An Independent Woman

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From Library JournalSince 1977, Fast (The Bridge Builder's Story, LJ 9/1/95) has been spinning tales about one immigrant family, the Lavettes of California, focusing on Barbara Lavette, whose marriages and adventures illustrate the astonishing changes in American life during the 20th century. In the sixth and final book in the series, Fast portrays Barbara's last love affair, with an ex-Jesuit whose spirituality and naivete provide rich material for a master storyteller. Their romance blossoms as the younger generation copes with a multitude of problems. Fast has a good ear for dialog, and most of the story develops in conversations. For readers exhausted by literary extremes, this novel is like an oasis, easy on the spirit. Fans will snap up this final installment, so every fiction collection will want it.-?Barbara Conaty, Lib. of CongressCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistIn the finale to his successful Immigrants series, Howard Fast reunites us with Barbara Lavette, now the matriarch of her fascinating, tangled family. What makes this family so beguiling is its diversity in both ethnicity and character, for the people are drawn with imagination and insight. Barbara is the rock, the one to counsel and console. One night, a prowler breaks into her house; Barbara yields her jewels but not before asking the young black man, since he is obviously educated, why he became a criminal. He explains that in spite of his education, he is a janitor. When he leaves, Barbara decides not to report the incident because she cannot in good conscience send this young man to prison--it would go against her lifelong liberal principles. When he is caught with her jewelry pieces the next day, she insists that she gave them to the young man, and her family knows better than to quarrel with her. What ensues is a beautiful, intriguing story of one woman's final years of life, involving family, friends, a new lover, and the face of death. Fast is an exceptional storyteller, whether expressing sublime moments of happiness or describing events as ordinary as someone making dinner. This is a wonderful novel. Mary Frances Wilkens