Little Altars Everywhere: A Novel [Paperback]

 

 

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I read Rebecca Wells' books backwards. Although I didn't care much for the characters in "Devine Secrets," I admit to being curious about the prehistory of that book. So I read "Little Altars." What little interest I had in Vivi, the main character, plummeted to disgust. I feel that any human being (particularly one who has hired help,etc.) who has the desire to have children should do everything in their power to simply do "right" by them. I would have had ten million times the respect for Vivi had she taken care of her "needs" down at the local bar, or worse, as opposed to invading her own children's bodies. It really concerns me when characters in popular literature, who commit crimes against children, are treated as sympathetic and redeemable personalities. In A Map of the World, the author attempts to create a forgiving character whose criminal neglect results in the death of a child. In Little Altars, the mother, Vivi, sexually molests her children. In the sequel, we "learn" why the mother has violated the most important trust a human being should honor, and we are asked to forgive it. No! This supposedly bright woman has no excuse! She should have done everything to avoid such exploitive behavior. She had three friends who, along with herself, call themselves the Ya Ya girls. It would have made more sense had she "called" out to these friends for help. (Of course, then the author would have had to work at creating an interesting story about a less disgusting character.) I once read a book about the middle ages ( a very bleak period) called A Distant Mirror. The author explains that the overwhelming reason it was such a terrible period of history was due to the fact that children were simply chattel to be used at the owners' discretion. The result : children who attained adulthood were brutes, because that was what they knew. Sometime ago, I met a young mother in the education section in my library. She asked me if I knew of a good book for raising children. She told me her own mother was very violent in correcting her. She did not finish high school, and yet, she felt there had to be a better way of raising children than what she experienced. When I read this book, my most basic and internal beliefs as a human being, woman, mother, and friend were offended. I simply don't understand how a woman could give birth to a child and then hurt it as dramatically as does Vivi. And I could never befriend someone whose approach to life is so bizarre. This book disgusted me ! I would much rather read a book about that poor mother I met in the library. What a truly enlightened individual she must be! A final amazing thought about this book and its sequel is the number of grown women who love them. Are any of them mothers?

This was a nice easy read for high schoolers or adults. It's written in a laid back style with everyday language. The way it's written in all diferent voices and including tons of different points of view also kept it interesting. There were, however, some very disturbing parts and the cover and title seemed misleading to me.

Rebecca Wells is the author of Little Altars Everywhere. It is a novel about family relationships and the struggles they go through. She draws the attention of the reader through the use of emotions of even a seemingly heartless character. The novel can make you cry, yet at other times you sit there and laugh. Rebecca shows the value of family and friendship in this novel which is a crucial part of life in 1960's Louisiana. Rebecca Wells is often compared to Danielle Steel because of their use of emotions are very similar. Little Altars Everywhere won Rebecca the Western States Book Award. The sequel to this novel, The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood was turned into a motion picture.
Unlike other novels, this one does not have a plot that goes in a straight line. It does not have an introduction, suspense, or a conclusion. Instead, it goes back and forth between the voices of the characters. There is not one main character.
There are two parts to this novel: The first part of the novel takes place in 1960's Louisiana. The second half is thirty years later. Each member of the family take turns talking in this intriguing novel. The parents, Viviane and Big Shep Walker, the children Siddalee, Little Shep, Baylor and Lulu, and the two black helpers Willetta and Chaney, talk about events that happen in their daily lives. What is interesting is, rather than having one narrator as most novels do, this novel is narrated by the individual characters, chapter by chapter. Each family member has a different point of view on events. They also have different view points of Viviane's alcoholism. Each character came alive in their respective chapters. You could picture these characters in your mind.
Viviane Walker is the alcoholic, mother who has extreme highs and lows. Big Shep is the father. He is a cotton grower and likes to duck hunt. Siddalee is the oldest daughter. Her and her mother love to read and spend hours at the public library. She is a devoted Catholic and her emotions tell a great story. Baylor tells of the family's summer house at Spring Creek: how wonderful it is during the summer and how it is just his mom, his siblings and the Ya-Ya's. He loves how they are allowed to do whatever they want when they are at Spring Creek without daddy ever finding out. Little Shep loves yard dogs and tells about his experience one day with his grandma Buggy's poodle named "Miss Peppy." He is adventurous and likes to have fun. The youngest daughter Lulu, is the rebellious one. Her chapter is all about how she shoplifts and gives the items she steels as presents to her family until one day she gets caught and plays it off like she is an orphan. Willetta and Chaney are the black couple who help out the family. Chaney's family has been working with the Walker family for many generations; they are both good at heart. All of these characters are expressed through Wells' use of emotion and make the story one you can not put down.
The second half of the novel takes place in the 1990's and each member of the family again take turns talking, but this time it is about their past. Siddalee grows up and moves to New York, becomes a play-writer, and has been in therapy for ten years trying to figure out her mother. She is so drawn into the past and her emotional scars that her mother has left on her that she doesn't want to go home and see her mother.
She feels that her mother has ruined her life. Each character talks about the alcohol, physical abuse and violence they all had to go through to live and cope with Viviane.
The southern setting of the novel again is in Louisiana in the 1960's and plays a key role in the relationships with family and friends. The author grew up in Louisiana and could really express what life was like. Like Sidallee, Ms. Wells also moved to New York and became a writer as well as an actress and a play writer. But, this is not an autobiographical novel.
This novel is a real page turner. It opens your eyes to what life was like in Louisiana in the 1960's, with a very dysfunctional family. It is happy and sad all rolled into one exciting, must read novel.

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4.0 out of 5 stars a Good Book
I thought Little Altars Everywhere was very well written. Not like anything else i have read before. I enjoyed reading every minute of it. Read more

Published on May 12 2004 by Jen Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars Little Altars
"Little Altars Everywhere" is a humorous and heart-breaking look further into the Walker family. Read more

Published on April 27 2004 by A.E.B.

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Novel with Some Twists
I read 'Little Altars Everywhere' for my English class this year...it is a wonderful novel. The main character- Siddalee Walker- is not only intelligent beyond her years but she... Read more

Published on April 20 2004 by ashmo622

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow!!
Well this book was not at all what I expected! It's so much darker than I thought it would be. I thought the Ya-Yas where a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky kinda group (I'm basing this... Read more

Published on April 19 2004 by Mercedes L. Johnmeyer

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and moving
Reminiscent of Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or THE DEVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA, this stellar read is bound to please. Read more

Published on April 13 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reading Little Altars Everywhere prior to Ya-Ya Sisterhood is key to better understanding Ya-Ya. Together the two books tell a complete story. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2004 by Patty Philbrook

4.0 out of 5 stars It's the darker stuff that came before Ya-Ya
Sadder and much, much darker than Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Little Altars Everywhere is really about what went on before the Ya-Ya years. Read more

Published on Jan 9 2004 by Peggy Vincent

4.0 out of 5 stars It was pretty good.
I read Little altars everywhere because I really enjoyed the movie. This book was good, but I think the author might have described things too much at times, and it just dragged... Read more

Published on Dec 28 2003

3.0 out of 5 stars so-so
I enjoyed reading this book. It was nice, albeit disturbing to visit Sidalee's household as she grew up. Read more

Published on Nov 14 2003 by jlc4056

4.0 out of 5 stars Little Altars... Before or after Ya-Yas?
I just finished Wells' Little Altars Everywhere, and with having already read The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I wasn't sure if this novel was meant to be read before... Read more

Published on Oct 24 2003 by jmz

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