Andy and I finally finished it. Actually, we finished it about a week ago as it was due back at the library on the 6th, I just haven't taken the time to write about it. Judge me as you will. However, give me some credit as I have spend the last two days taking care of a rather sick baby. But I digress...
The Optimist's Daughter, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1973, was an easy read ... if you are a Southerner and if you read like you talk. I had no problems, and while Andy grew up in a town as far south as you could get without being in Florida, he had difficulty making it through the first chapter. For that reason, I read to him; I am about as Southern as they come. But let me clarify: Southern Country, not Southern Belle.
The book is set in Mississippi, the home state of Ms. Eudora Welty, and is about Laurel, who comes back home to Mississippi from Chicago when her father gets sick. He ultimately dies, and Laurel is left to suffer his ridiculously self-centered wife, Fay (Laurel's stepmother). There was a great deal of gossip and old ladies talking. And while Andy didn't like it, it felt a little like home to me. Welty didn't wax romantic; she simply wrote about what she knew, and like Laurel, she knew a little bit more about the world beyond the state line. However, it is often said to write well, you must write what you know. Welty did this and did it well.
While I didn't care much for the story line (and truthfully it was a very simplistic one comparatively), I felt a connection to the characters and the writing itself. The women may have been nosey old gossips, but they made no apologies and Welty didn't criticize.
I would much prefer to reread A Worn Path, but The Optimist's Daughter was worth the read.
In my procrastination of writing about The Optimist's Daughter, I finished another book on the list of Pulitzers: The Color Purple, Alice Walker1983. However, I will wait to discuss that one. Currently, I am reading The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, 1994 winner. This one may take a while. However, in my absence, I will attempt to get Andy to share his thoughts Welty's The Optimist's Daughter.
Until then... Happy reading.
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