From Publishers Weekly
Gibbons (Ellen Foster; On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon; etc.) hearkens back to the Brontë sisters with her penchant for the gothic in this rather stilted novel of female oppression and liberation. As WWI draws to an end, 22-year-old Mary Oliver sits at home in Washington, D.C., waiting for her postgraduate literature classes at Radcliffe to begin. To give her something to do, her mother, Martha, suggests that she travel to North Carolina to visit Martha's estranged half-brother, Troop, and his wife, Maureen, who is expecting a baby. Troop was a terror as a boy and young man, but Martha is sure he has changed since his marriage. Mary, however, arrives to find that Maureen has been all but destroyed by Troop's psychological manipulation and verbal abuse. Troop refuses to allow newspapers into his house and intercepts all letters, reinforcing the impression that, though war is raging in Europe, the real battle of the novel is being fought on the domestic front. Diagnosed with "female hysteria," Maureen has been subjected to various demeaning "treatments." Troop blames both her and Mary's family for his elderly mother's death and rules by fear in his quest for moral superiority, while Maureen is coached by Mary to fight for freedom and self-fulfillment. Mary is well suited to the task, since she comes from an unconventional family-her grandfather, one of the novel's most appealing characters, is a nudist. Reading aloud from letters written by a family friend who sought adventures abroad, Mary helps Maureen draw closer to an appreciation of "the joy at the confluence of love and freedom." Erratic storytelling weakens the novel, but Gibbons's tale is atmospheric and unsettling, narrated in hushed Victorian tones and ornamented with period flourishes. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Gibbons reads her seventh novel with a graceful, hypnotic rhythm reminiscent of its North Carolina setting. Her painful story, however, is anything but hypnotic--it seethes with volcanic intensity. In autumn, 1918, at the emotionally strangling confluence of a flu epidemic and rumors of imminent peace, Maureen Ross makes two important discoveries: She is married to an emotionally frozen tyrant, and she is pregnant with his child. When her 22-year-old niece, Mary, comes to her rescue, Troop Ross appears bent on ripping apart any sense his wife has of her own worth. Can Mary's youthful fire spark renewed self-esteem in her aunt, or is it too late? Gibbons's wise restraint as a reader in some sense prepares us for the novel's ultimate explosion. P.E.F. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gibbons, as literary as she is popular, tends to portray resourceful, freethinking women in novels that subtly critique classic southern mores and offer clear-eyed inquiries into the tolls of illness and war. In this enveloping tale of marital strife and female resilience, Gibbons considers conflicts between blacks and whites and men and women within the context of the First World War and the Spanish influenza epidemic. Martha has sent her intelligent daughter, Mary, to North Carolina to help Martha's half-brother, Troop, and his expectant wife, Maureen, and Mary is amazed to find herself in a household as miserable as it is opulent. Troop is a coldhearted, possibly insane despot; lovely and muddled Maureen is his prisoner; and Zollie and Mamie, their kind African American employees, are treated with appalling indifference. The hate, lies, and machinations at work in this psychotic hothouse rival that of the most gothic of southern melodramas, a tradition Gibbons shrewdly subverts as she divines the true nature of feminine power and points the way toward justice in this gorgeously moody and piquant fairy tale. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
A powerful new novel from the bestselling author of Ellen Foster Autumn, 1918: Rumors of peace are spreading across America, but spreading even faster are the first cases of Spanish influenza, whispering of the epidemic to come. Maureen Ross, well past a safe childbearing age, is experiencing a difficult pregnancy. Her husband, Troop -- cold and careless of her condition -- is an emotional cripple who has battered her spirit throughout their marriage. As Maureen's time grows near, she becomes convinced she will die in childbirth. Into this loveless ménage comes Mary Oliver, Troop's niece. The sheltered child of a well-to-do freethinking Washington family, Mary arrives to help Maureen in the last weeks of her confinement. Horrified by Troop's bullying, she soon discovers that her true duty is to protect her aunt. As influenza spreads and the death toll grows, Troop's spiteful behaviors worsen. Tormenting his wife, taunting her for her "low birth," Troop terrorizes the household. When Mary fights back, he goes over the edge. Maureen rallies with a stunning confrontation and, ultimately, finds spiritual renewal.

