Lolly Winston Humor

Lolly Winston's "Good Grief" is an excellent book. I savored the last twenty pages, unable to leave the characters and their world in Ashland, Oregon,that I enjoyed these last few days. At times the story brought tears and other times, I laughed out loud, even in the reception room where I was waiting for an appointment.

Here is an example (page 256) of her style. It's a scene where Sophie, the main character, has been avoiding the man she dated for reasons I won't tell. He hasn't contacted her for a while and she's made a good-riddance list in an attempt to get over him. One morning she hears his voice on her answering machine as she's heading out the door to go to the bakery where she works. She clutches the front door handle and listens to the beginning of his apologetic message.

"Squeezing a stack of cookbooks to my chest, I creep back down the hall to the kitchen, holding my breath as if he might hear me through the answering machine.

This better be good."

A few lines down:

"I lean toward the answering machine as if to sniff it. Clean laundry smell, broad shoulders, narrow waist, callused warm hands. None of my good-riddance list items come to mind."

I'll miss Sophie, Crystal, Drew, Ruth, and Marion. Maybe I'll reread it one day just to be with them again.