Alice

I discovered Alice through one of those bookclubs my children brought home from school each month. What a treasure. So profound. Such an allegory of Love & sacrifice! I agree with those reviewers who wonder why this and Sudie (also by Sara Flanigan)are out of print. Publisher, reprint them! Market them! They are jewels. Sara Flanigan, I feel a kinship with you. I hope you are deeply engrossed in your next book and that I will soon be reading it!

Ellie Perkins lives a hard life with a drunken father and her confused brother. Her mother is deceased and so her Aunt Bessie takes on the role of both mother and aunt. Then Ellie finds Alice, a beautiful girl who is deaf and locked away in a shed by her ignorant mother and abusive step-father. Ellie and her brother Sammy sneak her out of the tiny shed and teach her to read, play, count, speak, hear, laugh and to cry. This is a wonderful story that will break your heart. A book you'll never forget!

I first became aware of Ms. Flanigan's writing upon viewing the film, "Wildflower," which was Ms. Flanigan's film adaption of the novel, "Alice." I just had to find the novel, being aware that the book is always better than the film. I located the book in Oklahoma at a used book store. Upon reading the book I was struck with Ms. Flanigan's incredible ability to describe life in a rural community in the 1930's. I believe, as other reviewers stated on the dust cover, that Ms. Flanigan was writing from her heart about things that she had indeed experienced. I was carried away! What a incredible story! It was as if I had found a pearl on the beach. The language just added to the magic for me. I will now try to locate her other novel, "Sudie" and hope that Ms. Flanigan finds it within herself to write more. Bravo!!