The Stone Diaries by Carol Shield

Title: The Stone Diaries
Author: Carol Shields
Publication: April 1995 by Penguin
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780140233131

Description: This fictionalized autobiography of Daisy Goodwill Flett, captured in Daisy's vivacious yet reflective voice, has been winning over readers since its publication in 1995, when it won the Pulitzer Prize. After a youth marked by sudden death and loss, Daisy escapes into conventionality as a middle-class wife and mother. Years later she becomes a successful garden columnist and experiences the kind of awakening that thousands of her contemporaries in mid-century yearned for but missed in alcoholism, marital infidelity and bridge clubs. The events of Daisy's life, however, are less compelling than her rich, vividly described inner life--from her memories of her adoptive mother to her awareness of impending death.

I Give This Book 3 Stars!

I'm not sure really what to think of this book.  The description makes it sound like it is told from Daisy's point of view, but really it is not.  It almost like an outsider wrote it that knew everything about Daisy.  While I liked the book, I felt next to nothing for Daisy herself.  I found those surrounding her to be far more interesting.  They gave the story life.  Thankfully you get a few clips of the story told from varying viewpoints.  I got the most from the letters, etc that are throughout the story.   I kept hoping the Daisy would eventually find something to tie her to this world.  Most people I think go through life trying to make their mark, something that says they were here long after they're gone.  With Daisy it was like she knew she would never been remembered, so why try.  She even felt her children and grandchildren would eventually forget about her.  She was content to just exist for the moment.  It was not depressing, I just felt sorry for her.  Still, not a bad story.  And it was much more enjoyable than the 2 of the 3 books I've read for my Pulitzer Prize winners challenge.