Saying Grace

Rating:
Summary: The stuff of Life
Review: This is the first piece of fiction I have read in quite awhile, and it has whetted my appetite for more... at least more in the style of Beth Gutcheon. Having sent my children to a private school through eighth grade and volunteered during most of those years as a teacher's aide, I was mesmerized by Gutcheon's complete encompassment of the trials, tribulations, life and humor of it all.

The side stories, which continued to introduce many different characters, took some concentration to keep up with at the beginning, but added immensely to the overall balance of the book. As in real life, the totality of the book, with the varied personalities involved, paralleled reality so closely it became uncomfortable at times. But isn't that the sign of a good book... a good story?

I thought the decision to include or not include the endings and answers of the many side stories in the end was very true to life. I was immensely pleased with it all.