The Angry Woman Suite

In The Angry Woman Suite, author Lee Fullbright weaves an intricate, complex, multi-generational story of significant depth. Although the subject matter is neither pleasant nor uplifting, this novel can only be described as engrossing, as it pulls the reader in and drives him or her to discover all of its secrets.

This novel is told through the eyes of three characters. Aidan is a man who witnesses the consequences of terrible dysfunction between several families in a small east coast community. Francis, the product of that dysfunction, flees to the west coast and becomes the wholly unfit stepfather to the final narrator, a young girl named Elyse. The story opens with Elyse in the 1950s. From there, Fullbright slowly and masterfully moves back and forth to different times between 1900 and the 1960s to reveal the horrific story of the Grayson family and those they touched in their small community. The title of the book comes from a series of mysterious portraits that portray Francis’ mother, Magdalene Grayson. However, that title could apply to almost every woman in this novel, while most of the men are depicted as damaged by that anger. To add to the richness, Fullbright liberally laces recurring references to game strategy, to a particular battle in our war for independence, and to the theme that things are never what they seem. Finally, Fullbright fills the plot with enough unexpected twists to keep the reader in suspense till the very end.

Winner of too many awards to list here, The Angry Woman Suite really should not be missed. In the same way that some cannot look away from a car accident, this story rivets the reader’s attention and allows the reader to discover the depth of Fullbright’s writing. I, personally, will be on the lookout for more works by this author.