Play Book Tag discussion

Quite a Year For Plums – Bailey White
3***

A charming look at the eccentric people who inhabit a small town in Georgia. The novel focuses on this eclectic group: Roger, a plant pathologist specializing in peanuts; Ethel, Roger’s ex-wife; Louise, Ethel’s mother; Eula; Louise’s sister, Ethel’s aunt; Hilma, a retired schoolteacher who taught Ethel; Meade, Hilma’s best friend; Gawain, an old forester; Lewis an ornithologist; Della, a wildlife artists visiting the area to paint local birds; Bruce, a vacationing typographer; Jim Wade, a collector of electric desk fans; and several others.

I’m glad White included a list of characters because I found myself referring to it several times. The story is short on plot and mostly provides various vignettes / scenes that help the reader learn something about these people. Relationships are forged, some are broken, some never quite take off. They like their corner of the world and don’t see a lot of positives about venturing farther afield. They are sometimes not too keen on others coming into their community either. There’s an interesting scene where Meade and Hilma take a welcoming gift to a new family that has moved into a new subdivision. They are appalled that the owner of this “mini-mansion” hasn’t a clue about the natural beauty that surrounds her, and would be happier if she moved to an Atlanta suburb.

I had a hard time getting into the book. That was my problem, I think, rather than the book’s. I usually enjoy these slower, meandering, character-driven works, but it just didn’t quite work for me at this time. It was okay. There was nothing really wrong with it. But I barely remember it just a day after finishing it.

LINK to my review