|
|
|
|
||
|
HELP | |
|
  $7.95 List price:
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBN:She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indianaby Haven Kimmel
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:After twenty years of burrowing into the corner of the family couch, eating junk food, and reading science fiction, Indiana mother Delonda Jarvis did something that shocked her family: she went to college. Or, as her younger daughter, Haven Kimmel, writes, she "stood up, brushed away the pork rind crumbs, and escaped by the skin of her teeth."
Despite having no money, no car, and a resentful husband, Delonda managed to obtain a master's degree in English. The former teenage bride also dropped one hundred pounds, learned how to drive, and became a breadwinner. But as she reclaimed herself, her marriage disintegrated. Review:"This sequel to A Girl Named Zippy charts the continuing escapades of adolescent Zippy in tiny Mooreland, Ind., putting special emphasis on the liberation, via a college education, of her mother, Delonda Jarvis. With stories ranging from Zippy's run-in with a territorial cow on a friend's farm to 'A Short List of Records My Father Threatened to Break Over My Head If I Played Them One More Time,' Kimmel's Twainish tone deepens into a more modern type of despair as the problems of her parents' marriage become pronounced. By learning to drive, getting a bachelor's degree and becoming a teacher to support her family, Delonda expands her potential, mirroring the growing possibilities for women in the post-'60s era. Meanwhile, Zippy's father begrudges Delonda these few freedoms, while still failing to provide adequately for his family and flirting with adultery. Kimmel has a distinct voice and introduces quirky characters, but even better, she goes beyond memoir to explore the anxiety inherent in the shifting of traditional family and gender roles common to her generation. She draws readers in with her easygoing manner and ability to entertain, but surprises with a bittersweet paean to childhood navet and an arresting account of a family's disintegration." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"[A] wry, wistful sequel....Kimmel deftly blends mordant humor and malaise in this tale of personal triumph in a tiny midwestern town." Booklist (Starred Review) Review:"Kimmel is at her best when things get more complicated toward the bittersweet end, as Zippy learns you can be happy and profoundly sad at the same time. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly Review:"[H]ilarious and heartbreaking....Kimmel hints at rather than reveals the family tensions in these essays...which are destined to make readers fall in love with Zippy all over again." Library Journal Review:"A thoroughly amusing, deeply affectionate yet often inherently sad story....Kimmel has caught time in a bottle beautifully...and her engagingly conversational style...makes this a story you hear as much as read." Hartford Courant Review:"Kimmel carefully limits the darkness to the edges until the lastchapters, but sadness at losing her father to divorce permeates her stories, leavening their tendency toward cuteness. Fans will find this go-round less zippy (forgive the pun), but more honest." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Kimmel deftly constructs a story whose power lies in its combination of hilarity and unsettling details....Detractors will undoubtedly be surprised by the beauty and grace of She Got Up Off the Couch." The Oregonian (Portland, OR) Review:"It is very likely that Zippy learned a great deal about herself, family dynamics in general, and especially about her mother's courage and determination as she wrote these witty, honest, painful and heartfelt anecdotes." BookReporter.com Synopsis:Kimmel's powerful storytelling is in evidence in this riveting continuation of Zippy's childhood — a story of risk-taking, motherly love, and small-town heroism. About the AuthorHaven Kimmel is the author of The Solace of Leaving Early, Something Rising (Light and Swift), and A Girl Named Zippy. She studied English and creative writing at Ball State University and North Carolina State University, and attended seminary at the Earlham School of Religion. She lives in Durham, North Carolina. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment: | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Don't Miss
