Dear Exile: The True Story of Two Friends Separated (for a Year) by an Ocean by Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery
Nonfiction
1999 Vintage
Read in September 1999
Rating: 3/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
A funny and moving story told through the letters of two women nurturing a friendship as they are separated by distance, experience, and time.
Close friends and former college roommates, Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery promised to write when Kate's Peace Corps assignment took her to Africa. Over the course of a single year, they exchanged an offbeat and moving series of letters from rural Kenya to New York City and back again.
Kate, an idealistic teacher, meets unexpected realities ranging from poisonous snakes and vengeful cows to more serious hazards: a lack of money for education; a student body in revolt. Hilary, braving the singles scene in Manhattan, confronts her own realities, from unworthy suitors to job anxiety and first apartment woes. Their correspondence tells--with humor, warmth, and vivid personal detail--the story of two young women navigating their twenties in very different ways, and of the very special friendships we are sometimes lucky enough to find.
My Original Thoughts (1999):
Good. Not great, but not bad. Entertaining. Quick read.
My Current Thoughts:
I have no idea what led me to this book. Maybe, as a letter writer myself, I was drawn to the correspondence between these two women, but I don't remember a thing about their lives or this book.
I read this book around the same time and thought it was just okay. Pretty sure I got a copy from the publisher... suspect you might've too?
ReplyDeleteReally?! I wonder why we both read this and around the same time, too. Hmmm, maybe I did get it from the publisher. That would probably explain it. :)
DeleteI remember I was so excited when I found this book because my best friend had just moved to England so I thought I would find it relatable but I cannot remember anything about this at all. Had to pull out my book journal from back then and I made a mention that I couldn't believe they were best friends and the letters were too short. Haha.. I guess back then I had a lot more time to write longer letters.
ReplyDeleteIliana, thank you for sharing your thoughts about this book. I know I was a avid letter writer back in the 90s. One of my best friends had moved away and we wrote back and forth every six months or so and our letters were LONG! Pages and pages of chatting news. It was such a treat to receive those, so I'm sure my reaction to this book was very much like yours. :)
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