Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: A Novel

by Rebecca Wells

Book Overview

"A very entertaining and, ultimately, deeply moving novel about the complex bonds between mother and daughter." --Washington Post"Mary McCarthy, Anne Rivers Siddons, and a host of others have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060173289
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Attendrissant !

"Une danseuse de claquettes maltraite ses enfants..." Quand Vivi Walker lit dans le « Sunday New York Times » le portrait que brosse d'elle sa fille Siddy, metteur en scène à succès, elle la renie sur-le-champ. Afin d'aider à renouer le dialogue entre la mère et sa fille, les amies intimes de Vivi finissent par la persuader d'envoyer à Siddy son album souvenir : « Les divins secrets des petites ya-ya ». Siddy va alors plonger dans l'univers des ya-ya, du nom cajun que les quatre amies se sont donné lors de leur folle jeunesse en Louisiane. Elle découvre un petit groupe à part, soudé par une amitié que rien n'a jamais pu affaiblir. À travers ces souvenirs fragmentés, Siddy découvre ainsi une image inattendue de l'exubérante Vivi, une femme meurtrie que seul le soutien indéfectible de ses amies a pu maintenir debout.Une bien belle histoire d'Amitié.

Simply Divine...

Two words that sum up this marvelous work of literature by Rebecca Wells: simply divine. I read this book on an airplane simply to pass the time, and found myself engrossed in a charming, quirky, and delightful romp of four of the most richly drawn women I have met in literature in a long time.Wells manages to capture the incorrigible spirit of each of the "Ya-Ya's" and their dynamics are wonderful. Their complex, supportive group is a real entity, as real as the characters that created it. The most rich character of the bunch is Vivi, whom you both love and fear. She is a tornado in the Louisana swamps, and her antithesis is her much-confused daughter Sidda. It's Sidda and Vivi's relationship that lies at the heart of this book. Through Vivi's life, Sidda learns and relearns some important lessons in life that allow her to continue forward. By looking back, it helps sets her future. What could have been merely a fun romp turns out to be dripping with personal nuggets of honesty. With each turn of the page, you laugh, you cry, you contemplate. Divine Secrets is surprisingly full of divine secrets, and discovering them is half the fun.Take it from a guy who loved this book: don't delay, put this book on your summer reading list, and then enjoy the movie.

Ya Ya, Ha Ha

It took me a while, but I finally jumped on the Ya Ya bandwagon. I am very fond of Southern Literature and this book is one of the reasons why.The characters were both hilarious and sad, cultured and classless.The writing conjured up vivid images of the characters and surroundings. I lent it to my mother but warned her not to read it on the train as I knew she would make a scene from laughing out loud.Fun, funny and heartwarming.

Totally 'Divine'

This book and the companion to it, "Little Altars Everywhere" are beautifully crafted, real and funny. I'm amazed that some reviewers found the characters "shrill alcoholics". Wells' brutally honest characterisation of the Ya Ya's: all their flaws, their pain, their unfulfilled dreams, made me like and admire these women - not dislike them for being flawed; for being human.I found the Ya Ya's inspirational in their love and acceptance of each other; their enduring friendship and spirit. Sure, these women were dysfunctional even before we had a name for it but they got on with life, they raised more than a dozen children between them (who wouldn't need a drink!), and even had some laughs along the way. At the core of this story is the familiar theme of mothers and daughters: a relationships that is so complex and at times, drainingly difficult. Accepting that mothers are not perfect; or have had perfect lives, marriages; and realised all their dreams is part of seeing your mother for who she really is and this is where Wells gets us to.If you're a fan of Gone With The Wind you are in for an extra special treat - the reportage from a 10 year old Vivi to her friend from opening night of Gone With The Wind in Atlanta is simply laugh out loud gorgeous. In fact you'll probably want to read it out loud to someone so you can really enjoy it!Finally I would suggest that if you find you love this book buy it for a special friend - if they also love it I suspect you have yourself a Ya Ya sister who simply put, "gets it".

Not as light and frothy as the title implies

I had resisted this book for a long time because the title seemed silly. But I'd heard from several people that it was a good book, and I was ready to read what I thought might be light and frothy entertainment. I was immediately caught up in the story, however, and soon discovered that this was not a light book at all.Sidda, who was brought up in Louisiana is, at age 40, is a successful theatrical director who has a falling out with her mother, Vivi, when she reveals too much of her childhood in a New York Times interview and her mother is depicted in print as a "tap dancing child abuser". Sidda is so deeply upset by this that she postpones her upcoming wedding and goes off to an island off the coast of Seattle to be alone. Her mother sends her a copy of a scrapbook entitled "The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and gradually Sidda discovers more and more about her mother as well as about herself.The four women who call themselves the Ya Yas developed their friendship as children in the 1930s and have been friends ever since. They've kept their friendship through their teenage years in the early forties, their marriages and motherhood in the 50s and have continued their friendship right up to the present, being there for each other through a lifetime of living.The story is really Vivi's story though, and the place of the three friends in this novel is of important, but yet supporting players. With ultimate skill, the author brings the reader into the deep south. There's humidity and sweet smelling flowers; there's love and cruelty; there's the inequality of the racial relationships, there's funny and poignant stories; there's deep characterization. And, most of all there is friendship between the Ya Yas.Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I wanted to know what happened next. I wanted to learn more and more about Vivi. The structure of incident and flashback worked for me. And I found myself getting into the skin of a Scarlet O'Hara-type character who I might not like if I met on the street. She's a complex person. And VERY imperfect. And that is where the strength of this book lies.Recommended.