OUTSIDE READING #9

In last week’s post, I introduced to you, my new book, The Last Girls by Lee Smith. I have gotten a good chunk of it read and have discovered I really like it! Like I said last week it is a totally different genre than I am used to reading and I wasn’t completely sure if I would like it, but the plot is interesting and the characters are witty and a little comedy to the sometimes sad plot. One of my favorite characters is Harriet. Even though she is well into her 50s her personality reminds me of a nervous and shy child. She is unmarried, which surprises me at first because she seems so fragile and weak, the kind of person that is dependent on another’s care. But then I realized I had misinterpreted her whole character and misunderstood her many strengths. She grew up without a father and her mother, while loyal, never could fully support Harriet and her younger sister, Jill. Harriet was often left to look after Jill while her mother worked the business. She flew through school with all As and eventually earned a full scholarship to all women’s Mary Scott College. Her life was never easy but she always stayed kind and always worked her hardest. Harriet is the only character that has been properly introduced so far. I have also learned that Harriet has traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to meet her college friends, Courtney, Anna, and Catherine, to once again travel down the Mississippi River. The girls had made a journey down the Mississippi River in college for their Great Authors class. They had gotten inspiration for their journey from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Their reunion in Memphis, Tennessee is to say goodbye to their good friend Baby, who had just recently died.