I Loved You All

by Paula Sharp

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year -- now available in paperback. When Marguerite Daigle, a "seventh generation lapsed Louisiana Catholic," develops a drinking problem, her eight-year-old daughter Penny runs wild, and her teenage daughter Mahalia flees into the arms of a fanatical right-to-lifer, Isabel Flood, who provides the structure Mahalia has been craving. With a tension that builds from the first page, I Loved You All is a lyrical, funny and moving portrait of family life and of the peculiarly American politics of abortion rights.

Genres: Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Paula Sharp is an American author whose fictional works focus on the American family and explore themes of social injustice.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[SadieReadsAgain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book a long time ago, and like many others it has sat on my shelves since then - not a reflection of the book, I just get distracted by new and shiny things and my reading hasn't always been as voracious as it now is. When I bought this I was keen to read books with abortion in the plot, as I was fairly new to the debate and keen to have my two passions of reading and reproductive freedom come together. I am still very much of that mind, and I wish I'd read this back then instead of letting it languish on my bookcase.

The characters in this novel are what really sold it to me. Penny, the narrator who recalls the happenings of the summer when she was 8, is perfect. She is wild but observant, and tells the story as she saw it, but with touches of hindsight from her older perspective. Her innocence adds a level of compassion, particularly to the fanatical anti-choice Isobel, that my reading and personal opinion benefitted from. To begin with, I was wanting a more abhorrent character than Isobel, as I wanted someone I could be angry at. I also wanted a more dramatic storyline. I'm glad now that I didn't get that. The mixed feelings towards Isobel that the rest of the well-rounded cast hold mirrored my own and made this book a really rich experience. And the smaller scale of the anti-choice actions meant that this story didn't depend on sensationalism or exploitation to make its point.

Given the subjects of parental alcoholism, religious fanaticism and abortion, this novel is actually quite gentle in many ways. It strives for balance whilst making a powerful statement about self-righteousness and the danger of patriarchal involvement in the reproductive choice debate.

[Sarah Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all of Paula Sharp’s novels this is a novel about family. Sharp is a fine writer. The book begins in the middle of a mother’s crisis of alcoholism, told from the view of of a precocious, and exceedingly hard to handle, eight year old, who spends most of her time in the office of a wise parochial headmistress who resists putting her on Ritalin.
The mother’s brother arrives and with her boyfriend conspires to get her into treatment and then hike part of the Appalachian trail. They leave the child and her elder sister in the care of an odd self-created woman who grew up in a harsh orphanage and is rigidly kind and consistent. She also campaigns against abortion. Her consistency is very attractive to the older girl.
Narratives of healed chaos and splintered rigidity play out against each other, told, again, from the point of view of a fairly little girl, although with occasional insight from an adult commentator.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one of those books that made me wonder why I was reading it, for the entire time I read it. And it took a long time to read, 370 pgs of fairly small type.
I guess it was an interesting story, but it was not exciting. The only real standout for me was Sister Geraldine, who I found quite enjoyable.

[Mary Weigly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well-written and interesting enough, but the characters were so irritating I couldn't enjoy reading this.

[Shana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eight year old Penny is left behind in her rural hometown as her mother is sent to treatment for alcohol abuse. While it seems like her family is falling apart, Penny observes with her keen eye as her sister grows closer and closer with their babysitter, an anti-choice fanatic named Isabel Flood. Penny may be rebellious and a handful, but her understanding of the failing and developing relationships around her demonstrates some maturity even if the politics of it all evades her.

[Sally Kenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Crows Over a Wheatfield and her antiabortion stuff is a little contrived, but I adored the narrator. She reminded me of the protagonist of Mary Karr's the Liar's Club. Completely original and loveable. And I do love Paula Sharp.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

bleeeeeeeeeeehhh
I kept with it because I was curious how it would go. The writing was pretty OK and that is why I rated it 2 stars. The characters just irritated me. I really wish I had not read this novel.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I'm glad I stuck with it. The first half felt tedious and a bit stereotypical to me. But the second half brought the characters and story to life for me.

[Kookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and engaging, if somewhat over long.