The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 28 November 2001
by Kate Phillips
This is a gentle and sometimes funny little book depicting a day in the life of an 88-year-old little old lady with a rich set of memories. Ruth Caster Armstrong Hubble sets out uncomfortably on her day of little tasks and exercises in living in a condo in southern California. She is a sweet lady, not given to stand on ceremony when it comes to her opinions. She's too old for that. Her daily life is punctuated with the difficulties of being so old. She has also preserved for herself a complex and necessary sense of order and habit. The author beautifully captures the quirks of an elderly woman and her lifestyle. There is a strong familiar note in her habits and needs. Throughout the story, though, there is also the complex of memories that come to Ruth's mind during the day. She recalls her first husband, Hale, with whom she was deeply in love. His early death and the bitter memories surrounding it are well buried, but surface from time to time. There are other memories that litter her day, as well as the present concerns for her family. Her current husband is a dottering but affectionate boob. Her grandaughter is caught in a relationship that Ruth tries to defuse with her own experiences and stories. This is a little book, but rich, witty, and evocative. Ruth, occasionally, seems distant from the reader, and some of her emotions and memories incompletely explored. However, this is a first novel, and very well-realized for an author still 60 years away from any immediate experience of Ruth's difficult life.