A Cure for Dreams

by Kaye Gibbons

Book Overview

Like her first two award-winning novels (Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman), A Cure for Dreams is set in the rural and small-town South and draws richly upon the author's ear for comic turns of phrase... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0945575335
• ISBN13: 9780945575337
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 170 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

a South I never knew

Kaye Gibbons' books all focus on a South that I have never known. That said, I love this place that she creates. It is a bit of old-school South, in that it seems like bad things are just bubbling under the surface, waiting to burst free. This is the same world that Faulkner, Dickey, and Welty inhabit. A world where human passions are often dark and where salvation is often not forthcoming. But unlike the others, Gibbons's character's are frequently rescued from the pit by their relationships with family. All of her books have a bittersweet poignancy that will leave you feeling tearful and introspective, but not depressed. I have enjoyed all of her books.

Wonderful style...

I found this novel to be perfect for the person who wants to get his or her mind off of things. A CURE FOR DREAMS travels through several generations in the American south, allowing us into the lives of an interestingly eccentric family. The language used in the books, the ways the words flow, if pure genius. Gibbons has done it again.

A wonderful book about women

This was the second book I read of Kaye Gibbons and I enjoyed it very much. Ms. Gibbons has quite a grip on the Southern experience and depicts it well in this story. She also has a special gift for weaving the experiences of several generations reminding us we are created from many people's pasts and we are the foundation for many people's future.

Insightful Thoughts, Lessons in life, Easy read...

Kaye Gibbons does it again...I couldn't put this book down, not because I was waiting for the end, but I couldn't get enough, I didn't want to finish it!!! Each chapter provides a unique insight or life lesson that made me pause to think and often laugh at the way people are...it was as if each chapter was its own short story, yet they flowed together to make one outstanding book! I found this book, like others of Kaye Gibbons, a comfortable, easy read that left me wanting more!

THE SPECIAL BOND BETWEEN MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS

A Cure for Dreams is a well-written story created by Kaye Gibbons. In this novel she traces the close and itimate relationship between four generations of Southern women, beginning with the great-grandmother and ending with the great-granddaughter. I am currently a senior in high school dealing with college applications and barely have any free time to read, but I honestly could not put this book down. I throughly enjoy reading books that have happy, family-oriented plots. Kaye Gibbons did an outstanding job in pursuing this in her book, and I can truly relate to it. My great-grandmother is still alive and she is constantly telling me her life stories, which resemble the stories in Gibbon's novel. I have always believed that there is a "special" bond between great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers and daughters, but I believe that the mother and daughter bond is the most precious. In "A Cure for Dreams" Brigette says, "I was in step with my mother, and though I was on friendly terms with young people my age, I perferred to stay right by her side like a little twin." These words really stood out for me. I love going out with my friends on the weekends, but I cherish the moments that I get to spend with my mother, alone. It will be very difficult for me to leave for college in the fall. Another element Kaye GIbbons showed us was during the toughest situations, if the family sticks together, then they can easily overcome any problem. I believe that if the family works together then any circumstance can be resolved. In the 1920s, when the story begins, it demonstrates how important families are and the book ends with the exact same message. In the 1990s families are just as important and maybe even more than they were in the 1920s. To me, my family is and always will be the most important thing to me. I would like to thank Kaye Gibbons for writing such an appropriate novel for a girl like me who is growing up in such a chaotic world!