- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.; 1st Ballantine Books Ed edition (Mar 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345416422
- ISBN-13: 978-0345416421
- Product Dimensions: 2.1 x 1.4 x 0.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,550,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Sweetheart Season
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More About the Author
Product Description
Sunday Times
'Fowler's light touch and sly wit are a delight'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Washington Post
'A remarkable treasure - hilarious. Smart, wry, and just this side of insane'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
In 1942, with much ceremony and sentiment, a new portrait of Maggie Collins was hung in the entryway to Margaret Mill. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
In 1942, with much ceremony and sentiment, a new portrait of Maggie Collins was hung in the entryway to Margaret Mill. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I haven't read The Jane Austen Book Club but a colleague had recommended it. When I saw this book, by the same author, I thought I'd buy it. After all, the blurb sounded interesting and I thought the idea was nice - and I love books that veer 'just this side of the insane'. It's a story about an all-girls' baseball team in a small town in 1940s America. The town is basically built around a cereal factory and its eccentric owners, and the book is peopled with odd characters. In parts the book is quite engaging and the author has a nice turn of phrase, unfortunately I felt it just wasn't sustained throughout.
In my opinion, this was a case where the book's blurb was actually more interesting than the book itself. Yes, there is the (by now almost obligatory) multi-facetted narration sequence - the author's voice 'interrupts' to contribute to this, her mother's story. But this doesn't - in my opinion - deliver the 'quirkiness' or 'kookiness' the author is aiming at. Instead it is quite tiresome in places and I found myself drifting off and thinking about other things, before realising I was staring out the window and had completely forgotten where I had left off. At some point I simply lost track of who was who - probably not due to the author's lack of skill, but to my lack of interest, I'm afraid. I have to admit that I didn't even finish this book and it has already been replaced on my bookshelf - in other words, I probably never will. And do you know what? I'm not even particularly sad about it.
In my opinion, this was a case where the book's blurb was actually more interesting than the book itself. Yes, there is the (by now almost obligatory) multi-facetted narration sequence - the author's voice 'interrupts' to contribute to this, her mother's story. But this doesn't - in my opinion - deliver the 'quirkiness' or 'kookiness' the author is aiming at. Instead it is quite tiresome in places and I found myself drifting off and thinking about other things, before realising I was staring out the window and had completely forgotten where I had left off. At some point I simply lost track of who was who - probably not due to the author's lack of skill, but to my lack of interest, I'm afraid. I have to admit that I didn't even finish this book and it has already been replaced on my bookshelf - in other words, I probably never will. And do you know what? I'm not even particularly sad about it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Karen Joy Fowler doesn't smack the ball out of the park with The Sweetheart Season, but she does hit a triple, which in baseball is even more difficult! Hearkening to previous efforts from W.P. Kinsella or Garrison Keillor, Fowler paints a picture of life in the kitschy kitchens of WWII America while blending in a fair dose of the fairy tale. The descriptions of the changing roles of women, from hausfrau to Rosie the Riveter and back to the kitchens, were dead-on and disturbing. But it was the lyric storytelling, the portrayal of 'Maggie Collins' as the prototypic Betty Crocker that captured the attention and imagination. Read on a variety of levels, either for sheer enjoyment, or a discussion of women's roles, The Sweetheart Season satisfies.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book. Karen Joy Fowler has written a novel that marks out a genre all its own, as it is not quite an "historical novel," not quite science fiction, not quite feminist fiction, and not quite fantasy. It succeeds in being imaginative, politically astute, and historically informative, however, as Ms. Fowler uses the events of the story as a vehicle for including endless anecdotes, "fun facts," and asides that reveal her vast and intricate knowledge of U.S. political and social history. There's even a plethora of "homemaker tips" included, for good measure. The plot is not the point here; in this novel, the "journey is the reward," as each and every page includes verbal gems and incisive bits of social commentary and are endlessly engrossing and enlightening.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Delightful!
After reading The Jane Austen Book Club, I wanted to read more by the same author, and I found this one even more of a delight. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2007 by A. Millar
A great summer read!
I truly enjoyed this book, and feel that it would have made it as an Oprah book club selection if only there were more suffering in it. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 1999
Charming and Enjoyable!
A great summer book. The author does a great job capturing a time period that occurred 20 years before I was born. Read more
Published on 21 July 1998
Ironic, affectionate, knowing, a delight.
Karen Joy Fowler's marvelous first novel, Sarah Canary, whetted my appetite for more, and this is a worthy successor. Read more
Published on 4 April 1997
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