The second book out of my goal of thirty... done. In "Club Sandwich" author Lisa Samson gives us a narrative story about a woman who is finding herself stretched to the limit of her endurance. In the beginning we find her on the edge of bitterness as she is dealing with being a mom and holding down the home front while her husband is out touring with a gospel group for the past three years. In trying to be supportive of his career choice she struggles with feelings of abandonment. Now add to the mix a toddler who is a handful, a full time job at the family resteraunt, a pair of siblings who tend to take more than they give and a mother who suddenly starts to fall very ill. And being the personality she is Ivy takes it all upon herself to fix. There are also a few other personalities and issues that also land in Ivy's lap but I don't want to give it all away. Suffice it to say she is overwhelmed. She is being sandwiched between caring for her family and caring for aging parents while holding down a job. She starts a gathering of other ladies who are going through the same thing for some support for herself. Hence the name Club Sandwich.
The author deals with some heavy duty issues and feelings as the the pressures keep piling on Ivy. While I went "oh my" at some of the reactions Ivy had to her situations, considering she was a Christian, they were very real temptations & reactions a person might go through in a similar situation. While the continuous piling up things happening and her taking on one thing after another may have been a bit extreme it added to my heart really being taken and feeling for this character. While not going through her situations, my heart really felt for the things she was facing as I put myself in her shoes.
The "Club" itself was not really developed alot. But I think if it had been done so it just would have been too much for the story. There was so much already going on. All in all, this story really drew me in and I enjoyed it because my heart became involved.
P.S. Thanks everyone for your comments on Friday's post. You had me smiling and chuckling all weekend with them. :v)
20 comments:
I read this book a while ago and enjoyed it. I agree with you - some of Ivy's struggles caught me off-guard at first, but then I thought that I bet more Christians struggle with those temptations than we ever hear about. I thought Lisa did a very good job creating Ivy, and like you, I was drawn into her world.
This is a new book/author to me, although I may have seen her name on the reading challenge. Sounds like a pretty good read! I hope to check it out. I enjoy your reviews Susanne, very helpful!
Oooo... a new one for the reading list.
I just read Blink by Ted Dekker yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, the bantering and the way that God becomes a real, realized active part to the key characters in the book. Two thumbs up from me!
(I started Three by Dekker this morning before work. I can't wait until I can pick it up again...)
Susanne, great to see this review of Lisa's book. And great to see you're working on your goal of READING!
What a great review, Susanne. You make this sound so good, it's already on my wish list.
There's a name for people who have children to care for AND older parents to care for. I can't remember what it is. And that's driving me a little nuts. :-)
I'm going to find this book!
I'll have to check this one out! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Samson is one of my favorite authors! No canned, picture perfect, Barbie doll heroines for her--and that's just the way I like it. More like real life, in my opinion. I also really liked The Living End and Tiger Lillie.
Hey, you got a comment from Brandilyn Collins--how cool is that. I've read some of her books and they're great as well! Eyes of Elisha and the Cast a Road Before Me series (of three)--all really great reads.
And a note to Shalee...Ted Dekker is also one of my favorite authors. You NEVER know what to expect, except that it will be the unexpected! Have you read the Circle trilogy (Black, Red, White)--AWESOME!!!
Thirty books - wow! I guess I probably read that many, but b/c I don't keep count it doesn't overwhelm me. I am currently reading 3 books (The Confident Woman, Sacred Parenting & 10 Curses that Block Our Blessings) and almost finished with all of them. I love to read. Blessings!
This is a new author for me, never heard of her, will have to look for this book next time I'm at the bookstore :)
Thanks for the review, can't wait to read :)
I cannot even FATHOM reading 30 books right now. (One day my life will calm down...)
But this one sounded good. I'm thinking you should 'rate' the books on a scale of, say, 1-5, with 5 being "highly recommended". Cuz I'm always on the lookout for a good read.
Great review, Susanne!
I saw this advertised in Christianbooks.com's catalog and it looked intriguing. Now I want to read it even more! :)
PS...Barb, I can answer your question- I posted on it once because I live it! LOL
"The Sandwich Generation"!
Thanks for the review, I appreciate it. Can't wait to hear about the others you read! I choose most of my books by recommendations from friends & also by authors I automatically read.
Oh, I have got to add this to my list. It sounds so good. Thanks!
Oh it is so good to be back reading here. Enjoyed the review. And remember you have inspired me to read, and I'm even reading fiction! I'm going to do a review just as you did and rate it like Julie suggested.
Thanks for sharing this Susanne. I like reading personal reviews of books I haven't read, especially fiction.
I have never heard of this book. Thanks for the review. Sound like it might be a good read.
I haven't read this one yet. Thanks for the review. You do a great job of painting a picture of the story, but not giving too much away.
You should link this up to Semicolonblog.com. Each Saturday you can link one of your reviews from the week (like I do on Saturdays). Anyone is welcome!
I enjoyed this review. I have not read any Lisa's book, but have heard positive comments. This sounds like an interesting one to start with!
i'm not familiar with this book or author, but i see some very interesting books on your list of 30. i'll definitely be checking back to watch your progress! enjoy! :o)
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