Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews (HarperCollins) turned out to be the perfect way to spend an air-conditioned evening. So much so, that I read it at a record pace.
The plot revolves around Eloise “Weezie” Foley, an antiques picker who just went through a nasty divorce and is forced to deal with some rather eccentric family members in the Deep South.
Andrews manages to have some good fun with Southerners, antiques dealers, high society and tried and true Catholics all in the same book. At the same time, she name-drops lots of familiar antiques and collectibles incorporating a little extra entertainment that collectors don't usually find woven intentionally into the pages of a novel.
Even more intriguing were tales of a tool shed filled with antiques purchased sight unseen for $100 and a little romance for our heroine once she slows down long enough to appreciate it. Oh, did I mention the corpse found in a closet at an estate sale?
While Savannah Blues isn't high literature by any means, it's written well enough so that you can believe all these things could happen to just one person in a fairly short period of time. And if you've been out rustling the bushes for antiques a time or two, you might even recognize some of the characters she runs into on her “junking” adventures.
What else can I recommend for summer reading? If you're an admirer of modern art, or just enjoy a good life story, try Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim by Anton Gill (HarperCollins). From the tragic death of her father on the Titanic to her own eccentric life as an avid modern art collector and zealous lover, Peggy Guggenheim makes an excellent subject for a light-read biography.
Or, maybe one of the bed and breakfast mysteries by Mary Daheim (Avon) might suit your taste. Daheim just released the final installment in this series entitled Silver Scream. After all, collectors do tend to love a bed and breakfast getaway!
Book cover scan by Pamela Wiggins
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