cruz California. So she does – heading down for a visit. Only to find that her mother is in horrible shape – and doesn’t have a clue who Lucy is; her mind is mostly gone. Not completely, she spends her time bouncing from one time to another, but mostly watching television, and occasionally frantically getting ready for guests to arrive (not that any guests are going to be arriving). Alice, the sister, seems somewhat stressed but also mostly handling things. There’s a little back and forth about why Alice didn’t say what was going on, whereupon Lucy realizes that Alice did, in her way, say that things were deteriorating. Mentally, for the mother.
While attempting to figure out what to do about the situation, the sisters are trapped underground during and shortly after an earthquake hit – a 7.1 one that hit October 17 1989, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (which, for whatever reason, I see Google calls a 6.9 earthquake, but whatever, it’s 7.1 in the book).
And that’s basically what the book is about. A daughter finds out her mother has mentally deteriorated, and her autistic sister is coping as best she can. Bits and pieces of other parts of the characters’ lives get mentioned – like stuff that occurred in 2015, and stuff that occurred before 1989; and stuff that occurred between 1989 and 2015. In terms of romance – there . . . the beginning stages of a romance is shown, but the book ended before anything of the relationship’s development was shown (though, since the book is actually set in 2015, not in 1989 – as in a woman of 79, in 2015, is thinking/talking about, recording the story of her life events that occurred in 1989, then the ‘what happened next’ is known by the reader, ‘what happened next’ in terms of the very brief glimpse of romance, I mean).
This is a rather sad story. I’m sure there were happy moments in Lucy’s life, but she’s examining a sad portion of her life (albeit one tied up with, presumably, a happier time – i.e. her relationship with another woman), during a period of time when she’s basically alone in the world.
I’m not really sure what all I can say about the book. I’m sure I’ve both under and over revealed stuff as it is. The book is listed as ‘General Fiction’, not ‘mystery/romance/historical/etc.’ I can’t put anything in here that reveals my feelings on the mystery/romance/etc. angle. Historically? Well, it is set in 1989, and there were some neat bits that were shown there. 1989 is too close to today, though, to call the book ‘historical fiction’. So I’m back to ‘General Fiction’. Which doesn’t give me a hook to ramble about. There’s no mystery to solve, no crime to watch unfold, no humorous caper, no ghosts to mingle with, no . . . easy hook to pin words on. It’s a ‘reflecting on life by an old woman’ type of book.
I liked the book well enough. I’ve no clue if anyone else would or wouldn’t. One of the problems with odd ball books is that it is hard to recommend or not recommend a book that falls into this category.
Rating: 4.28
May 19 2018
This is the fifth book I’ve read by this author (in addition, one of these five books I’ve read twice, so in a way this is like the sixth book I've read (though not really)). Every single one of these books are oddball books that defy classification. All but one of which I’ve rated highly (2 of the 5, or 3 of the six counting rereads are marked 5 stars on Goodreads, two are marked 4 stars, and 1 is marked 3 stars). All of the books involve some bit of traveling, though I can’t really use this as a link – none of them are really what I’d call travel fiction. Several of them, three of the five if you count a prelife story, involve dealing with life – death or prelife (this book here being one of the three dealing with death). But enough of this rambling.
What’s this specific odd ball book about, then? A woman of 79, living in Santa Cruz California, talks into a recording device. Telling a tale that’s mostly directed to events before, during, and slightly after a specific event that occurred in 1989. 26 years ago – when she was 53 (her actual age of 53 was never given, but her age of 79 was given, the fact that she tells the story in 2015 is given, and the fact that the story she tells is mostly focused on events in 1989 lead me to an age of 53).
What specific event occurred in 1989 that she relates? Why, that’d be the time she got a call from the neighbor of her mother and sister. The neighbor indicated that there might be an issue. After a bit of back and forth, Lucy, who – in 1989 when she got the call – was/is living in Portland Oregon at the time, must attempt to help her mother and sister living in Santa Cruz California. So she does – heading down for a visit. Only to find that her mother is in horrible shape – and doesn’t have a clue who Lucy is; her mind is mostly gone. Not completely, she spends her time bouncing from one time to another, but mostly watching television, and occasionally frantically getting ready for guests to arrive (not that any guests are going to be arriving). Alice, the sister, seems somewhat stressed but also mostly handling things. There’s a little back and forth about why Alice didn’t say what was going on, whereupon Lucy realizes that Alice did, in her way, say that things were deteriorating. Mentally, for the mother.
