Sweet Vidalia
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- 5,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
For readers of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler, a life-affirming novel about marriage, friendship and the powerful dignity of a woman forced to rebuild her life - unexpectedly and alone - in 1960s Texas.
She made herself see Robert with the kids, telling stories of crafty, talking rabbits and determined turtles, his face bright with meanings, with silliness. Made herself see the two of them laughing together in bed, they had done that. That was true. Through the years, they'd had happiness and closeness. They had.
As Eliza sits at her husband's funeral, still stunned by the suddenness of his death, she discovers a lie that turns her life upside down. Almost overwhelmed by the dawning understanding that she has known nothing true about her life, Eliza can't see a way forward at first. How should she come to terms with all that has been a lie? How can she live with herself?
But Eliza has a core of resourceful steel that does not let her down and an innate emotional generosity that she clings to, faced with an almost overwhelming sense of bitterness. Signing up to business classes so she can make a living, she moves into a hotel, The Sweet Vidalia, filled with people facing their own challenges.
As she gathers new friends and new possibilities open up before her, Eliza finds it isn't so simple to leave the past behind....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An East Texas widow discovers her late husband was leading a double life in the appealing latest from Sandlin (Family Business). It's 1964 and Eliza Kratke, 57, is doubly crushed, first by the sudden death of her husband of 30 years, Robert, from what appears to be a heart attack, and then after the funeral home's secretary tells her another Mrs. Kratke has been making a fuss, claiming she was married to Robert. To make matters worse, Eliza discovers her finances are in shambles; Robert left her nothing but debt. Devastated, she retreats to her bed and stays there for weeks. When a collection agency tries to repossess the car, she manages to hold them off and sell it. She tries to sell the house, too, but finds a lien has been placed against it by the other Mrs. Kratke, so she rents it out for the time being, moves into a cheap hotel, and enrolls in a business course. The classroom is chock-full of colorful characters, including an artist who makes counterfeit money and a gay man who offers to help Eliza land a secretary job. Though the detours into these characters' stories makes the novel feel a bit scattered, Sandlin manages to evoke Eliza's can-do spirit as she perseveres through one challenge after another. This will move readers.
