Abilene
By Dare Delano
Genre: Fiction
“We are all going off to battle and we have no idea what we are in for” – Chapter 34
Len is a 12-year-old kid who longs to know the
identity of her father as her mother Coralee refuses to tell her and neither
does any in her mother's family or anyone in the small town of Abilene. Why are
they all being so secretive in Texas? Len wonders if her parents broke up
because her mom became pregnant with her. In her search for her father, we are also
introduced to her grandmother Lorelai, her aunt Jean and Len friend’s mother
Doris. Will Len find her father ?
Does really getting to know the identity of your dad that important? Does it even matter if your father is not around when you have a loving family of women to take care of you? In this so-called patriarchal world does it even matter who the father is when women are independent and can take care of themselves and their loved ones? This is the larger question the book deals with. Sure, there are good men but do women need men to live their lives all the time? When Len says, “I am enough”, you realize the strength of the human female.
I don’t think I have ever read a book that punches you in the gut and wants you to save the characters from disappointment, emotional and physical abuse like this one. The novel has multiple POV (Points of View) of women in different age groups. However, it is a relatively smooth read.
Initially, I thought the story was about Len but then with so many women telling their stories, it is hard not to recognize many women in our lives and society as Dare Delano narrates the story of one family. To think this is a debut novel surprised me as the author carefully captures the emotions of women in her novel. While I guessed how it would end, the twists and turns keeps you going at a pace that makes it a must read for all women.
To buy the book, go to Amazon
