Southern Living

By Ad Hudler

When Margaret's domineering mother died, Margaret found herself the owner of a rather run down house in the town of Selby, Georgia. On a whim she decides to move to Selby and she finds a job working on the local newspaper where she publishes a column called "Chatter" which contains the call-in comments and complaints of the local citizenry. A Yankee and raised to be an independent woman, Margaret finds the adjustment to Southern Living to be challenging and enlightening. For one thing, even though she is a talented cook and trying to start up a catering business, the locals are not interested in her "foreign" dishes which are low fat, spicy, and garlicky. For another, used to a more driven Northern lifestyle, she finds Georgians laid back and relaxed attitude puzzling and misleading. She thinks it means they just don't give a damn but instead they are approaching things from a different point of view.
Margaret isn't the only woman we get to know in this novel. Featured also are Suzanne, former poor girl and now married to a successful neurosurgeon. Suzanne is going off the deep end trying to cope with her indifferent husband, her own social-climbing desires and the neighborhood dogs who keep messing on her lawn. Add in a pretend pregnancy and it is clear Suzanne is heading for a huge fall.
The other star of this story is the once-beautiful former beauty queen Donna. Before the accident that left one side of her face scarred, young Donna had everything she wanted: a hunky boyfriend and her dream job selling makeup. But after the accident she lost the makeup sales position and the hunky boyfriend because of the drastic change in her appearance and now finds herself working in the produce department of a grocery store, a job that at first she absolutely hates. But as time passes and she brings her natural talent for design to bear she finds that this job can be as exciting and even more rewarding than her previous job at the makeup counter.

Following the story of these three women was truly enjoyable. Watching Margaret find herself at home in the Southern culture was heartwarming as was seeing Donna come into her own as she rises to manager of the produce department and learns that true beauty is on the inside, not the outside. And poor nutty Suzanne, trying to be all things to all people and failing spectacularly but still, in the end, managing to land on her feet. It was all charming and inviting and makes one long to be there with them. I truly enjoyed this book.

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New Words

Soppressata: Coarse Italian salami, like headcheese. 'Margaret longed for Wegmans, her supermarket in Buffalo, and she wanted soppressata and passion fruit and soba noodles.'

Tabbouleh: cracked wheat salad typically made with parsley, tomatoes, cucumber, and mint. 'She wanted some interesting, pro-choice couple to invite her to dinner for tabbouleh and grilled eggplant.'

Fermata: a small arch (with a dot beneath it) placed over a note that indicates the note should be sustained longer than its ordinary duration. 'She was at the highest point in this chronological arc of humanity, midway through the life cycle, and, oddly enough, the petite woman looked a lot like Suzanne, who was nearly thirty-four with small facial features, plucked, fermata-shaped eyebrows, breasts that Suzanne considered too small, and black, shoulder-length hair, just long enough that she could pull it back with a bow on Sundays for church if she wanted to.'

Nori: toasted seaweed sheets used to hold sushi rolls together. 'Michael brought his fingers to her lips -- they gently brushed her mouth as he found a firm hold on the sushi. "Okay," he said. "Bear down on that nori. Cut it with your teeth. Good." Freed from embarrassment, she closed her mouth and chewed.

Coffered ceiling: a ceiling with recessed square panels, bordered with trim for ornamental purposes. '"They need a coffered ceilin' in that room," she said. "That room's got too big a feel to it. That high ceilin' probably makes 'em feel like little kids."'