Where the Heart Is

by Billie Letts | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0446672211 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingkiki66wing of Gauting, Bayern Germany on 6/16/2006
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingkiki66wing from Gauting, Bayern Germany on Friday, June 16, 2006
I really like the books by Billie Letts... my all-time favourite is "The Honk and Holler opening soon", but this one here is nice as well... good to read - like they say: fresh and captivating....

...A funny thing happens to Novalee Nation on her way to Bakersfield, California. Her ne'er-do-well boyfriend, Willie Jack Pickens, abandons her in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart and takes off on his own, leaving her with just 10 dollars and the clothes on her back. Not that hard luck is anything new to Novalee, who is "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight--and superstitious about sevens.... For most people, sevens were lucky. But not for her," Billie Letts writes. "She'd had a bad history with them, starting with her seventh birthday, the day Momma Nell ran away with a baseball umpire named Fred..."

Still, finding herself alone and penniless in Sequoyah, Oklahoma is enough to make even someone as inured to ill fortune as Novalee want to give up and die. Fortunately, the Wal-Mart parking lot is the Sequoyah equivalent of a town square, and within hours Novalee has met three people who will change her life: Sister Thelma Husband, a kindly eccentric; Benny Goodluck, a young Native American boy; and Moses Whitecotton, an elderly African American photographer. For the next two months, Novalee surreptitiously makes her home in the Wal-Mart, sleeping there at night, exploring the town by day. When she goes into labor and delivers her baby there, however, Novalee learns that sometimes it's not so bad to depend on the kindness of strangers--especially if one of them happens to be Sam Walton, the superchain's founder.

Where the Heart Is oddly mixes heart-warming vignettes and surprising, brutal violence. Novalee's story is juxtaposed with occasional chapters chronicling Willy Jack's downward spiral into prison, disappointment, and degradation. And even in Sequoyah, sudden storms, domestic violence, kidnapping, and deadly fires punctuate Novalee's progress from homeless, unwed teen mom to successful, happy member of the community. This is not a subtle book; there's never any doubt that our heroine will make a home for herself and her baby or that Willy Jack will get what he deserves for abandoning them. Still, Billie Letts has created several memorable characters, and there's always room for another novel that celebrates the life-affirming qualities of reading, the importance of education, and the power of love to change lives. (amazon)

Journal Entry 2 by wingkiki66wing from Gauting, Bayern Germany on Saturday, June 24, 2006
This is going to be a (very small at the moment :-)) bookring:

1. Bibliocrates (USA)
2. Dei (Singapoore) <-- it's here!
3. chapter1-andy (Singapoore)

Released 17 yrs ago (6/27/2006 UTC) at BookRing in -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Bayern Germany

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Went to the States today!

Happy travelling, book....

Journal Entry 4 by Bibliocrates from Pueblo, Colorado USA on Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Got the book today! I will get to it very soon and pass it on to Dei when I'm through. I'm excited to read this. I have seen the movie and thought it was pretty good. I also just recently got 'The Honk and Holler Opening Soon' and look forward to reading it as well.

Journal Entry 5 by Bibliocrates from Pueblo, Colorado USA on Saturday, July 29, 2006
I finished the book this afternoon. I liked it. It was very sweet, a good love story. It was interesting reading this book after having already seen the movie because I had all of the actors' faces in my head and didn't have to imagine what the characters looked like. Some of the actors in the movie didn't quite fit their character's descriptions in the book, and the movie's ending was changed slightly, but that is to be expected with any movie adaptation. I was mildly excited when the town next to mine, Decatur, Alabama, was mentioned in the book. I am glad I read this book. Thank you Kiki66 for sharing this book. I highly recommend it. I have contacted Dei for an address and should have it in the mail by midweek next week.

Journal Entry 6 by wingDeiwing on Monday, October 2, 2006
Just got it on my desk today. Will read it quickly. Though I have 3 books before this which came as surprises actually hahahah lucky me!

Thks Bibliocrates for the quick pass-it-on-to me. It was pretty soon to me the speed you are at.

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