Patty Jane's House of Curl (1995)

I read this after reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons and could see too much similarity between the plots, so I was kind of disappointed. However, if I had read this one first, I may have enjoyed it more. ( )

My second book written by Lorna Landvik. My first read was Angry housewives which i loved. She is a great author. What I like is the friendships between women in her books. ( )

Several book club members could not suspend disbelief re the scenarios depicted - they felt it was too contrived and not realistic. I disagree. The book is about living life - good, bad, mundane, joyous, heart-wrenching. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The characters have flaws (don't we all), but are still loved and cherished., And they, themselves, love, hope, and continue to live. This was the first Lorna Landvik book I read, and I've read all of them since. ( )

It’s always fun to read books that are set in places I am familiar with but this book, set in Minneapolis, was a real treat. I went to Minneapolis in June 2013 for a work conference but thanks to some great friends, I got to see many of the sights. So, I could picture the Minnehaha Falls and the statue of Hiawatha and Nokomis and the Foshay Tower as they came up in this book.
Patty Jane and her sister Harriet were the daughters of two alcoholics. But, as Patty Jane tells her daughter Nora “Just because my life began in the bargain basement doesn’t mean I can’t take the escalator to fine crystal”. In fact, Patty Jane’s life, as well as her sister’s, ride the escalator down to the basement a few times but always manage to find the up staircase.
Patty Jane was beautiful and Harriet was musically talented. Patty Jane married the extremely handsome Thor at the age of 21 and Nora was conceived right away. However, before Nora was born Thor disappeared causing Patty Jane to slide into depression. The only reason she ate was to keep her milk flowing for Nora. Thor’s mother, Ione, Harriet and Harriet’s fiancé, Avel, took care of the expenses and cooking and laundry and other details. Avel was the son of the founders of the Ames Grain Co. and was incredibly rich. He saw Harriet walking one day and immediately fell in love with her. Even the fact that he was short and Harriet was tall didn’t stop their love. Avel adored Harriet and paid for her to take music lessons in voice, harp and trumpet. Harriet would play the harp for Patty Jane while she nursed Nora.
The story of how Patty Jane, Harriet, Ione and Nora came to be living together and working in the House of Curl is a large part of the book and I don’t want to spoil it. The story is alternately mystifying, happy, sad and empowering. ( )

This one's a bit soap-opera-ish in plot, but it's written so well I forgive that. Landvik has a wonderful manner of creating home-y, lovable characters. ( )