LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE
A Memoir of A Woman’s Life
by Anna Quindlen
There is no doubt about it: I am a huge Anna Quindlen fan. She occupies a spot on my “must read” list. Every time I see that she’s published a new book, I scoop it up. (See reviews of Miller’s Valley, May 2017 and Alternate Side, June 2018.) Quindlen won the Pulitzer Prize and for a long time wrote a column for the New York Times.
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake is a collection of some of her best essays where she reflects on various parts of her life. Quindlen is about the same age as I am, which may explain why she consistently strikes such a chord with me. But more than that, I think she is an astute observer of human behavior and is able to articulate what she sees so that I often find myself thinking, “That’s right! That’s exactly how it is (or how I feel).” In this collection, she takes up what makes marriages last; how important women friends are to each other; the joys and sacrifices involved in motherhood; how every generation thinks they’ve got the answers their parents and grandparents didn’t have; and much more.
Anna Quindlen writes witty, entertaining prose. Amidst the entertainment, however, she offers valuable life lessons. This is a book that I encourage all my women friends to read and enjoy. (Liz)
