Genre City Review: This Fine Life By Eva Marie Everson
Title: This Fine Life
Author: Eva Marie Everson
Publisher: Revell
Genre: Southern Fiction
Date: May 2010
ISBN: 978-0800732745
Reviewed by: Darlo Gemeinhardt
Everson draws us into the story by creating characters we have to know more about.
If you’re partial to Southern novels, you’ll love This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson. It’s filled with everything Southern, from the story’s setting in Meadow Grove, Georgia, to the strong characters and vivid descriptions that transport us back to 1959 and a young girl’s chance encounter with one of her father’s employees. Everson draws us into the story by creating characters we have to know more about—characters we want to see succeed.
The story is told through the eyes of Mariette Puttnam, the pampered daughter of an apparel factory owner. A recent graduate of boarding school, Mariette must decide what to do with the rest of her life—marriage (her mother’s dream) or college (her father’s wish). When she meets Thayne Scott, all her plans for the future “fly out the window.” But is it love or lust?
This novel is more than a love story. It’s a unique glimpse into the life of not only a newly married couple but of a newly ordained minister, and we get a rare look into the daily routine of a minister’s wife. Everson’s eye for detail doesn’t disappoint and serves to add believability to the story.
Older readers will remember a time past as the story is filled with songs and clothing of the era. Younger readers will identify with Mariette’s struggle to face her new life with her handsome husband, Thayne. We see them grow and mature as their journey together becomes This Fine Life.