This Fine Life [NOOK Book]

Worth the Read

"This Fine Life"
by Eva Marie Everson
Revell,
A Division of Baker Books,
Grand Rapids, Michigan
©2010
Born into priviledge and educated in a private girls school, Mariette Puttnam faced an uncertain future. In 1959 girls were culturally expected to marry finding fulfillment by boosting their husband's careers. Only a few went to college and those that did usually finished with a Mrs. before their name, not a M.A. after it. Thus when Mariette's father suggested she go to college, her social climbing mother balked. Their disagreement threw the young graduate into a quandary until a chance meeting changed everything.
Written in the first person like a diary, "This Fine Life" conveys the challenges Mariette and her loved ones faced. Throughout, she searched for deeper meaning in life, struggled to find faith, became baffled by circumstance, but responded with love, trust and faithfulness. All the while, she wondered where God figured into everything. Her answer came in a climatic roadside event.
Eva Marie Everson has written a compelling, page turner that delves into some of the harder issues of life. While it began somewhat slowly, the pace picked up as the plot unfolded. Do not toss this one into the library sale barrel. This book was well worth the read.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This Fine Life

The description on the back cover of this book is pretty vague, so I really had no idea what to expect or where this story would go. I really liked that about this book because watching this story unfold page by page was so much more enjoyable than knowing the whole story ahead of time. And what a wonderful story this is! I want to keep my review of This Fine Life vague just as the publisher did on the back cover because I think part of the joy of reading this story is not knowing where God will take Mariette next or how he will work in her life.

I think one of the things I liked so much about this book is the fact that I could relate to Mariette in so many ways. She is so real and I think a lot of readers will see themselves in her. I got a great deal of comfort from that. I also got a great deal of comfort from Mariette's friend Missy. We all need a friend like her. There were so many other wonderful characters and personalities in this story. I just loved the overall feel of this book.

I don't usually care whether a story is told in the first person or the third person, but I am really glad this story is told in the first person. This story being told from Mariette's perspective made it even more intimate, emotional, and real. It just would not have been the same written any other way.

I really loved This Fine Life. I just can't say enough good things about this book. There was nothing I did not like. There was not a moment of boredom. The story was never slow. The characters were wonderful. The setting was beautiful. I just loved it! I highly recommend it to anyone. It will definitely go on my favorite books shelf.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

TRULY INSPIRING!

This lovely novel captures the essence of the 1950's and early 1960's where a young couple tries to find their way in life and in love. Mariette, accustomed to a privileged life, graduates boarding school in 1959. She falls in love with Thayne Scott, who works as a mail clerk in her father's factory. Her parents forbid the relationship, but they go ahead anyway.
Though she's attended church all her life, Mariette lacks a personal relationship with God, but Thayne talks to Him in his church in the woods and decides to go into ministry. Through the hardships of his first ministry, Thayne promises her he'll be able to provide her a fine life one day. She's destined to become a preacher's wife. She endures the loss of her firstborn, a daughter they name Rachel, and her second birth of a son named Gabe and struggles with every day hardship.
She grows and matures during her small town simple life in the deep south where she devours one book after another that her mom sends her.
She discovers a great deal about herself, about God, and about friendship, all that changes how she defines This Fine Life. Truly inspiring.


Others I found truly inspiring, EXPLOSION IN PARIS, REDEEMING LOVE, CRACKED HEARTS, I WILL WAIT FOR YOU and SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

What is a True Fine Life? Will She Find it?

This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson, published by Revell, copyright 2010, is a top-notch, five-star novel comparable to Lynn Austin's All She Ever Wanted. It's my favorite novel by the author. Last year's Things Left Unspoken was a great Southern novel, but this one outshines it.

Mariette Puttnam graduates boarding school in 1959 used to a privileged life, unsure of plans for her future. She figures she'll enjoy her summer and decide if she should opt for a career and more schooling to please her father, or marry into the right social family to make her mother happy. None of those options feel right. Something's missing, and she finds him, Thayne Scott, working as a mail clerk in her father's factory. They fall in love and can't bear to be apart, though her mother and father forbid the relationship.

