This is one of my all time favorite books. It chronicles the lives of women in the club, their families and their friendships over a span of several generations. The women who started the club had no idea that their group would often give them the strength to get through many of life's ordeals or the lasting impact this group of unlikely friends would have on all of them.

It is a long read, but well worth the time.

I have discovered that the reason there is little written by Helen Hooven Santmyer is that the book had been rejected for many years. The manuscript was finally bought when the author was in her 80's and living in a nursing home!

Salvador's Children by Lea Marenn is a HHHHH book that touches the soul. A new family tree By: Lindsay Rogan "I knew that my daughter was not only herself, not only Maria de Jesus. She was all the things that her parents were; and their parents, and theirs. She was the people from her village. She was the countryside where they gathered their food and washed their clothes. She was the flowers and grasses, the mountains and rivers she had known. She was the images and the stories. All that lived on in her, even when someone else was gone. I knew she would change, but somehow in her the past would become lodged. Somehow, I knew, all of it would live on." This passage from chapter 19 in Salvador's Children by Lea Mareen describes the entire journey of the book. Starting in the cruel heat of San Salvador, a female, North American college professor adopts eight year old Maria de Jesus and quickly learns that language is not the only barrier between them. Maria, having lived through the death of her parents, disappearance of two siblings, and responsibility of taking care of her younger brothers, is mature beyond her years and ready to tell her story. Slowly as she opens up to the narrator, her story of pain, poverty, love, happiness and joy are slowly brought to life creating a new dimension to her family portrait. Now that Maria has added her life to the picture, is there anyone left to carry on her history? Will her new mother understand the importance of family? Could she love Maria the way her mother did or would she also die, leaving Maria with another loss? Does she care enough to carry on the history of a different family? Was Maria a part of her family? Each of these questions plague Maria as the narrator learns more about her past, cops with Maria's fits of silence, and opens her heart to her new daughter. This book will teach the importance of communication, love and letting go of the fear of being unloved. A journey that begins on the first page, this book is bound to lasts forever in the heart.

While I haven't read the book as yet, I still give it 5 stars because anyone who spent a half century writing a book, deserves 5 stars. I discovered this book when reading "How To Become A Bestselling Author" by Stanley J. Corwin. Thought you'd be interested in the following information, quoted from this book.

"An eighty-eight year old woman living in a nursing home had written an epic novel about small town life. After a half a century in its creation And Ladies of the Club had been discovered as the most heralded writing property since Gone with The Wind. The story began in the early 1920's when Helen Santmyer was a young writer living in Xenia, Ohio. She was disturbed by Sinclair Lewis's controversial best-seller Main Street, which depicted the drab complacency of small town American life. ..... she began to write her response to Main Street ..." "With her companion and editor Mildred Sandow at her side, Helen Santmyer wrote and wrote and wrote, until in 1981 she had finished her novel. When Mr. Corwin asked Heln Santmyer what message she could give to aspiring writers. "Believe in what you're writing" she answered "and finish it." This indomitable woman had devoted her life to writing a book that she believed in. And she had never given up. It was the most important lesson that I or any writer could every remember."

After reading this I was on a mission to find the book. It took me four years. While in Paris this year I found a paperback copy at Shakespeare and Company Tumbleweed Hotel - how magical! Since then I found two more paperbacks and a hardcover copy at library used book sale.

I suggest every aspiring write to read How To Become A Bestselling Author even if it is just to read about Helen. Her story is fascinating and inspiring.

What a surprise to find out that Ladies of the Club has been re-issued. I plan on reading it during my Christmas vacation.

Thanks to Amazon for letting me share this with others.

Happy Holidays.

This book was all the rage back in the early 80's when Book-of-the-Month Club made it a main selection. It was written by a comparatively unknown, elderly resident of a nursing home (who, I believe, died fairly shortly after the book's publication). For a short time everybody was talking about "...And Ladies of the Club". Fourteen years later, not many people remember the hoopla. But if a book is any good, it's still good even after the glitter fades. And this one is GOOD. I finally got around to reading it this year, partly because my wife read it and loved it. It is long (1100+ pages) but NOT difficult. I found the book hard to get "into" for the first one or two hundred pages, because there were many characters, and there hadn't been time to flesh out the personalities and relationships. But I am VERY glad that I stuck it out. Eventually the characters become vividly defined: lovable, hateable, and recognizable. The book is the story of a fictional medium-sized town in southern Ohio, from just after the Civil War to the beginning of the Depression. The story is told primarily through the eyes of a women's book club, and focuses particularly on two of the club's members and their families. All the important themes of life are explored: love, race, jealousy, religion, war, politics, business, literature, education, family relationships, and death. If you read this book, you will be both moved to tears and richly educated in American history. How much more can you ask of one book?

Undoubtedly this book has a slow beginning. But it is definitely worth the effort. The author brings a whole town to life - Waynesboro, Ohio. Each and every character is described so vividly that I felt as though I actually knew these people. The book follows post-Civil War "Waynesboro" (a fictional name for a real city - Xenia, Ohio) through the next 50 years of the townspeople's lives. The main group of characters are the members of the Waynesboro Ladies Club. The story unfolds when Anne and Sally are 18 years old and the character list widens as each gets married, has children, etc. Before the end of the book I calculated there were almost 40 characters to keep track of - but it was well worth the effort. By the end of the book (a hearty 1,400 pages ) I was sad because I didn't want to leave the town of Waynesboro and its inhabitants. The author had succeeded in making me feel as though I knew each and every person. I've read this book 3 times in the past 15 years and will assuredly pick it up and read it again some time in the future. It took the author over 50 years of her life to complete this book (and finished it while living in a nursing home at the age of 80+ years). It was her life's work and I wish she had known before she died how many lives this book would touch. )

This book is excellent. Just like "And Ladies of the Club" and "Herbs and Apples", Helen Hooven Santmyer has written another truly remarkable novel. The characters and descriptions in this book are so vivid that you actually feel like you've been transported back in time. This is the story of a small-town romance as seen through the eyes of a young girl. It is beautifully told and will bring you laughter and tears.

This book is well worth reading, especially if you liked ...And Ladies of the Club. It's a less amibitious book, but a finely wrought one. It takes all the cliches of the coming-of-age novel and transcends them at the same time as it sheds a new light on them. The main character is entirely believable, as is the resolution of her dilemma.

Helen Hooven Santmyer is one of my favorite authors. Although, "The Fierce Dispute" is not one of my favorites. The characters are beautifully written and are easy to visualize. However, the end of the book left me dissatisfied and wanting more. The plot is good, but it is just not as endearing as some of the author's other novels.