Set in rural Oklahoma, this American family saga spanning four generations is touching, inspiring and bursting with wholesomeness punctuated by misery inflicted on good, kind folks by thoughtless and hurtful people (and, spoiler: justice rarely prevails). It is very well-written, and I would definitely read more by Cooper, but there was a bit too much heartbreak and exploitation for reading this to have been an enjoyable experience. ( )

All the characters in this book have hard lives. It follows several generations in a family. They work hard to try to survive and are often did wrong. They try to always do what's right and keep God in mind. It covers several family relationships and romances. You see several characters from childhood to death. Some die from old age. Others die too soon. Basically, I think the point is just how difficult yet fulfilling life can be and also maintain your faith. ( )

“Life is Short But Wide” takes place in Wideland, Oklahoma from about 1910 to the late sixties. Our narrator and on-looker is 91 year old Mrs. Hattie B. Brown who lives with her 105 year old mother. She wants to tell us a story that follows the shape of a “Y” showing two parallel lives that eventually flow into one another. We meet three generations of men and women, starting with Irene and Val and their two daughters, Rose and Tante. We also meet their neighbors Bertha, Joseph and their daughter, Juliet. Eventually we'll pick up the story of Rose's daughter Myine and her life in Wideland and her connection to Herman Tenderman.

The author develops a step by step historical journey across the generations where each tries to improve their life. The author presents the universal themes of love and survival under oppressive circumstances but for some reason I just couldn't identify with many of the decisions most of the characters made. There is a lot of sadness in this novel, most of it encouraged by poor decision making on the part of some of the more annoying characters. I believe the author has a big fan base and the book is probably better than I'm giving it credit for but I honestly don't think I would try another one of J. California Cooper's books. ( )

I loved this story of the growth of a woman and her love. It was a deeply moving. ( )

I found this to be like reading someone's diary, where every thought jumps around and every thought that pops into the writer's head is also included on the page. I felt that reading each person's prayer (many, many prayers, and then add some more prayers) was unnecessary. There were also tedious descriptions of how to clean a house, and how to apply perfume. It just left me wondering what the point of the book was. ( )