Helpful Score: 5
The best Macomber I've read yet. Everyone should have one friend in life as close as Jillian & Lesley were. I hated to finish this one.
Helpful Score: 5
The lives of two friends told through letters, announcements, receipts, etc.
This book is not written in the traditional chapter text method.
I found it interesting how the story developed through the written material used in place of traditional text.
This book is not written in the traditional chapter text method.
I found it interesting how the story developed through the written material used in place of traditional text.
Helpful Score: 5
I was skeptical about reading this book since it was written as letters & journal inputs. I ended up loving this book & could not put it down. You live thru all the ups & downs of these womens lives. Highly recommend this one!
Helpful Score: 4
Wonderfully written as a journal from friend to friend throughout their lives. Very good book.
Macomber distills the lives of two friends into a series of letters, passed school notes, report cards, diaries, traffic tickets, draft notices, birth announcements and obituaries, so that you feel you are reading a scrap book of saved and treasured paper memories. But from the distillation you will savor a rich picture of two families as they progress through the changing world of the late '40's to the beginning of the new millenium in America. I was born in 1948, and so were "best friends" Jillian and Lesley. Born on opposite sides of the line that divides rich and poor, their friendship endured and nourished them both throughout their lives. The memories are all there: Catholic school with rules and uniforms, teenage rebellion, VietNam with it's protests and tragedy, The Beatles, John F. Kennedy and November 22nd 1963, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Civil Rights battles and the womans's movement. Kent State to Watergate, Nixon to Clinton, the scandals and the accomplishments. Hostages in Iran and war in Iraq, New York on September 11, 2001. Nothing that touched our lives is left out and it's all put in perspective. But these are all background for the relationships which rule the lives of Lesley and Jillian. They are my friends and they are me.
If you are a child of this era, this is a journey back in time. If you are a child of the next generations, it's a window on our world. If you love a good story, it's a satisfying few hours.
If you are a child of this era, this is a journey back in time. If you are a child of the next generations, it's a window on our world. If you love a good story, it's a satisfying few hours.