- These
- days
- the
- news
- is
- full
- of
- reports
- about
- the
- graying
- of
- America,
- yet
- it’s
- rare
- that
- old
- people
- appear
- in
- contemporary
- fiction
- except
- as
- stock
- characters:
- the
- indulgent
- grandmother,
- the
- wicked
- witch.
- In
- her
- first
- novel
- in
- a
- dozen
- years,
- the
- acclaimed
- author
- of
- How
- She
- Died
- and
- Sweetsir
- gives
- us
- four
- grand
- old
- ladies,
- sisters,
- each
- unique
- and
- indelibly
- real,
- in
- a
- poignant
- and
- very
- funny
- story
- about
- the
- last
- American
- taboos,
- old
- age
- and
- dying.As
- the
- novel
- opens,
- Jenny,
- the
- youngest
- at
- eighty,
- has
- flown
- down
- to
- Miami—that
- gaudy,
- pastel-hued
- haven
- of
- the
- elderly—to
- look
- after
- her
- two
- failing
- oldest
- sisters:
- Eva,
- ninety-five,
- always
- the
- family
- mainstay,
- and
- Naomi,
- ninety,
- who
- is
- riddled
- with
- cancer
- but
- still
- has
- her
- tart
- tongue
- and
- her
- jet-black
- head
- of
- hair.
- The
- fourth
- sister,
- Flora,
- still
- has
- her
- black
- hair
- too,
- straight
- out
- of
- the
- bottle,
- but
- no
- head
- for
- the
- hard
- decisions
- facing
- Eva
- and
- Naomi.
- An
- energetic
- eighty-five,
- Flora
- spends
- her
- time
- dating
- (“He’s
- mad
- about
- me,
- I
- only
- hope
- he
- can
- get
- it
- up!”)
- and
- making
- the
- rounds
- of
- the
- retirement
- homes
- with
- her
- standup
- routine,
- the
- Sandra
- Bernhard
- of
- the
- senior
- set.The
- Girls
- gives
- us
- these
- four
- full-if-wrinkled-fleshed
- women
- with
- all
- their
- complaints
- and
- foibles,
- their
- self-absorption
- and
- downright
- orneriness,
- their
- unquenchable
- humor
- and
- immense
- courage.
- Aches
- and
- pains,
- wrinkles
- and
- hearing
- aids,
- wheelchairs
- and
- walkers—out
- of
- these,
- and
- out
- of
- the
- human
- spirit,
- Helen
- Yglesias
- fashions
- a
- novel
- that
- moves
- us,
- opens
- our
- eyes,
- and
- makes
- us
- laugh
- out loud.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
