The Fixer Upper -- Lost in the Shallow End
By Mary Kay Andrews
Harper and Collins Publishers, $25.99
Reviewed by Teresa G. Hatfield
Every summer, women make a pilgrimage to their local bookstores. They scour the shelves for the perfect beach read -- a book that will complement the ease and relaxation they are about to experience. In her newest novel, The Fixer Upper, Mary Kay Andrews attempts to create the perfect embodiment to the quintessential summer read. This mission is not accomplished.
Andrews is the author of six other novels -- Savannah Breeze, Blue Christmas, Hissy Fit,Little Bitty Lies, Deep Dish and Savannah Blues. Writing under her real name, Kathy HoganTrocheck has also written ten highly acclaimed mysteries, including the Garrity mystery series nominated for Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Macavity Awards.
A native of St. Petersburg,Florida, Andrews is a bestselling author and former journalist for the Atlanta Journal - Constitution. The author and her husband now reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
Andrew’s descriptive ability is her strong point, and she uses her knowledge of the senses as she characterizes the warmth of the Georgia air, the smell of nature, and the brilliance of the sun as the luminous rays make their way through the window sheers in each room of the antebellum mansion. The author generously shares her understanding of the renovation process as she takes the reader through her novel.
Dempsey Killebrew, the main character, is an intelligent and beautiful young woman with a law degree from Georgetown University and a position at a major public relations firm. After being fired from her job, Dempsey is left homeless and almost penniless. She has one option -- to take her father’s offer to refurbish an old, rundown eighteenth-century antebellum mansion in Birdsong, Georgia, where this novel takes place. The plan is for Dempsey to quickly renovate and sell the mansion, which would allow her to make some much needed money and return to her home.
Miss Killebrew has no conception of what her future in the town of Birdsong holds. The reader will follow as she experiences the burdens associated with renovation, legal issues, and relationships.
Dempsey is devastated to find the family home in such ill repair. What surprises the character even more is whom she finds living in the home. Saddled with a future more uncertain than she is prepared to face, she puts her beautiful face in her hands and cries. Andrews should had ended the book here -- sparing many readers the pain of searching for a clear plot in this novel.
Those looking for mind - provoking content will be sorely disappointed, while those looking for an easy read will get what they paid for--a book full of work, laughter, friendship and love. The obvious goal of the author is to grasp at the heart-strings of the reader. It is the task of the reader to decide if her goal has been accomplished.
The Fixer Upper is neither thriller nor mystery. It is merely a fun read and the reader should expect no more. This book will never show up on an academic list of required reading, and it cannot be compared to the exceptional writings of great writers such as Faulkner and Fitzgerald.
She accomplishes what she intends to accomplish--entertainment for the audience she attracts. This nurturing and subtle touch on reality draws a certain audience to her books. The serious reader demands more than detail and a lesson in renovation – never making it past page twenty before discarding it.
Andrews doesn’t demand much on the readers' part--just a place to lounge while reading themself to sleep as the author addresses the struggles faced by the main character -- her successes, defeats, joy and disappointments. What she fails to mention is the reality experienced by those in similar situations.
Mary Kay Andrews will most likely continue to write these chick reads, and her followers will scurry to the closest bookstores to buy them. Obviously she has a strong following, made clear by her success. For the rest of the readers out there --this book floats up in the shallow end.
Teresa Hatfield is pursuing her second masters degree -- a Master of Liberal Arts.
Have a Happy Day!
Teresa
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