About the Author
Kaye Gibbons was twenty-eight when her first novel, Ellen Foster, was published. Walker Percy hailed it as "a lovely, sometimes heart-wrenching novel," while Eudora Welty called Gibbons "a stunning new writer." Six more novels followed, each gathering prizes and accolades. Divining Women is her seventh, the first to appear in six years. Gibbons lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her three daughters.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Autumn 1918: Rumors of peace are spreading across America, but spreading even faster are the first cases of Spanish influenza, whispering of the epidemic to come. Maureen Ross, well past a safe childbearing age, is experiencing a difficult pregnancy. Her husband, Troop - cold and careless of her condition - is an emotional cripple who has battered her spirit throughout their marriage. As Maureen's time grows near, she becomes convinced she will die in childbirth. Into this loveless menage arrives Mary Oliver, Troop's niece. The sheltered child of a well-to-do, freethinking Washington family, Mary comes to help Maureen in the last weeks of her confinement. Horrified by Troop's bullying, she soon discovers that her true duty is to protect her aunt." As the influenza spreads and the death toll grows, Troop's spiteful behaviors worsen. Tormenting his wife, taunting her for her "low birth," hiding her mother's letters, Troop terrorizes the household. But when Mary fights back, he begins to go over the edge, and Maureen rallies, releasing a stunning thunderstorm of confrontation and, ultimately, finding spiritual renewal.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

… reading Kaye Gibbons invariably provides pleasures, including her gorgeous voice and the generous empathy she brings to her female characters. Her return trips to the first half of the 20th century are powerful reminders of American women's struggles and gains. It's always entertaining to tag along on her journeys, and when she follows her quirkiest impulses, she is a great literary companion. — Valerie Sayers

Publishers Weekly

Gibbons (Ellen Foster; On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon; etc.) hearkens back to the Bronte sisters with her penchant for the gothic in this rather stilted novel of female oppression and liberation. As WWI draws to an end, 22-year-old Mary Oliver sits at home in Washington, D.C., waiting for her postgraduate literature classes at Radcliffe to begin. To give her something to do, her mother, Martha, suggests that she travel to North Carolina to visit Martha's estranged half-brother, Troop, and his wife, Maureen, who is expecting a baby. Troop was a terror as a boy and young man, but Martha is sure he has changed since his marriage. Mary, however, arrives to find that Maureen has been all but destroyed by Troop's psychological manipulation and verbal abuse. Troop refuses to allow newspapers into his house and intercepts all letters, reinforcing the impression that, though war is raging in Europe, the real battle of the novel is being fought on the domestic front. Diagnosed with "female hysteria," Maureen has been subjected to various demeaning "treatments." Troop blames both her and Mary's family for his elderly mother's death and rules by fear in his quest for moral superiority, while Maureen is coached by Mary to fight for freedom and self-fulfillment. Mary is well suited to the task, since she comes from an unconventional family-her grandfather, one of the novel's most appealing characters, is a nudist. Reading aloud from letters written by a family friend who sought adventures abroad, Mary helps Maureen draw closer to an appreciation of "the joy at the confluence of love and freedom." Erratic storytelling weakens the novel, but Gibbons's tale is atmospheric and unsettling, narrated in hushed Victorian tones and ornamented with period flourishes. (Apr. 12) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Like the author's last novel, On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon (1998), this latest fiction is a period piece, a dark story of abuse and transcendence set in late 1918 as the horrors of World War I abate and the great influenza pandemic begins its destruction. Gibbons's trademark female narrator is Mary Oliver, a spirited young woman from an eccentric but socially prominent Washington household. Her high intelligence and ethical standards are challenged when she travels south to assist the pregnant wife of her long-estranged Uncle Troop. After settling into her relatives' small-town North Carolina mansion, Mary finds a shocking situation. Troop, an emotional batterer, has reduced his loving Maureen to a virtually helpless state of self-hatred and dependency. Under Mary's leadership, the household rebels, with dramatic consequences. Despite some riveting passages and the grace of Gibbons's economical prose style, this colorful material falls somewhat flat: too much is explicated and too little is revealed through dialog and action. Potentially interesting personalities seldom develop beyond stock characterizations, most notably the villainous Troop and Mary's loopy, if loving, immediate family. Not the writer's best work; purchase where demand warrants. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/03.]-Starr E. Smith, Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile

Gibbons reads her seventh novel with a graceful, hypnotic rhythm reminiscent of its North Carolina setting. Her painful story, however, is anything but hypnotic—it seethes with volcanic intensity. In autumn, 1918, at the emotionally strangling confluence of a flu epidemic and rumors of imminent peace, Maureen Ross makes two important discoveries: She is married to an emotionally frozen tyrant, and she is pregnant with his child. When her 22-year-old niece, Mary, comes to her rescue, Troop Ross appears bent on ripping apart any sense his wife has of her own worth. Can Mary's youthful fire spark renewed self-esteem in her aunt, or is it too late? Gibbons's wise restraint as a reader in some sense prepares us for the novel's ultimate explosion. P.E.F. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews