Gambling for Good Mail: 06/30/09

In Gambling for Good Mail by Evelyn Cole, Felicia Wood's fourth husband has had it with her obsession with mail order catalogs and has filed for divorce. On her own again she has a few thousand dollars to put her life together. She goes back east to reconnect with her brother. Meanwhile her niece is looking to get her life back on track after a long bout with depression.

Back east Felicia spends time with Frank, her brother, Uncle Howard and his girl friend Harriet. She comes home from time there still without a job and now broke. Caitland bails her out by asking to rent a room for her.

Gambling for Good Mail has moments of humor and moments of poignancy. There are scenes that have stuck with me but I didn't click with the novel as whole. Part of the problem for me is Felicia's inconsistency. On the one hand she desperately wants to be in a committed relationship but she hardly takes any action to do her part in the relationship. Likewise she knows she needs to do something with her life but she doesn't take any action to do undo the mess she's in. Ultimately it takes personal tragedies to get her motivated.

My final thought on Gambling for Good Mail is this: there is a good and tight novel tucked away in a slightly too bloated book.

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