[.ca] Family Linen (ISBN 0345410602)

Wonderful Southern Gothic:
I've read this book several times. Each time I get something new out of it. This testifies to the greatness of Lee Smith's skills as a writer. During the course of the mystery explored in this book (Who killed Daddy?), we are introduced to numerous family members all of whom have distinctive personalities. As well as there being individual personalities drawn out, Lee Smith creates generational differences between characters whose personality makeups never fall into the trap of cliche. This alone would make Family Linen a book well worth reading. But, Ms. Smith gives us a story whose plot increases as each character is presented and gives his or her piece of the puzzle. Soon, you will be so caught up in the different characters' lives, you will not be so intent on finding out if Daddy was killed and by whom. Instead, you will feel like you are embracing new friends in your life as provided by Lee Smith's extraordinary writing. The book is funny, touching, at times gothic in nature, and one of the best written novels I've ever read. Lee Smith is a genious of a writer! Read this book. You won't regret it!!

Weak effort.:
Though "Family Linen" was at first an interesting book, it soon became annoying. It began with an interesting premise, but it seemed to lose track of its original point. The different characters' voices were not as distinct as they are in some of Lee Smith's other books, and while their personalities were certainly different, the transitions between characters were not clear enough for the reader to be sure of who was talking. Also, this book really featured none of the same dark humor as is commonplace in Lee Smith novels, and I found none of the characters to be particularly likeable, so while I don't ask for a character I can "root for," I DO want a reason to turn the page. I guess I was just expecting more from an author I have enjoyed so much.

Ultimately very disappointing:
I am a big fan of Lee Smith. No author today is capable of bringing the southern family to life the way she does and she does it again in Family Linen. The only problem is that she hangs them out to dry too long. There are all these wonderful characters, each with their own distinct voice and unique story to tell but then nothing really happens. She tries to cover it up by saying small town gossip gets forgotten as soon as there's something new to talk about but it shouldn't work that way in a book. When you've invested a couple of hundred pages in something there should be some kind of payoff. Definitely not her best effort.

It all comes out in the wash:
Nobody is better than Lee Smith when it comes to creating marvelous characters and Family Linen is filled with them. No cardboard creatures these, but full bodied human beings most of whom are somewhere in our own lives. My only quarrel with Smith is that she sometimes gets so deeply involved with these characters, she forgets to tell us where they are going. Family Linen does have more of a plot and a mystery that will keep the reader turning the pages until it is solved. And even when we know, the characters are still the strongest force in the book.Read it and see which one of your neighbors or relatives are right there to be discovered.

Fabulous Book!!!:
I truely enjoyed this book and I don't know why some of the reviewsers were offended. This is the second review I wrote, I don't know what happened to the first one. There are family secrets that come out because of hypnotism and the family being brought together by illness and a funeral. Really this story is about some very serious matters but Lee Smith wrote from a lighthearted angle which makes th reader laugh at a lot of the situations. I wouldn't call this book "dark" at all even though it could've very easily been written that way. I liked this book a lot and to think I almost didn't read it because of some of descriptions in some of the negative reviews. Read this book, it's very good. It's about real life and sometimes real life isn't very pretty. There are many people that are raised by their parents and then find out in their adult life that these wonderful people that raised them aren't actually their parents. Their "sister" or "Aunt So-and-so" is their real mother. This is really a good book and it's written from the perfect perspective, with a touch of humor.