Sullivan's Island takes its reader to a time and a place that I know little about.  Yet the author (Dorothea Benton Frank) did a pretty good job of making it real for me.  This is a Southern tale.  Charleston and the nearby Sullivan's Island and home to the Hamilton family.  And through the eyes and memories of the daughter, Susan, we get to learn all about the events that shaped the Hamiltons' lives. 

Alternating between 1963 and 1999, we get to know Susan at two very important times in her life.  In '63, as a young teenager, she survives the death of several family members, watches her mother sink into depression, deals with an abusive father, and watches as racial tensions mount, and take their toll on her life.  In 1999 we meet a Susan who has been beaten down by an unfaithful husband, who has let herself go over the years, and who struggles to raise a teenage daughter in times that are very different from those in which she grew up.  And we watch as she returns to her roots, and grows.

And all along, we are treated to little glimpses of Southern life, in both decades. 

I enjoyed both halves of the story, although the one set in the 60's captivated me much more than the one in the 90's.  The characters, in 1963, seemed so real to me, and the settings were brought to life beautifully by the author.  I could smell the bacon frying and hear the porch door slamming.  I was fascinated by this family, and their tribulations. Reading about a "typical" white family, with the wise, black housekeeper, against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement drew me right in.  And the Gullah and Geechee language and culture were fascinating.  Whether the dialect depicted throughout the story was true for that place and time, I really can't say, but the author had me convinced it was genuine.

The characters in 1999 held a little less fascination for me.  This part of the story wasn't nearly as colorful as the one set in the 60's.  And aspects of it were downright annoying.  Like the fact that Susan constantly criticizes her daughter for using certain phrases, yet Susan uses those same phrases all the time.  Her explanation that she's an adult and can do as she pleases doesn't hold true for me.  Children learn from our examples.  If you want them to have good manners, and speak properly, why not be a role model and show them the way, instead of constantly criticizing when they simply copy you.  I also hated several of Susan's decisions.  Like coddling her soon-to-be-ex-husband, who treated her like dirt, multiple times.  And taking it in stride when her daughter engages in some truly dangerous behavior.  (Let me get this straight, you harp repeatedly on her grammar but don't punish her for truly bad behavior that's downright dangerous??)

So, the 1999 story held a little less interest for me.  Still, the book is a winner, for me.  With characters I cared about, lots of snippets that covered a full range of emotions from joy to anger to sadness, this book touched this reader.

Recommended: Yes