While attempting to figure out what to do about the situation, the sisters are trapped underground during and shortly after an earthquake hit – a 7.1 one that hit October 17 1989, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (which, for whatever reason, I see Google calls a 6.9 earthquake, but whatever, it’s 7.1 in the book).
And that’s basically what the book is about. A daughter finds out her mother has mentally deteriorated, and her autistic sister is coping as best she can. Bits and pieces of other parts of the characters’ lives get mentioned – like stuff that occurred in 2015, and stuff that occurred before 1989; and stuff that occurred between 1989 and 2015. In terms of romance – there . . . the beginning stages of a romance is shown, but the book ended before anything of the relationship’s development was shown (though, since the book is actually set in 2015, not in 1989 – as in a woman of 79, in 2015, is thinking/talking about, recording the story of her life events that occurred in 1989, then the ‘what happened next’ is known by the reader, ‘what happened next’ in terms of the very brief glimpse of romance, I mean).
This is a rather sad story. I’m sure there were happy moments in Lucy’s life, but she’s examining a sad portion of her life (albeit one tied up with, presumably, a happier time – i.e. her relationship with another woman), during a period of time when she’s basically alone in the world.
I’m not really sure what all I can say about the book. I’m sure I’ve both under and over revealed stuff as it is. The book is listed as ‘General Fiction’, not ‘mystery/romance/historical/etc.’ I can’t put anything in here that reveals my feelings on the mystery/romance/etc. angle. Historically? Well, it is set in 1989, and there were some neat bits that were shown there. 1989 is too close to today, though, to call the book ‘historical fiction’. So I’m back to ‘General Fiction’. Which doesn’t give me a hook to ramble about. There’s no mystery to solve, no crime to watch unfold, no humorous caper, no ghosts to mingle with, no . . . easy hook to pin words on. It’s a ‘reflecting on life by an old woman’ type of book.
I liked the book well enough. I’ve no clue if anyone else would or wouldn’t. One of the problems with odd ball books is that it is hard to recommend or not recommend a book that falls into this category.
Rating: 4.28
May 19 2018
July 2, 2018
This is a masterpiece of a story, beautifully written, and with the perfect balance of humor and deep emotion. I'm not going to go into the details of the plot because some of the other reviews have done such a great job of summerizing the multi-leveled story. I do want to speak to the depth of character development Henderson pulls off for all three of the main characters, however, because managing this for all three characters while the story is written in first person from one character's point of view is an impressive achievement. Everything about this book stands out for me, and I was touched by the relationship between the two sisters, Lucy and Alice. It's a story I will read again, probably a few times, because I think there is so much it offers to the reader to feel and think about. The concept of the Eskimos and icebergs will stay with me forever.
I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy a deep and thought-provoking read and one that simultaneously offers the charm of great storytelling. I also want to reiterate what some of the other reviews have mentioned. This is not a romance, so it's better not to read it as one.
I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy a deep and thought-provoking read and one that simultaneously offers the charm of great storytelling. I also want to reiterate what some of the other reviews have mentioned. This is not a romance, so it's better not to read it as one.
November 2, 2023
Do not miss reading this book. This is one of those books, which is difficult to read on, yet holds readers captivated. I did not realise that I was holding on to a deep breath till the book ended. This is definitely a different spectrum of wlw novels. Author writes really well, tying up the plot and story flow nicely. I should dig into my pile of other books by Clifford Henderson.
June 20, 2018
This was a well written and created book but it was a little hard to read. The whole concept was amazing as were the characters. What made it hard was that it would jump through time and it wasn't exactly clear when that occured. The story covers three distinct times in the main characters life which is fine just often it would be one paragraph in one time then the next in another with no bridge. Perhaps, it was just me but this disrupted the flow of an otherwise very creative novel.
October 5, 2018
It’s really quite sad. Not sure there’s anything upbeat about it. Know that going it. But it’s really well written. You know right away what it’s about, what the final condition of the protagonist is. So the only thing to keep your interest is the writing. And it’s very good. I might not have gone with this structure, but Henderson does well by it. I had a bit of trouble going back and forth in time till I clued in that the present-day chapters have no headings.
It’s the characters who drive this and, in Alice, she’s got an amazing one. The POV is first person, by Lucy, Alice’s older sister. The story heads down an increasingly dark path but the characters keep you reading. I thought more might come of the letters.
The story speaks to the very universal theme of aging and how we want to leave this world. Just when you think you are OK with the choices they make, Lucy throws in a curve that makes you think again. No easy answers here, and each reader will make their own final judgment of the actions these characters take.
