HILL TOWNS

The older I get, the less tolerance I have for the overblown prose that Siddons sometimes gets caught up in while describing her characters. This one was definitely NOT among her best efforts; if you want to read vintage Siddons, I much preferred Colony. On the other hand, I must admit that if you w......more

This novel is a book sale find from several years ago. I finished reading it yesterday and still cannot really make up my mind about it. My main problem with it is that I didn't like one single character in the book. The protagonist, Catherine (Cat) Compton Gaillard, lives on a mountain in Tennessee......more

I found myself speaking outloud to the characters (i.e. "Don't do it, Cat!") which means that the plot is certainly strong enough for me to really get into it. However, I too, was very unimpressed the language. There simply was no need for the foul words that Siddons appeared to enjoy throwing in se......more

Another re-read of my all-time favorite author, and again it did not disappoint. Even more thrilling was learning of the backstory of it all - that Anne and Heyward did go to Italy for the wedding and honeymoon of their friends Cynthia and Cliff Graubart, and the story was loosely based on that adve......more

Hills Towns was an enjoyable read. The book started in Tennessee and ended in Italy. Everyone seemed to change in Italy, and most of the characters would never be the same again. It has beautiful settings and vivid characters.......more