from the Amarillo Globe-News
In this second novel, Karen Stolz returns us to a time of innocence - a time when children not only respected their parents but openly expressed their love for them, too. It was a time when family meant everything.
Following identical twins Fanny and Sue Logan during their growing up years in Stolz’s hometown of St. Louis, we soon find that though the girls look alike, their personalities are opposites. From birth to death, the sisters’ strong connection may strain, but never break.
The saga from birth in 1920 to death in 2003 becomes an adventurous ride the reader will be delighted to undertake. Choice phrasing and just-the-right amount of historical reference suggest the author might have time-traveled to understand her scene so well.
In alternating chapters, the girls take turns in sharing their points of view. Soon, the reader can almost distinguish them by their choice of words; but as with twins in real life, one must peer closer to decide which girl is which.
In childhood, one suffers a bout with scarlet fever and one is left with a slight scar - a distinguishing mark but not as important as the differences in budding temperaments.
Through the Great Depression, the family reflects experiences of others across the nation. Lay-offs, money problems and hunger afflict the Logans, but they continue to help families worse off than they are. Two families live in a home meant for one and somehow become stronger from the experience.
As in her previous award-winning book, “World of Pies,” the Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate once again scores high marks. “Fanny and Sue” is sprinkled with the tastes, scents and touches of life that draw the reader in for an intimate glimpse of a time of innocence.
A book to be read slowly in order to savor the details.
- Deborah Elliott-Upton