Reminds me of the British TV series Unforgotten about solving cold cases. Sometimes you have to weigh justice for the deceased with the impact on the lives of those left behind. When is it worth it?
It’s the characters who drive this and, in Alice, she’s got an amazing one. The POV is first person, by Lucy, Alice’s older sister. The story heads down an increasingly dark path but the characters keep you reading. I thought more might come of the letters.
The story speaks to the very universal theme of aging and how we want to leave this world. Just when you think you are OK with the choices they make, Lucy throws in a curve that makes you think again. No easy answers here, and each reader will make their own final judgment of the actions these characters take.
Reminds me of the British TV series Unforgotten about solving cold cases. Sometimes you have to weigh justice for the deceased with the impact on the lives of those left behind. When is it worth it?
July 26, 2018
Clifford Mae Henderson’s fifth novel, “Perfect Little Worlds”, is her most ambitious so far. It takes place mainly in Santa Cruz, California, Henderson’s home for the past 40 years or so. It is basically the story of two sisters, one of whom is partially autistic. The older sister, Lucy, works in a bakery in Oregon. The younger sister lives in Santa Cruz and cares for their increasingly disabled mother. A crisis brings Lucy home, reluctantly, to help out.
Interwoven are several threads spanning a few time periods. One, when the girls were young and at home, one as they work together to care for their mother, and the final one when they are elderly and at home.
A burst of peril and excitement occurs in the middle segment when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake rocks Santa Cruz, and the young women are trapped underground beneath the bakery where they had been working.
It’s a thought-provoking page-turner. I recommend it.
Interwoven are several threads spanning a few time periods. One, when the girls were young and at home, one as they work together to care for their mother, and the final one when they are elderly and at home.
A burst of peril and excitement occurs in the middle segment when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake rocks Santa Cruz, and the young women are trapped underground beneath the bakery where they had been working.
It’s a thought-provoking page-turner. I recommend it.
March 14, 2021
Wow, the hits just keep coming from CMHenderson
Clifford Mae writes another winner. The historical 80s shines through like nobodies business in this book. I remember things that I forgot years ago. This author brought it all back to me. The characters are strong. The plot it’s perfectly wound around the two sisters and the mom from hell. I loved it. The earthquake was really just the finale of a damn good story. Thanks
Clifford Mae writes another winner. The historical 80s shines through like nobodies business in this book. I remember things that I forgot years ago. This author brought it all back to me. The characters are strong. The plot it’s perfectly wound around the two sisters and the mom from hell. I loved it. The earthquake was really just the finale of a damn good story. Thanks
September 19, 2021
3 stars
This was a well written book but it was a little hard to read. not just the content and obvious angst that is attached to it, but there were 3 different time periods that the story would jump around and it felt slightly disorienting at times. I felt like the transitions could have been a bit better, though once you were in the time period you knew exactly which one you were in it never felt confusing as to where in the story you were, but it did give a bit of abrupt whip lash with how quick you could go to the next one. The whole concept was amazing as were the characters. As another review stated the transitioning between periods was "fine just often it would be one paragraph in one time then the next in another with no bridge", which I definitely agree with.
But overall I really did like this one and would read it again.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This was a well written book but it was a little hard to read. not just the content and obvious angst that is attached to it, but there were 3 different time periods that the story would jump around and it felt slightly disorienting at times. I felt like the transitions could have been a bit better, though once you were in the time period you knew exactly which one you were in it never felt confusing as to where in the story you were, but it did give a bit of abrupt whip lash with how quick you could go to the next one. The whole concept was amazing as were the characters. As another review stated the transitioning between periods was "fine just often it would be one paragraph in one time then the next in another with no bridge", which I definitely agree with.
But overall I really did like this one and would read it again.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
August 12, 2018
Excellent.
I really liked Perfect Little Worlds by Clifford Mae Henderson. Trust me, this book will make you take a good hard look at your life. Topics touched upon are taking care of an aging parent, an adult with special needs, and loneliness in an aging adult. Trust me, you will love.
I really liked Perfect Little Worlds by Clifford Mae Henderson. Trust me, this book will make you take a good hard look at your life. Topics touched upon are taking care of an aging parent, an adult with special needs, and loneliness in an aging adult. Trust me, you will love.
January 3, 2019
Awesome!!!
June 4, 2020
So much to this story! I enjoyed the evolution of the plot and also a version of the Santa Cruz earthquake.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews