"The best book
I've read since The Hours by Michael Cunningham"
(Pulitzer
Prize winner 2000)
"I
received
the galleys of this book from the author -- I'm right in the middle of
a remodeling project at my house so I really didn't have much time, but
I thought I'd just read a few pages before turning out the light. WRONG!
I wound up reading until 4:00AM and was back up at 8:00 to finish this
marvelous book.
The story centers around Allison and Cherie, the unfortunate offspring
of a marriage between Ruth and Warren, two very unhappy people. Allison
is mild, meek and feels inadequate. Her younger sister Cherie is wild from
the moment of birth and never looks back.
The dysfunctionality (if there is such a word) of this family is difficult
to watch, but the author's style pulls you into the story and you cannot
put the book down until there is some kind of resolution.
This is not light reading, but it is a book that will speak to you on many
levels, a book that can alter your perception of the world -- and to me,
that's what good fiction should do -- it should broaden your horizons and
urge you to think outside the box. I am serious when I say it is
the best one I've read since Cunningham's The Hours. This book is
worth your time!"
--
Terry Mathews, Midwest Book Review, BookBrowser.com
"Writing
from personal experience can be cathartic. Writing from the heart with
a depth of understanding, placed in dramatic context with the prowess of
a good storyteller, can also be good fiction. Daddy's Girls is a
tragic story of loss, frustration, blame and anguish; it's also a heartening
tale of love and its resurrection against all odds. Gold suggests possibilities
beyond the accepted norm, and lends a new dimension to an old story."
--Anne
DeGrace, Nelson (BC) Daily News
"Suzanne
Gold has a wonderful ability to write a fascinating story, one I won't
soon forget. I was captivated. Each word and thought is carefully written,
making it, in my opinion, a must read!"
--
BookReviewCafe.com
"Fascinating...
with layering of meaning... frightening, yet very funny... written so powerfully
that it forces the reader to see (the characters) with compassion... skillfully
written and cleverly constructed. You really must read this book to find
a new way of looking at a patriarchal society, at families, at women, at
death and life and hope and especially madness."
--Fran
Gillespie, MentalHelp.Net
What readers are saying...
"Daddy's
Girls is not only wonderfully written, it's a fascinating glimpse into
the inner worlds of three very different, very complex women. The approach
of having all three female characters speaking in the first person (including
the several voices inside Cherie's head) gives the story an intimate feel,
and it also mirrors the fragmented world of the schizophrenic. I love the
writing -- descriptions are just wonderful. Suzanne Gold's keen attention
to detail makes scenes pop off the page. I learned a lot from the book
and the story touched me deeply. A fascinating kaleidoscope."
--Christine
Falcone, via Barnes&Noble.com
"It
takes a lot of courage to write a book like this, where the hearts and
minds and feelings and egos of the characters are relentlessly exposed
and the reader is listening to their thoughts, not a narrative that's been
dry-cleaned for public approval. It is an uncomfortable, yet utterly
fascinating peek into their minds and souls. Told with insight, wit and
humor, the author, a trained therapist, writes with so much depth and
compassion that the reader is entertained, amused and disconcerted with
a story that is both heart-wrenching and funny, sometimes at the same time.
I hope Suzanne Gold will write a sequel, because after reading this book,
I want more."
--
Marsha Rice, via email
"This
is an amazing book about heavenly intervention, hellish circumstances,
and what can flower through the combination. A powerful, disturbing and
inspiring autobiographical novel by a remarkable writer that explores territory
most of us have never experienced. It made me sad, amused, shocked, hopeful--
the full gamut of emotion-- drew me in, opened my heart, and changed my
perspective about mental illness, family relationships and the meaning
of life. Not only is it an entertaining, compelling page-turner, but a
story that can really help people by revealing how to survive a dysfunctional
family, and how the spirit learns to adapt and grow through difficult situations.
What more can a reader ask?"
-- Katherine Q.
Revoir, via Amazon.com
"I
was
so impressed and touched by your presentation at the (SF) Bay Area Independent
Publishers Association meeting, I just had to buy your book, and when I
started reading, I could not put it down. The description is so vivid,
I feel like I have lived with those girls and women and their struggles
and feelings for hours of very tense and enriching reading. Thank you for
a very valuable book."
-- Bente Martinsen,
Bay Area Independent Publishers' Association
"A
uniquely
written novel, truly like nothing I have ever read. The style kept me riveted
for two days until I completed it. The novel shows real life family dysfunction,
familiar in some way to every family, addressing personal issues head on,
and I feel, brings hope to those in despair. Its message that every person
has a place in space and time helps you to realize your purpose in the
great scheme of life."
--Shawn Sylvia,
via email
"The
book is well written, entertaining, easy to read on the one hand and so
difficult to read on the other. It's truly an amazing story."
--
Kathy Lowrey, via email |
