fair and tender

fair and tender ladies is a beautiful book. what set it apart from many novels is the author's development of the main character's voice. fair and tender ladies is an epistolary novel which means it is told solely through letters. ivy, the main character, loves to write letters to her family and friends and the reader gets to know ivy, very well, through her words to sisters, brothers, dead fathers, dead sisters, friends, and even an occasional enemy. ivy was born at the turn of the century (1900) in the mountains of virginia. her story is one of hard work, farming, city life, passion, love lost, mistakes, death, and most of all, life. the readers gets a true sense of mountain life in appalachia during the early twentieth century, but more than that, the reader gets to know a person. ivy seemed as real to me as my own family. by the end, i really felt i had walked through the major events of her life with you. i was the recipient of her letters. she is altogether human, wanting love and children, fresh air and freedom. she also wants adventure and to actually feel alive which leads her to an affair that hurts her family. but even that mistake became part of her in a way that made her life better, her marriage better, her daily life more satisfying. i guess that's the beautiful thing about mistakes. fair and tender ladies is an altogether human book. a human book...that's the best way i, or anyone in my opinion, can describe this novel.