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Southern Women
Modern Southern women confront the issues of love, sex, and career and try to balance them against the Southern society image of ladies and family. By the author of Storyville. Reissue.
405 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 12, 2017
I liked this book, but it's very evident that it was written in the 80's (I believe it was published in 1984.) Like a lot of people mentioned, I liked Nonnie better than the others. Lucille just made me want to slap her because of her self-absorbed ways. Cordy I liked but I wanted to shake her a few times, too and tell her to get a backbone and decide for herself what she wanted. In the end, she did.
I do get tired of the stereotypes of Southerners. If someone called me Magnolia or Georgia more than once I would tartly inform them I had a name.
If you like family sagas and Southern literature you will like this book. However, this is not one of Lois Battle's best book. The Florabama Sewing Circle was much better.
I do get tired of the stereotypes of Southerners. If someone called me Magnolia or Georgia more than once I would tartly inform them I had a name.
If you like family sagas and Southern literature you will like this book. However, this is not one of Lois Battle's best book. The Florabama Sewing Circle was much better.
February 27, 2012
I picked this book up at the same time I picked up Tribute by Nora Roberts at a local thrift store. I was feeling a need to connect to my southern roots.
The book follows the story of 3 Southern women: Nonnie (matriarch of the family), her daughter Lucille, and her daughter Cordy. It is set in Savannah, GA in the 1980s. This is a little behind my time (I squeezed in the last 6 months of the decade only) so I definitely think some things have changed, but the basic picture is still the same.
Nonnie is a force of life...she's that traditional, classic Southern Matriarch who has money, class, and a set way of doing things. She embodies all that a true Southern Belle is supposed to be. Of course, like all good characters she wasn't born to it naturally. She was from a low/middle class and ended up marrying someone (Lonnie) who was a few social classes higher. She learned quickly what was and was not allowed from her pretentious MIL and never forgot it...but was much more understanding.
Lucille was a spoiled brat, even in her 50s or however old she was during this time. She was used to being beautiful, and had that airhead quality of thinking that looks should be preserved while money should be spent. Thankfully she had a husband who could afford her, the lovable Jake (he seems like a man with the easygoing personality of a golden retriever or lab). A husband who loves her, good looks, and lots of money aren't good enough for her though. She still feels old and resents that, so she has an affair with a guy who is just a complete douche. It comes back to bit her in the ass though, don't worry.
Cordy is our last and probably most important character. She is the offspring of these women, and has her own little girl. Her marriage is falling apart because her husband cheated on her (made a habit of it, actually) so she moves back from Chicago and stays with her Nonnie. She's always gotten along better with Nonnie than Lucille (really, who wouldn't?) and Lucille resents this (she's a very resentful person, if you can't tell). While I like her, she's kind of a whore. Okay, I guess that's not really fair for me to say since I'm uber conservative. But she has her husband, who it takes her forever to officially dump. Then she sleeps with this asshole cop who, I'm sorry, is so obviously out just to get lucky that I can't believe she fell for his lines. Then there is this other (married) man she fools around with (but doesn't actually have sex with, since he can't get it up. But I'm sure she would have if he could have). And then there is this teenage boy (she's mid-late 20s I think, maybe 30) that she has this incredibly romantic weekend with that he thinks means she loves him and will go back to his country and marry him (he's a prince or something crazy like that). Those three are just over the summer while she visits in New York...that's a little fast IMO. The first one I can see as a rebound from her husband, but eventually you have to stop rebounding and start actually having relationships again (this is obviously MY opinion...since it's MY blog, yes I know some people don't agree but oh well). She is a good mother though, and a good granddaughter. She just sucks at relationships...which is pretty common I guess. She finally gives her husband the true heave-ho and finds this guy who's been in love with her since high school, so I'm pretty sure in the "happily ever after" part of the story that isn't written they end up together.
The part that I found most interesting, because I'm a dork, is the attention to stereotypes about the South and those who hail from there, especially when Cordy spends the summer in New York. As someone born & raised in NC, I've encountered tons of stereotypes where people automatically assume I'm one way based on my accent when in reality my personality is completely different (I know, that's kind of the point of a stereotype). So any time I see this often ignored type of stereotyping brought up and exemplified I feel happy and completely agree.
