Well, I've debated with myself for months about how I want to format this blog, what book I want to start with, how to approach everything... Having carefully considered the whole topic, I'm lost. I have ideas, but none really work yet. So this first review is not any of the things I thought it would be. Perhaps I will come back later and reformat these early casual (chaotic) book reviews, just so things make sense.
My first menu offering, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out! by Charlene Baumbich, is contemporary fiction, and might be considered inspirational fiction, but here's the thing: no one is going to read this and think, "wow, how very cutting-edge! how deeply philosophical, how spiritually intense!" No, anyone who gobbles up this book is going to have warm fuzzy feelings and know they just consumed some EXCELLENT comfort food.
I picked this book up yesterday at a yard sale for 50 cents, and read it in one gulp. The main character, Dorothy Jean Wetstra, is 87 years old and still going (mostly) strong. She lives in a small town, Partonville, which the residents jokingly call Pardon-Me-Ville, and she is a character among characters. She drives a 1976 Lincoln Continental ("The Tank"). She sits on the Social Concerns Committee of the local United Methodist Church. She goes about her daily business, occasionally allowing her ongoing conversation with God ("The Big Guy") to be verbalized out loud, to the astonishment and amusement of her companions of the moment. Dorothy is a musician, a farmer, a widow, a mother and grandmother, an encourager and friend. She stands up to overbearing citizens of the town (including the mayor, an old frienemy) and takes the weak under her wing--but lately her heart has been giving her some trouble, and so has The Tank. In Slow Down..., Dorothy must deal with hicks and city slickers, while planning a large community event and making major changes in her own life, all of which she accomplishes with humor, grace, and aplomb. She certainly made me laugh and even brought a tear to my eye once or twice.
This is apparently the second book of a 6-book series, which I am going to buy, without question. (Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, Dearest Dorothy, Help, I've Lost Myself!, Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Ever Thought?!, Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything!, and Dearest Dorothy, If Not Now, When? are the others in the series.)
Who will like this book? Mothers, Grandmothers. Retirees and those who refuse to retire. Residents of small towns, city folk who wish they were residents of small towns, suburbanites who used to live in small towns, folks who used to visit their grandparents' farms growing up. Methodists, especially those who serve on committees or bring food to any and all church activities. Parents and family members of special-needs individuals (whether children or adults)--the portrayal of Earl, one of Dorothy's friends, is a wonderful look at the often-overlooked talents of those who are considered "slow" and how friendship and encouragement can help anyone to blossom. Boys who'd like to catch crawdads in the creek or just horse around and get wet (but they won't take it to school and read it in front of their friends--not edgy enough, too cute). Anyone who likes Jan Karon's Mitford and Father Tim books. Fans of the Aunt Dimity mystery series by Nancy Atherton. There's even a gentle hint of a teen romance, which means teen girls who aren't into graphic erotic scenes might enjoy it.
Anyone who reads it will certainly wish they had a friend like Dorothy.
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