The Girls of August, Anne Rivers Siddons
The Girls of August, Anne Rivers Siddons
3 Rating(s)
List: $24.98 | Sale: $17.49
Club: $12.49

The Girls of August

Bestseller

Author: Anne Rivers Siddons

Narrator: Kate Reading

Unabridged: 6 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/08/2014


Synopsis

Anne Rivers Siddons's New York Times bestselling novel about four friends whose lives are forever changed by the events of one summer.

For fifteen years, four "girls of August" would gather together to spend a week at the beach, until tragedy interrupts their ritual. Now they reunite for a startling week of discoveries.

The ritual began when they were in their twenties and their husbands were in medical school, and became a mainstay of every summer thereafter. Their only criteria was oceanfront and isolation, their only desire to strengthen their far-flung friendships. They called themselves the Girls of August. But when one of the Girls dies tragically, the group slowly drifts apart and their vacations together are brought to a halt.

Years later, a new marriage reunites them and they decide to come together once again on a remote barrier island off the South Carolina coast. There, far from civilization, the women uncover secrets that will change them in ways they never expected.

About Anne Rivers Siddons

Anne Rivers Siddons is the New York Times bestselling author of 19 novels that include Nora, Nora, Sweetwater Creek, Islands, Peachtree Road, and Outer Banks. She is also the author of the nonfiction work John Chancellor Makes Me Cry.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tanya on July 11, 2014

I'm not entirely sure where to start with this review, because I almost didn't finish the book. At 240 pages it was a quick read, which was an incredibly good thing. Had it taken more than two or three hours to read this book, I would have put it down. I was looking forward to a sweet, touching book......more

Goodreads review by Catherine on December 03, 2014

I am usually a great fan of Anne Rivers Siddons' books. The Girls of August, however, was a big disappointment. I thought the writing style was simplistic, the characters underdeveloped, and the story line weak. I never felt like I really knew any of the characters very well and what I little I did......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on August 02, 2014

Disappointing. Still enjoyable for the beach-house porn she's always been so good at, but the house was the only likable character in the whole thing.......more

Goodreads review by Courtney on July 12, 2014

I read some bad reviews about this book, but still decided to give it a try since I am a fan of Siddons. Plus I had pre ordered the book awhile ago. Yes, the book is very predictable and a typical "beach read". Someone is pregnant, someone has cancer, and someone is getting a divorce. All foreshadow......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on June 18, 2014

Back in the 1990s, I read a lot of Anne Rivers Siddons books and enjoyed them. Not sure if my tastes have changed, or her writing, but I thought this one was not so great. The story and all the characters seemed overly simplistic, and the writing wasn't very good either. Note: I received this book f......more


Quotes

"One doesn't read Anne Rivers Siddons's books, one dwells in them."—Chicago Tribune

Bravura writing...This is Siddons's best, maybe the book she was born to write."—Stephen King (on Off Season)

"Anne Rivers Siddons's body of work is one of the most impressive in contemporary fiction. And, in her beautifully crafted and dazzling new novel OFF SEASON, Ms. Siddons delivers the goods more powerfully than ever. All her books are terrific, but this one is the best yet."—Pat Conroy

"The lyrical beauty of Siddons's writing shines...an elegant portrait of love, loss, longing; memories and mystery line the path to self-discovery in OFF SEASON....Siddons's fans will savor the story long after the last page has turned."—Charlotte Observer

"Siddons masterfully portrays growing up in a small town outside Atlanta...Even as they age, Siddons' characters focus on their sensations and needs and aspirations, but that single-mindedness coaxes readers to side with her central character. Anyone who appreciates the instant gratification of romance novels - 'Burnt Mountain' seems designed for a few days of beach reading - will be quickly taken in by the quiet and beautiful tomboy...When Thayer Wentworth figures out young that life's nastiest snarls may not all be loosened and smoothed and retied in neat bows, we fret with her. And when everything inevitably does start to work out, we are as relieved as she is."—The Associated Press (on BURNT MOUNTAIN)

"Siddons mixes in a touch of the supernatural to bring the novel to an exciting climax, but what's most appealing here is the layered family drama and the lush world Thayer inhabits...A master storyteller with a remarkable track record, bestselling Siddons returns to her signature Southern setting in her newest blend of emotional realism and a sliver of magic."—Booklist (on BURNT MOUNTAIN)