The book follows the story of 3 Southern women: Nonnie (matriarch of the family), her daughter Lucille, and her daughter Cordy. It is set in Savannah, GA in the 1980s. This is a little behind my time (I squeezed in the last 6 months of the decade only) so I definitely think some things have changed, but the basic picture is still the same.
Nonnie is a force of life...she's that traditional, classic Southern Matriarch who has money, class, and a set way of doing things. She embodies all that a true Southern Belle is supposed to be. Of course, like all good characters she wasn't born to it naturally. She was from a low/middle class and ended up marrying someone (Lonnie) who was a few social classes higher. She learned quickly what was and was not allowed from her pretentious MIL and never forgot it...but was much more understanding.
Lucille was a spoiled brat, even in her 50s or however old she was during this time. She was used to being beautiful, and had that airhead quality of thinking that looks should be preserved while money should be spent. Thankfully she had a husband who could afford her, the lovable Jake (he seems like a man with the easygoing personality of a golden retriever or lab). A husband who loves her, good looks, and lots of money aren't good enough for her though. She still feels old and resents that, so she has an affair with a guy who is just a complete douche. It comes back to bit her in the ass though, don't worry.
Cordy is our last and probably most important character. She is the offspring of these women, and has her own little girl. Her marriage is falling apart because her husband cheated on her (made a habit of it, actually) so she moves back from Chicago and stays with her Nonnie. She's always gotten along better with Nonnie than Lucille (really, who wouldn't?) and Lucille resents this (she's a very resentful person, if you can't tell). While I like her, she's kind of a whore. Okay, I guess that's not really fair for me to say since I'm uber conservative. But she has her husband, who it takes her forever to officially dump. Then she sleeps with this asshole cop who, I'm sorry, is so obviously out just to get lucky that I can't believe she fell for his lines. Then there is this other (married) man she fools around with (but doesn't actually have sex with, since he can't get it up. But I'm sure she would have if he could have). And then there is this teenage boy (she's mid-late 20s I think, maybe 30) that she has this incredibly romantic weekend with that he thinks means she loves him and will go back to his country and marry him (he's a prince or something crazy like that). Those three are just over the summer while she visits in New York...that's a little fast IMO. The first one I can see as a rebound from her husband, but eventually you have to stop rebounding and start actually having relationships again (this is obviously MY opinion...since it's MY blog, yes I know some people don't agree but oh well). She is a good mother though, and a good granddaughter. She just sucks at relationships...which is pretty common I guess. She finally gives her husband the true heave-ho and finds this guy who's been in love with her since high school, so I'm pretty sure in the "happily ever after" part of the story that isn't written they end up together.
The part that I found most interesting, because I'm a dork, is the attention to stereotypes about the South and those who hail from there, especially when Cordy spends the summer in New York. As someone born & raised in NC, I've encountered tons of stereotypes where people automatically assume I'm one way based on my accent when in reality my personality is completely different (I know, that's kind of the point of a stereotype). So any time I see this often ignored type of stereotyping brought up and exemplified I feel happy and completely agree.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2009
Please see my detailed review at Amazon Graceann's "Southern Women" Review"
I wish that Nonnie had been the main character in this story - I found her much more interesting than any of the others. The tidbits that we were treated to were just tantalizing enough to keep me reading in the hopes that I would learn more. It was fun to read about Savannah in the 1980s, and I always enjoy Lois Battle's writing style. The "chick-lit" designation is really a misnomer - Southern Women just doesn't fit on any of my other goodreads shelves. It's really a generational saga, and most of the characters are women.
I wish that Nonnie had been the main character in this story - I found her much more interesting than any of the others. The tidbits that we were treated to were just tantalizing enough to keep me reading in the hopes that I would learn more. It was fun to read about Savannah in the 1980s, and I always enjoy Lois Battle's writing style. The "chick-lit" designation is really a misnomer - Southern Women just doesn't fit on any of my other goodreads shelves. It's really a generational saga, and most of the characters are women.
September 1, 2011
Good read about three women.
November 14, 2017
My copy is the 769 page hardback large print.
April 9, 2015
S.O.S. Women seeking love while dealing with elder women relatives ...eh.
September 16, 2015
Eh. I finished it.
February 16, 2016
So slowwwwwww. Could not get interested in characters or plot. Battle has written some great stories about women- but this is not one of them.
February 29, 2020
My library has a Free book bin. I picked up Southern Women, it had no mildewy odor a first edition copyright 1994. Enjoyed it very much and passed it along.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews