Searching for Blanche: A Novel

By Mary Kay Remick

Based on Tennessee Williams', A Streetcar Named Desire, a disturbed woman, accompanied by a grumpy cab driver, sets out to find Blanche DeBois. As they search widens beyond the boundaries of New... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966712803
• ISBN13: 9780966712803
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Pen Oak Pr
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

A great read

I grew up with the author, Mary Kay Remick. She was born a Southerner who got transplanted to the North when young. We attended elementary school, junior high school and high school together. She was not only a pretty, vivacious girl but a very perceptive one as well. She was always saying she wanted to become a writer. I lost track of her after high school graduation and didn't see her again until our 45th class reunion when she threw herself into my arms and gushed, "Oh, Dennis, I finally got to be a writer!" And I am here to tell you that she became a very good writer. Belle, the protagonist of her first novel, `Searching For Blanche', is a true to life character with whom I can identify, sometimes reluctantly. As a member of AA for twenty-six years I have seen her in myself and in many women who have worked out their problems. And some have stories far more bizarre than Belle's. Then there's the taxicab driver, Art, a man who has discovered his anima in Belle and becomes completely entranced with her. I can honestly say that once I picked up the book I could not put it down - not just because I know the author but because I just had to know what happened next! As the story unfolded I found myself identifying with Belle more and more, sometimes painfully. Mary Kay skillfully discloses the true Belle - slowly, which of course is the way we discover ourselves. And as in self-discovery, the journey never really ends, it just twists into a different direction. This book is a search of discovery, one in which we the readers participate. The other night on `Masterpiece Theater' in the performance of `Prince of Hearts', a professor was made to say, "You do not study literature to learn about literature, you study it to learn about yourself." If that statement is true, and I believe it is, then Mary Kay has not only written a smashing first novel but has also produced literature.

CHARACTERS AND A SEARCH YOU WON'T SOON FORGET

Talk about originality . . . I want author Mary Kay Remich to dream up another novel soon! Her SEARCHING FOR BLANCHE pairs her upper-class heroine, Belle, with Art, a Big Easy cab driver. The unlikely duo searches in current day New Orleans for the equally memorable Blanche Du Bois of STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE fame. Watching Art and the multi-layered Belle evolve was humorous one moment, poignant the next. I couldn't wait to see how their hot search on that cold trail would end!

Beautifully written, thoughtful - could not put it down!

How could you not root for these two! The story was excellent and the book made you wonder and think! Hats off to the author of this very pleasant and entertaining book!

Easy, fun reading!

I went to Barnes & Nobles looking for a new book when Mary Kay Remick arrived for a book-signing. I started talking to her, what a character, and then felt like I should buy her book. Well, I was totally and pleasantly surprised. It was a wonderful book, with characters who are easy to fall in love with and you really do root for them. I read this book in 2 days which is really something considering I have 2 small children. I strongly recommend reading this book before they make it into a movie!

This novel is rich in setting, characterization, and plot.

This is a riveting novel that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next! The author shows depth of understanding of mental illness as she paints a picture of Belle in her search for a fictional character. Her characterizations of Belle's associates are likewise rounded and realistic. In addition, her descriptions of New Orleans will make anyone familiar with the French Quarter feel as if he or she were right in the middle of the action. I was fascinated with the wise use of detail that made scenes come alive. What a good read!