Book Stop Corner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Actions are whispered compared to dreams."



Alison Jean Lester, an American author, pens her heart-touching debut, Lillian on Life that reflects the life of a bold and sassy woman named Lillian through her random memories about her childhood, teenage years, college days, touring days, her parents, lovers and death.







Synopsis:

Life and love lessons as told by sassy narrator Lillian as she looks back in this brilliantly written, bold debut.
Lillian, a single, well-traveled woman of a certain age, wakes up next to her married lover and looks back at her life. It's not at all the life she expected.

Walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern options for women, Lillian has grappled with parental disappointment, society's expectations and the vagaries of love and sex. As a narrator she's bold and witty, and her reflections - from 'On Getting to Sex' to 'On the Importance of Big Pockets' or 'On Leaving in Order to Stay' - reverberate originally and unpredictably.


This is a really unique and one of a kind book with no concrete storyline, although this book is an honest account of a fictional character and her life through certain periods of history, inventions and trends featuring various cities of the world.

Lillian, a 57 year old woman, wakes up one morning next to her old and married lover, Micheal. When suddenly insecure thoughts cloud her mind about life and this relationship with Micheal, Lillian takes us back to her early years in Missouri with her odd set of parents- Poppa and her mother, Vivian. Next her memories take us to her college days in Vassar to her internship program in Munich and through this time period, we meet her first lovers, her take on sex and men for the first time in her life. Gradually, through certain memories we come back to a time when Lillian is lonely and very wise and missing the only love of her life.

Yeah this book definitely sounds like an autobiography. Right from the first page, Lillian's character drew me in to her story and her sassy voice and narration kept me engaged till the very end. Lillian is not an ideal woman of her times, but she is not also a stereotype, instead she is an honest, bold and modern woman of the 60s, who not only dressed in trends, but her lifestyle was also quite modish from her strings of sometimes sexy yet married lovers to her cooking style to her politeness to the world spinning around her. But she doesn't cut a promiscuous or a spinster demeanor out of herself, instead she has a chic yet bold voice when she narrates those memories for us.

Lillian is an independent woman who never gets married like her parents or have babies, but she wants us to believe that she is happy in her cocoon of life. Each and every thing she says is more like a pearl of wisdom, maybe because she is wise enough to tell us what she learned from her mistakes and success.

The book is very well-written and the author have poured all the feminine yet strong emotions into her storyline. The narration is layered with wit, humor and philosophy. So at times it'll make you crack up and at times it will empower you. The pace of the book is really fast that will captivate you right from the beginning. The characterization of Lillian is brilliantly done and as her memories go deeper into her mind and heart, we feel more connected with Lillian.

I loved how the author portrayed her despite of the time period when women were not much allowed to have that kind of lifestyle. So well Lillian may never make you envy her with her lifestyle, fashion and strings of lovers, but will definitely going to make you adore her character at the end of the book.

PS: Keep some sketch pens handy to underline each and every sentence of Lillian whose words of wisdom and philosophy will simply enlighten you.

Verdict: If you fancy a light-hearted yet thoughtful book, then do read this book. I would recommend every other single and married women to read it.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Alison Jean Lester, for providing me with a copy of her book, in return for an honest review. 
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Author Info:
I was born in Los Angeles in 1966 to a British mother and an American father. They met on an airplane in 1963 when she was a Pan Am stewardess and he was coming back from participating in the first American expedition to Mount Everest.

We moved every few years, so I don’t remember L.A. By the time I was eight I had also lived in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, and in London. I lived in coastal Massachusetts until college at Indiana University, where I earned a B.A. in Mandarin and French, having spent my junior year (1985-86) in Beijing. After studying for an M.A. in Chinese Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), I worked for the U.S. Commerce Department for a year, wondering about joining the Foreign Service. I got married and moved to Japan in 1991 instead.

It was in Japan that I started really concentrating on writing. While earning money at various part-time jobs (editor, voice-over talent), I submitted freelance articles on business, culture and history to a range of magazines and newspapers; I scribbled poetry; and I wrote three novels. Lots of my freelance articles were published, and one poem. Please forget I told you about the novels.

After eight years and two babies in Japan, I moved to Singapore. A lot has happened to me here: I got divorced, I developed a successful coaching and training business, I adopted a schnauzer, I managed on my own for a long time, I met the love of my life and I remarried.

I’ve written lots of short stories while living here in Singapore. Lillian on Life is the first novel I wrote while here. More to come.
Visit her here 


Book Purchase Links:

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