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“Being beautiful is no guarantee of happiness in this world. Strive instead for elegance, grace and style.”

I picked up this book at WH Smith in London. The elegant lady on the dust jacket was irresistible and I’m sure even men would give her a second glance. Despite its pretty appearance, I found it hard to categorize this book under “chicklit” as I feel it’s more than that.

The book is about Louise Canova’s transformation from an “Ugly Duckling” into a classic beauty with the help of a 40 year old manual by a Madame Dariaux. Initially, the beauty manual was used to help freshen up her personal image – in the end, it becomes a survival guide for Louise to revive her personal identity after her failed marriage.

Each chapter begins with A, B, C and so forth according to the letter Louise is on in her manual. Starting with superficial changes like colour coordination and simple cuts for suits, Louise becomes less and less the frumpy housewife she is.

Ironically, everyone around her, except her husband, appreciates the subtle changes. Louise is frustrated and angry but soon realizes that “It takes two to tango” and her playwright husband isn’t her leading man.

Louise moves out for a trial separation and finds herself at her colleague’s doorstep – gay Owen and his room-mate Ria. Together, the unexpected threesome help Louise pick up the pieces of her life and rediscover herself, which entails ditching the self-help manual altogether.

Once an “Ugly Duckling” myself, I enjoyed reading the book both for the story and the golden nuggets on style and deportment. Not one who believes in looks is everything, I do believe in stepping your best foot forward. No matter what shape or size you are, you owe it to yourself to look your best!

Like many married women, Louise let herself go and forgets the woman she was before. One interesting episode in the book is when her room-mates confront her about “covering up” when she was in their presence.

To her horror, she discovers that she’s always in a half-undressed state – it all stems from an unconscious desire to be noticed by her husband who never gave her the attention she craved for. She cries helplessly when Owen helps her pull her robe together and hide her nakedness, assuring her that she doesn’t need to bare it all to show that she’s beautiful.

This called to mind women who dressed in styles that scream, “LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!” Are they also craving for attention they are not getting?

I’m also reminded of the disgusted cries my male friends made when an obviously sexy friend approached. I was surprised - they replied that she was more desperate than sexy. To them, sexy is showing some skin, which tantalizes them to want to see more.

Hmm…fashion for thought, ladies.

This is Kathleen Tessaro’s first novel and I’m looking forward to her upcoming one because this lady can sure spin a story!

Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro
(ISBN: 978-0060522278)
Publisher: Avon A

Tags: chicklit, women by KittyCat
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Redneck Woman: Stories from my life by Gretchen Wilson & Allen Rucker
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(ISBN: 978-0446401234)

This new release was one of the nice presents Hubby brought back from the US for me and I couldn’t wait to read it, especially after skimming the blurb.

The term “redneck” is a very strong slur in the US, especially in the Midwest and I’ve always been mystified by what it means, even though my American colleagues tried their best to explain it to me, albeit in politically-correct terms.

In summary, it refers to the poorer whites (cruelly known as “white trash”) who live in the rural areas e.g. the characters from the old sitcom the “Beverly Hillbillies”. Teen marriages, domestic violence, moonshine, “wife beater” shirts (red, long-sleeved, plaid shirts), chewing tobacco and incest are frequently tied to this group, other than poverty and trailer parks.

Gretchen Wilson, one of US’ top country singers, tells her own tale about first, being a “redneck” and second, being a woman in this maligned community. She recalls the story of her life with Allen Rucker, her co-author, but succeeds in keeping the tone of the book as brutally honest as she sets it out to be.

I really enjoyed reading this autobiography and was very curious about WHEN Gretchen would actually get her moment in time in Nashville. Growing up in a town called Pocahontas, Illinois, she seemed to have an endless string of bad beginnings:

Just one-third into the book, I can imagine how hard and bitter she and her stepbrother would have become by the time they reached their teens. As she’s only 1 year older than me, I’m surprised they hadn’t made the headlines earlier for a school shooting or another form of violent crime!

The saving grace is Gretchen’s grandmother, Frances, who is a thrifty, kind, animal & plant-loving woman even though she married and lived with the most horrible man imaginable on earth. I almost shed tears when I read the part about Grandma Frances’ simple “wishlist”, one of which is to have a cleaning lady come just ONCE to clear their house. Not once a month or once a week - just one time.

Even so, Gretchen couldn’t take the madness of moving to avoid her stepfather’s angry clients that she dropped out of high school at 15. She worked as a waitress and a bartender and would have stuck to the common 2-job life of a “redneck woman” if not for her talent for singing.

Her belief in herself kept her bartending for money, pulled her through alcoholism and held her through a long plateau of small gigs before she actually struck gold in Nashville, the Hollywood for country music.

A true creative, she accepted any singing assignments she was given, regardless of the genre as long as she could sing - this proved really useful as she achieved amazing control over her voice. Be it the blues, country, pop or rock, she could sing it!

I rejoiced in her success when she finally got her first contract and also shared her sadness when Grandma Frances died before Gretchen made it big. I sense her sincerity and understand her desires in wanting to be the best mother and to give the best to her own daughter, Grace.

Similarly, I can appreciate the fact that she also wants Grace to know her humbled roots and this Gretchen succeeds by inviting her family members to be part of her success.

Also, despite rolling in riches now, she maintains her old lifestyle of cleaning up at her own little home and also allows her kin to continue with the “country” ways they are used to.

I was quite inspired after reading about Gretchen and as she says so at the beginning (adding also that she doesn’t mean to belittle the redneck way of life), she hopes that her life story will inspire any woman or “redneck woman” out there who thinks that she’s stuck with a bad deal in her life.

This book is a refreshing, informative perspective on the concept of being a “redneck”. At times I would have wanted more details about the life of a bartender or the hardships of rural America but I have to remember that this is, after all, Gretchen’s autobiography.

The only pop culture I can recall revolving around the “redneck” theme are:

“A Painted House” by John Grisham

“The Baby Dance” - Hallmark movie starring Stockard Channing & Laura Dern

Tags: autobiography, chicklit, cross-culture by KittyCat
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