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On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon
On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon
Author: Kaye Gibbons
Emma Garnet, the heroine of Kaye Gibbons's sixth novel, takes the reader on a Southern journey through place and time, from 1842 to 1900. We see her first as a plantation owner's daughter, pampered by servants yet self-taught in subjects not then in the woman's sphere. As a girl, she does not question the South's peculiar institution, but gradua...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780060797140
ISBN-10: 0060797142
Publication Date: 6/28/2005
Pages: 273
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 14

4.3 stars, based on 14 ratings
Publisher: Perennial
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Bonnie avatar reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 422 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Isn't that just a great title? And for me, what a very beautiful story.
It didn't start all that fast, an old woman reminiscing, going back to her pre-war girlhood in Virginia. Just talking. She was beginning to lose me. And then suddenly I was loathe to put the book down, kept going back to it. Why? I can't say, for just like A Virtuous Woman, there seemed to be no plot. No action. No showing, just telling. But I am finding that with so much literary fiction nowadays. At least that which I am reading.
At one point, the book started bringing to mind The Oldest Living Confederate Widow. And that was before we reached the war. And that sense grew stronger as I read to the end of the book. Strange, since OLCW was full of action and this wasn't, and OLCW was huge and this wasn't.
Being dramatic here, I know, but reading the last page of On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon just took my breath away.
Twintoni avatar reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 133 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
My favorite Kaye Gibbons book. This is Emma's story of life before and mostly during the Civil War. She tells us how her life was shaped by her abusive father and her loving mother in a household runned by slaves. Her escape from this environment and life after her marriage was spent suffering through the war with her doctor husband, sacrificing for the injured troops they nursed and for those they buried. A very compelling story.
reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 75 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a wonderful book about the South - or more particularly, the women of the South who have managed to live through the Civil War.It is told in 1900, on what the main character suspects may be her last day.
scrappygal avatar reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Slow start, but interesting story told well.
Read All 17 Book Reviews of "On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon"

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reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 29 more book reviews
Another Kay Gibbons gem. She can't go wrong and she gets me interested right away!
reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 141 more book reviews
This little book is a real treasure. The writing is beautifully done and done in the style of the l9th century. One has to work at reading this book for that reason. Don't rush your reading. If you do you will find yourself having to re-read whole pages. The story involves the life of a young woman in the Civil War era who is born to priviledge but must suffer the intolerable behavior of her father, a self-made wealthy plantation owner. This is a beautiful picture of the South and slavery during the l800's. I recommend this book to anyone. It gives the reader a good picture of slavery in the pre-Civil War era. Genny
jazzysmom avatar reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 907 more book reviews
Only once in awhile do I want to keep a book---this is one of then---but there are so many more to read yet during my life time. This book is very worthy of reading a few more time. It is such a lovely story, about a southern woman who tells her story, while believing it is her last afternoon to live. The ending ---well get out the tissues--and the lessons you will learn are heavenly. Lovely lovely book.
reviewed On The Occasion Of My Last Afternoon on + 8 more book reviews
This was recommended to me, but I could not read it. It was very difficult for me to get into, and I never finished it.


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