Little Altars Everywhere audiobook

Consider this a review of all three of the Ya-ya books because what I have to say about this one can't be said without referencing (without spoilers, of course) the other two. These books are going to be love/hate for everybody who touches them. So let's get the good out of the way: some people say this series sucks because it's another quirky my-dysfunctional-family series and really, that's misleading. The movie made it into that, sure, but these books are a lot deeper than that. Wells writes characters as people. In one story, the characters are delightfully gray. I mean in one story, all of the characters will be right and wrong simultaneously, caring and aloof, vindicated and unquestionably unforgivable. By writing characters this way, you really get a fuller narrative. These characters could easily be people you know, maybe even people you've met before. And the range of characters and narrations is a delight. Also, I love how well connected all the books are. You learn one detail from a story and it pops up in other stories, from the point of view of others or as a reference or an example. You see these characters from 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person, with different people taking on different roles and evolving (for many of them) from childhood to adulthood. My favorite example of this is Mr. Ogden who is an often mentioned character (the least "fun" of the husbands). He starts as a reference, even sometimes as a stereotypical stuck-up older white man, but by book three, we see him as a fearful grandfather, a protective father, and a vulnerable man all in one story. It's a great evolution and it's nice to see characters written this way in short story format. The major problem that readers will face is a difficult one. All people triggered by child abuse or alcoholism, stay away. Do not even bother with this. And that is part of the problem. In Little Altars Everywhere, we find out that Vivian abuses her children above and beyond "hey, it's the 1960s and everybody hits children as a form of discipline". If you've seen the movie, it is much worse in the book and, in one story, we find out as an audience that Vivian sexually abused one of her children, the extent of which is vague. This issue is never brought up again. Ever. It's in one story from one of her children's point of view and while the story is well written and deals with the honest truth of coming from an abusive home and being unsure of one's body and one's boundaries with others, that's it. One well written story and done. It's never mentioned again in any of the other books. So you, as a reader, see so much about how Vivian has suffered and how she gets into crazy escapades with her girlfriends...all while knowing that she's a child molester and a child beater. And the main book (the one the movie is based on) takes a sinister feel to it when you realize that the Ya-Yas are trying to fix a relationship between a woman and her mother who abused her. Do they excuse her behavior? Yes and no at the same time and it's uncomfortable. But through this exploration of Vivian, we see the cycle of abuse and how it continues from one generation to the next. So many people gush about Vivi as if she is the most awesome thing ever and I think the movie is slightly to blame for that because when you hear her mother's back story and see what happens with her children, it's really hard to sit through her stories. It's hard to empathize with her and it does color many of the stories from her point of view. Does she have a tragic back story that causes everything? Yes and it is heartbreaking to watch how she is nearly broken over and over again. But does it take away from her unapologetic attitude about the abuse? Why does Siddalee need to have her relationship mended with her mother? Why don't her siblings have a similar experience? It puts a sour taste in your mouth and that might be too much for some readers. Also, I'm really not sure how to feel about this but there are at least two (I might be remembering wrong) stories from the point of view of the Walkers' black maid and handyman. Their stories, while a more honest portrayal of black people than you usually get from Southern literature, are still hard to deal with without getting headaches at the stereotypes that Wells doesn't break. I think they're worth reading but bear that in mind, POCs. It's not THE HELP but it's not BELOVED either, okay?I personally like these books because of the development of character and setting, not for the happy fun joy ride with kooky characters that some proclaim that it is. I like it because it's realistic and every happy ending has a black lining through it. If you're curious, check it out but I really cannot stress enough that you go into this series knowing what you're in for.

I almost want to say there is something Proustian about this novel except while I don't fear intellectual eye-rolling over my calling a popular novel written by and about southern women Proustian, I do fear eye-rolling over not quite correct use of the word. What I mean, then, is reading this novel was a gorgeously vivid sensory experience. When the Walker kids went to swim in the pond, I saw and felt and smelled it like I was in that same summertime water. I felt the cool concrete floors of the grocery store beneath my 10 year old feet. I experienced the vertiginous but exhilarating displacement of wandering through the house of a dimly known adult my parents were visiting looking for food, places to play, and random objects to pick up and examine all the while wondering, "Am I allowed to be in this room?"All of this sensory overload sits on the surface of this loose collection of stories about the Walker clan of Thornton, Louisiana (a prequel of sorts to Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood however they can be read in any order.) However, as you read you begin to see the darkness below the surface troubling the waters. Siddha is oddly obsessed with religion and suffering. Lulu pulls out her hair and eats it. Baylor has trouble chewing and swallowing his food. Their mother, Vivi, sure drinks a lot and by the first time someone mentions her hands shaking in the morning, you know. As the story flashes forward midway through from the 60's to the 90's and expands to include the Walker's hired help, the picture grows clearer and darker. And yet even as unlikable as some characters in the book are, you still feel empathy for them even when you can't forgive their behavior. As a case in point, the final story narrated by Vivi, "Looking for My Mules", made me connect and feel sorry for her even when I should have been saying, "Bitch you brought this on yourself." There's a lot of deceptive depth to this kind of writing. And the story is really about much more than just one family's troubles: small town politics, the death of the rural way of life, war, the burden of secrets. The final chapter belongs to Siddha and is a great way to wrap up the story although I wanted to keep going (too bad the reviews of YaYa's in Bloom are all so negative.) Don't hit the baby. Fine advice, indeed.

