Persian Pickle Club

What an awesome book!! My daughter-in-law (Carolyn--former book group member who is now reading my copy of Persian Pickle) has a framed saying in her home that neither of us can remember exactly. We are at a rented house in Bountiful and can't check to see was it really says, but it goes something like this: Families are like quilts, pieced together in love, etc. Anyway, it is a cool saying.

At any rate, I loved the way Sandra Dallas used the image of a quilt to show the interconnectedness of the lives of these women. I think it can also apply to our families and to people we have been in a ward with. (I know, I'm not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition!) I have expressed the idea many times that, for me, part of the joy of heaven will be to see those people who have meant something in my life and ask them, "What happened next? Where did you go and what did you do in your life after our paths parted?" I have also found that I can be separated from a friend for years and when we are together again, we just seem to pick up where we left off, just like a recurring pattern in a quilt.

I also thought the writer's craft was excellent. The use of "down home" language to describe people, places and events was so fresh and generated a feeling of authenticity in the story (plus it was fun!). "Rita was right about us looking like a coop full of biddies. We sat there at Ada June's dining room table, clucking as Rita walked in. Then our eyes bugged out, making us look dumb enough to knit with wet spaghetti."

The plot was intriguing. Dallas did an excellent job of surprising the reader. [By the way, is everybody sure that Queenie really did it?] I also liked the way the "threads" of the story "tied" back to each other: The hill country family connecting to the murder mystery, the effort to help girls "in a family way" foreshadowing a blessing in Queenie's life, Rita's journey from an outsider/observer/writer to becoming a real part of the group. "'Why, we taught her to quilt, after all," Mrs. Judd said . . . But it was the name that decided me [Queenie]. This quilt is a Friendship Forever."

The impact of the attempted assault was so genuine and not gratuitous, it reminded me of the way the rape and murder of a girl I knew in elementary school altered my perception of my own safety. I understood Queenie's statement that "the farm was the only place I felt safe, and I refused to leave it, even to be with my best friends." (page 140) I also appreciated the way her friends rallied around her and the growth of her own courage that came when she looked outside herself. "The Celebrity Quilt changed my mind about attending Persian Pickle."

I loved the portrayal of women supporting each other and connecting to each other in a way that is uniquely feminine. "We had our differences in Persian Pickle. 'My stars, we'd be as dull as checkers if we didn't,' Mrs. Ritter told me once. But when any one of us was in need, she got the support and understanding that a man never provided. There wasn't anything we couldn't share or a secret we wouldn't keep." (page 13) It seemed so much like a close Relief Society--comfort food and creating something tangible and trying to find a way to make a positive impact on the world--that it really resonated with me. I also loved their common sense and matter-of-fact way of dealing with the poverty and challenges of dust-bowl Kansas. "'She's a worker.' We all nodded because that was the biggest compliment you could give a Kansas woman."

I hope your Christmas was wonderful! I can't wait to read "your all's" thoughts on this book!