Reviews
"With the fine line drawing of an acute novelist, Margaret Gibson has given us not only an enthralling memoir of family portraits but also a powerful evocation of history. The world of her story is the genteel impoverished white South on the cusp of the great change of civil rights--a story too little told from this vantage point and with such unguarded candor. She tells it with integrity and heart, but always with fierce clarity. I laughed, I sighed, I was there. A remarkable achievement." --Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory, "Margaret Gibson has plumbed silence and secrets, class and consciousness to produce this exquisite jewel of a memoir. The Prodigal Daughter is as much a portrait of the artist as a young girl as it is a meditation upon the way art can come from calamity-sometimes, as here, producing a final, hard-won kind of grace. This is a poet's book, with rigorous, beautiful langua≥ indelible images (oh Lord, the old lady in the red kimono!), and insights that took my breath away." -Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls, "Margaret Gibson's memoir is a vivid account of a child of the South who feels both estranged from and entrenched in southern culture. She makes us care about this young girl who, with energy and imagination, struggles to find her own mind and heart in a time of civil rights ferment and religious change. Gibson's prose is impeccable, her portrayal of characters precise, giving the reader a glimpse of historical change through the eyes of a sensitive and insightful girl. The transition from child moving toward adulthood to child assuming responsibility for her own aging parents and a disabled sister is plausible, poignant, and instructive." --Elizabeth Cox, author of The Slow Moon, "Margaret Gibson's memoir is a vivid account of a child of the South who feels both estranged from and entrenched in southern culture. She makes us care about this young girl who, with energy and imagination, struggles to find her own mind and heart in a time of civil rights ferment and religious change. Gibson's prose is impeccable, her portrayal of characters precise, giving the reader a glimpse of historical change through the eyes of a sensitive and insightful girl. The transition from child moving toward adulthood to child assuming responsibility for her own aging parents and a disabled sister is plausible, poignant, and instructive." --Elizabeth Cox, author of The Slow Moon, "Amid Margaret Gibson's descriptions of the song of a mockingbird, the hard ways of sisters with each other, schooldays in Richmond, and her own growing into knowledge, difference, and indeed love, lie the stuff of all people's lives, thus transforming a bookish evening into an experience shimmering with light, enjoyment, and above all happiness." --Sam Pickering, author of Indian Summer: Musings on the Gift of Life, "Margaret Gibson's evocation of urban southern society in the 1950s is so on target it's scary. This is a brilliant book." -Shannon Ravenel, cofounder of Algonquin Books, "Amid Margaret Gibson's descriptions of the song of a mockingbird, the hard ways of sisters with each other, schooldays in Richmond, and her own growing into knowledge, difference, and indeed love, lie the stuff of all people's lives, thus transforming a bookish evening into an experience shimmering with light, enjoyment, and above all happiness." -Sam Pickering, author of Indian Summer: Musings on the Gift of Life, "This is a remarkable book. The matters that it embodies, and Margaret Gibson's insight and intelligence in identifying their presence, make this memoir as readable an evocation of a time and place as I've ever come across. This portrait of the artist as a young Virginian is rich in nuance, psychologically astute, and totally honest, without pose or pretense." --Louis Rubin, author of Where the Southern Cross the Yellow Dog: On Writers and Writing, "This is a remarkable book. The matters that it embodies, and Margaret Gibson's insight and intelligence in identifying their presence, make this memoir as readable an evocation of a time and place as I've ever come across." -- Louis Rubin, "Margaret Gibson has plumbed silence and secrets, class and consciousness to produce this exquisite jewel of a memoir. The Prodigal Daughter is as much a portrait of the artist as a young girl as it is a meditation upon the way art can come from calamity--sometimes, as here, producing a final, hard-won kind of grace. This is a poet's book, with rigorous, beautiful language; indelible images (oh Lord, the old lady in the red kimono!), and insights that took my breath away." --Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls, "Margaret Gibson's memoir is a vivid account of a child of the South who feels both estranged from and entrenched in southern culture. She makes us care about this young girl who, with energy and imagination, struggles to find her own mind and heart in a time of civil rights ferment and religious change. Gibson's prose is impeccable, her portrayal of characters precise, giving the reader a glimpse of historical change through the eyes of a sensitive and insightful girl. The transition from child moving toward adulthood to child assuming responsibility for her own aging parents and a disabled sister is plausible, poignant, and instructive." -Elizabeth Cox, author of The Slow Moon, "With the fine line drawing of an acute novelist, Margaret Gibson has given us not only an enthralling memoir of family portraits but also a powerful evocation of history. The world of her story is the genteel impoverished white South on the cusp of the great change of civil rights--a story too little told from this vantage point and with such unguarded candor. She tells it with integrity and heart, but always with fierce clarity. I laughed, I sighed, I was there. A remarkable achievement." --Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory, "With the fine line drawing of an acute novelist, Margaret Gibson has given us not only an enthralling memoir of family portraits but also a powerful evocation of history. The world of her story is the genteel impoverished white South on the cusp of the great change of civil rights-a story too little told from this vantage point and with such unguarded candor. She tells it with integrity and heart, but always with fierce clarity. I laughed, I sighed, I was there. A remarkable achievement." -Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory, "This is a remarkable book. The matters that it embodies, and Margaret Gibson's insight and intelligence in identifying their presence, make this memoir as readable an evocation of a time and place as I've ever come across. This portrait of the artist as a young Virginian is rich in nuance, psychologically astute, and totally honest, without pose or pretense." -Louis Rubin, author of Where the Southern Cross the Yellow Dog: On Writers and Writing, "Margaret Gibson has plumbed silence and secrets, class and consciousness to produce this exquisite jewel of a memoir." -- Lee Smith, "Margaret Gibson's The Prodigal Daughter is a lovely memoir, rich with family history, vivid details, and a lively sense of storytelling. It is a moving story of self-discovery and awareness within a complex family portrait." --Jill McCorkle, author of The Cheer Leader, "Margaret Gibson's evocation of urban southern society in the 1950s is so on target it's scary. This is a brilliant book." --Shannon Ravenel, cofounder of Algonquin Books, "Gibson's prose is impeccable, her portrayal of characters precise, giving the reader a glimpse of historical change through the eyes of a sensitive and insightful girl." -- Elizabeth Cox, "Amid Margaret Gibson's descriptions of the song of a mockingbird, the hard ways of sisters with each other, schooldays in Richmond, and her own growing into knowledge, difference, and indeed love, lie the stuff of all people's lives, thus transforming a bookish evening into an experience shimmering with light, enjoyment, and above all happiness." --Sam Pickering, author of Indian Summer: Musings on the Gift of Life, "Margaret Gibson's The Prodigal Daughter is a lovely memoir, rich with family history, vivid details, and a lively sense of storytelling. It is a moving story of self-discovery and awareness within a complex family portrait." --Jill McCorkle, author of The Cheer Leader