I think a childhood in America in the 1960's is going to have a lot in common whether you grew up in the suburbs of S. Calif like I did, or in a farming family in a small town in Louisiana like the character Siddalee and her siblings. From being called Sara Bernhardt when you pouted and stomped your foot and whined, to watching Roadrunner on TV, to eating Ritz crackers, bologna sandwiches, Fritos, grilled cheese sandwiches, coca-cola, and snickers bars, calling things "even-steven", being told to push back your cuticles and wearing cold cream at night. And a lot of the tougher stuff too, like most adults smoking cigarettes and drinking, getting "belted" for a punishment, parents screaming at each other. But this book goes beyond that. It starts out eccentric and charming in its way, the drinking doesn't seem beyond what I used to see, as I said drinking and smoking was accepted in the 1960's as regular behavior, and belting your kids was acceptable as well. This book strays into territory beyond that, it gets kind of monstrous and very sad really. The author is a gifted writer and succeeds at connecting her reader to each character in her story, and to Louisiana itself. Without being overly descriptive each character tells you about what is going on with them at the time and it makes a very complete picture, especially when the children are young. When the children are grown I had a harder time relating to them although I retained my connection to the main four adults: Vivi, Big Shep, Letta and Chaney. I felt especially connected to Big Shep in the section where he finds an old black man in his fields looking for his mules. I could understand his tears and his feelings very well and I mourned the changes and the loss of the farmland in Louisiana, I cried along with Big Shep. Despite Vivi's behavior I found myself often liking her and I liked the way the book wrapped up with Siddalee's declaration to her mother, the one she repeats twice, that felt right. Still a sad book in many ways, not the light-hearted read that I expected. It is much more complex and sophisticated than it would seem to be, a social commentary, not just a story of one family.

For the most part I enjoyed this book. There were parts of Viviane’s past that were extremely disturbing and actually not needed (it just took her from a drunk narcissist to an actual monster) in the YaYa book Vivi was one of my favorite characters but this book has forever tainted my opinion of her. (I know that’s silly because it’s fiction) I wish the author had just not put that in. I don’t see how it added to anything at all. I did enjoy how each section was told by a different character at a different point in their lives and with their own perspectives. I especially enjoyed the sections told by Big Shep.

Ok I rarely review things with 5 stars, I'm a notorious 4-starrer all around because I generally like the books I read by the time I finish them 😂 I LOVE Rebecca Wells voice(s). Her style reminds me of Salinger, but with a twinge of femininity. Her expertise as a playwright creates a truly lively book with an array of witty, narcicistic, honest and just fun characters. I laughed out loud and cried with this little novel 💗

If you enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and Secret Life of Bees, you will also enjoy this first novel from Rebecca Wells. For some reason, I have a thing for Southern lit about innocent children and their adventures 🤷🏼‍♀️

I read this book back in the early 90’s when it was first published and totally loved it. I decided to read (listen to) it again and see if it was as good as I remembered. It was!I’m irritated by reviewers who call this a book a sequel to Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It’s not! This was the original book. Divine Secrets is the sequel. Many of these same readers don’t seem to like the heaviness of Little Altars Everywhere. I agree that this book deals with some dark themes, but I find Little Altars Everywhere to have much more depth and emotional power for this very reason. The book does include incredible humor. I found myself frequently laughing out loud. But in the next moment one’s heart is breaking at some of the tragic events and dysfunctional relationships. This combination of funny and heart-wrenching is what makes this such a powerful novel—-and Wells’s best in my opinion.I listened to the audio read by Judith Ivey who does a great job giving voice to the different characters. I highly recommend it.

4.5Loads better than the movie (which I love).Incredible narrator!

This one gives a closer look at Sidda & Vivi's nuclear family, and I loved it just as much as "Divine Secrets". Reading this book in public always turned heads, because I'd crack up laughing, or gasp angrily, or burst out in tears, or do all three.

My favorite book series thus far!

Told by all the different voices of this wonderfully witty, funny and troubled southern clan, this was the pre-quel to the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. It's a book essentally about relationships. If you fell in love with the Ya Yas like I did, you will appreciate getting to know them better in their younger years and gaining an even better understanding of their undying loyalty. If you appreciated Sidda's dry sarcasm as an adult like I did, then you will enjoy all the little things that contributed to her personalitly as she was growing up--everything from embarassing colors of nail polish to traumatizing girl scouts to of course dealing with her mentally unstable mother. Despite the title, there are definately some earth-shattering events that balance out all the humor. This is called a companion novel to Divine Secrets, but I read it 2nd and was glad I did. For those of you who don't know, the movie was really of combination of the 2 books, and my enjoyment of the books was not diminished in the least by watching the movie.

I really like Rebecca Wells' writing. It is funny but also very deep, and even when she writes in dialogue it still flows very nicely. It was rougher to read than "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and made me question why the children still talk to the mother at all. "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" is also a lot more cohesive but for a first novel, this was pretty good. This book gives a lot more background to the Walker family. It's so scary to see how much the parents would drink and how they could just drive all over the place with no repercussions. What a nightmare.

Please, I am begging you, skip the YaYas and go straight to this book. This is the money. This is the one you need to read. These are the characters before they became insufferable. These are the characters before the author envisioned them being played in a movie. That's all I can figure since the writing just went off the rails when she got to the YaYas and Siddalee became a dramaturge or something or other and they ended up jumping up and down on the porch trying to catch their tears in jars. I mean, really. This is a spitfire of a book.

This collection of related vignettes tells the story of a family in rural Lousiana. It starts in a humorous tone, with tales of the mother and friends (the Ya Yas), but turns serious, perhaps a little too abruptly. It has one of the best stories I have ever read--the chapater about Looking for Mules, which mixes strands of aging, poinancy, and lost opportunities. Really wonderful. I strongly recommend this book.

Didn't like this one as well as YaYa Sisterhood, but it's still pretty good.