Unexpected Pleasures

By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399131981
• ISBN13: 9780399131981
• Release Date: September 1986
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.9" x 1.0" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

A lovely, unique regional romance about an emotionally

stunted man and an intuitive, spirited young woman. I read this book when it first came out in about 1986 and re-read it every few years. It takes place in the early 1970s in rural southern Maryland, a very "down south" location for the mid-Atlantic region, especially then. The story, while a bit far-fetched, is made believable by Naylor's attention to detail about rural, working class life and her deft handling of the characters' emotions. The hero, Foster, is a lonely, socially backward, 30-ish bridge construction worker who's pushed by the local busybodies into proposing marriage to a motherless 17 year old girl. The ostensible reason is to shield the girl from her drunken, abusive father, but the town matriarchs are also hoping the girl can help Foster come out of the protective shell he's built around himself to cope with his own tragic past. The girl agrees, because she's smart enough to realize she's going to end up like her floozy sisters if she continues to live in her father's alcohol soaked, trailer-trash world. Of course, the unlikely couple has many serious obstacles to overcome and the relationship is strained to the breaking point on more than one occasion. It's fascinating to see these two different, yet deeply compatible, people trying to make their unorthodox marriage work. And heartbreaking when it appears they won't be able to do it. What I like about this novel is the simple decency of the hero and the heroine. In spite of the setbacks and disadvantages they've both suffered in their none-too-charmed lives, they are smart, resourceful and principled. They are also wildly in love with each other, even if they don't realize it until it's. . . well, you'll have to read it to find out! This is an above-average general fiction novel. Buy a used copy and curl up by the fire for a good read!