August 5, 2022

Looking Back - A Girl Named Zippy

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.


A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Nonfiction - Memoir
2001 Doubleday
Finished on May 3, 2001
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965 in Mooreland, Indiana, it was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period—people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.

To three-year-old Zippy, it made perfect sense to strike a bargain with her father to keep her baby bottle—never mind that when she did, it was the first time she'd ever spoken. In her nonplussed family, Zippy has the perfect supporting cast: her beautiful yet dour brother, Danny, a seeker of the true faith; her sweetly sensible sister, Lindy, who wins the local beauty pageant; her mother, Delonda, who dispenses wisdom from the corner of the couch; and her father, Bob Jarvis, who never met a bet he didn't like.

Whether describing a serious case of chicken love, another episode with the evil Edythe across the street, or the night Zippy's dad borrowed thirty-six coon dogs and a raccoon to prove to the complaining neighbors just how quiet his two dogs were, Kimmel treats readers to a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and shy as she navigates the quirky adult world surrounding Zippy.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

My husband thought this was a very funny book. I didn't think so after a couple of chapters, but then one vignette about dog-sitting had me laughing so hard, I had tears running down my cheeks! A memoir about a little girl growing up in Mooreland, Indiana. There were a lot of humorous passages, as well as some touching ones. I can't say that I loved this book (it's definitely not another All Over But the Shoutin'), but it was entertaining. Quick read.

My Current Thoughts:

I should borrow a copy of this book from the library just so that I can reread the story about dog-sitting! Maybe it would be good to listen to on audio.

14 comments:

  1. I remember hearing lots of great comments about this book before I read it, but I also remember feeling a little disappointed when I did. I would say that I felt a little let down that the author led such a normal life. I kept wondering why she felt like she should write a memoir.

    Now that we have gone through such difficult times in the past few years, I might like to reread this book and enjoy its normal-ness.

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    1. Deb, it might be an uplifting memoir to reread. My husband is curious about it, wondering why he enjoyed it so and yet, doesn't remember a thing about it. I'll get it from the library for him and might give it another read myself.

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  2. My book club read this back in the day, but I remember it as being just okay. My bet is that the audio might be more enjoyable than print.

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    1. JoAnn, it seems like many of us thought it was just ok, but not outstanding. I'm going to borrow a copy from the library for my husband to read again. We'll see if it calls to me when he's finished.

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  3. Well now you have me wanting to read about the dog sitting!

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    1. Tina, I plan to read that part of the book again when I get a copy for my husband to reread!

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  4. I read this and based on the title alone - I don't have a clue what it was all about...LOL

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    1. Diane, not exactly remarkable was it?

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    1. Vicki, I have no idea what was so funny about that part of the book, but I want to read it again to see if it still makes me laugh.

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  6. I loved it when I read it, and I also read the second book about her mother - She Got Up Off the Couch. It was also good, maybe not as humourous.

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    1. I remember that she wrote another book, specifically about her mother, but never got around to reading it.

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  7. Pet sitting for someone else can be quite a challenge. For me, it was the German Shepard who tried to eat their baby goat and I did not want to put my hand near his mouth to get him to release it! Luckily we all survived fairly unscathed.

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    1. Helen, that experience with the dog and goat sounds terrifying! I remember trying to get our dog to drop a baby rabbit and she would have nothing to do with me! I finally got her leash and said let's go for a walk and she immediately dropped the bunny and went obediently with me. Phew!

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