Though she's attended church all her life, Mariette lacks a personal relationship with God, but Thayne talks to Him in his church in the woods and decides to go into ministry. Mariette always feels she's "on the outside looking in" and doesn't really belong. She can't bake pies and fry chicken, which seem to be main requirements for a preacher's wife. She can't answer Thayne's question about where she stands with God; yet, she's supposed to be a preacher's wife.

Through the hardships of his first ministry, Thayne promises her he'll be able to provide her a fine life one day. But, she must endure snobby busybodies in the small town where he receives his first assignment, and they can't even have a husband and wife disagreement in private.

Journey with a young lady destined to become a preacher's wife, as she endures the loss of her firstborn, a daughter they name Rachel, and her second birth of a son named Gabe, when she learns how to talk to God in earnest. Discover the joys of a simple life with her. When she moves into their first real home, a guest cottage for the small-town preacher, Mariette throws herself into making the place a home and redecorates until she depletes the bank account.

This is the story of a young woman who grows and matures during her small-town journey and finds ways to keep herself busy in a town so tiny it doesn't even have a library. She devours books and must depend on her mother to keep her stocked. When her husband is offered his second assignment, they have an opportunity to have the fine life he promised her in the form of a two-story brick home with five bedrooms and three baths, and she can finally escape Logan's Creek. Which life will they choose? Will it be the true fine life? Can Mariette ever really make a preacher's wife, or will she remain one in name only?

If you love Southern novels, you'll find this one awesome. I didn't want to put it down. Eva Marie Everson evokes feelings as she tugs at a reader's heart and mind. I laughed, and I cried, both requirements of a five-star novel. If the book doesn't make me feel for the characters, it hasn't accomplished its goal, and it's not for me. I love character-driven Southern novels like this one. Grab it today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. You'll be glad you did. Sip sweet tea and taste this novel. Don't think I've told you everything; I saved the best twists and surprises for your own journey. This novel is realistic because the characters are so real-to-life, and it's so much more than an average young love story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Easy to like....

The characters are easy to relate to and the story hooks the reader quickly. Set in the late 50s you can see the struggle a young woman faces between following her own path in life while respecting her upbringing and appreciating where she came from.

Wonderful

Lovely book, characters you love, wow will be reading more by this author

Good Story

Good Story would give this 4 stars

One of my favorites by far

This book is wonderfully set in 1960's. I love books written from that era or set on that era!!! More please!!! Good wholesome and clean. LOVED IT!!!!!

Nostalgic look at simpler times

I really liked this book for several reasons. 1 . The writing was great. I thought the level of detail about the characters' attire, homes, etc., was fantastic and helped create the picture in my mind. 2. The main character's perspective as a pastor's wife was realistic and relatable. This isn't a book trying to convince you to be a Christian. 3. It was free. Very cool and will cause me to look for this author again. A really good book and definitely recommended.

Wonderful

As stated by others, this was an easy read. I couldn't put it down! A beautiful story about how the Lord leads you in unexpected ways to blessings greater then you could have ever imagined for yourself.

really good

I loved this book i thought the story was good

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great, just wonderful!

They should really make a movie of this! I can not believe that such a great book is free. Any age would love this, I am 13 and I know that my mom, even my gramdma, would love it,

Great read!

I loved this book from beginning to end. Very easy read.

Loved it!

I loved this novel's twists and turns. Not too racey but just enough romance. Definate good read.

Good story

Easy read. Ggood for an fternoon.

Reads like a classic

Simple read about a young couple's ups and downs in the early years of marriage. Based in 50s/60s. Highly recommend.

A must!

Loved it. Especially if you are from GA.

A great read!

Definitely reccommed to any romance reader. I was quickly egulfed into the lives of Marriette and Thayne and I truly enjoyed the novel.

Southern fiction, religion, comtemporary fiction

THIS FINE LIFE by Eva Marie Everson is an Inspirational Contemporary Fiction set in the 1960's thru the 1970's in the South. It is a great Southern novel. It is well written and written in the first person. It gives us insight into the life of a pastor, wife and family during his first ministry. It is a tender story of growing up and facing reality.The characters are easy to follow, you will feel their lose and their triumphs. It has tragedy, joys, struggles, trials, and Christian values. It starts out a little slow but picks up by the second chapter. This book was received for review and details can be found at Revell and My Book Addiction and More.

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