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| Plot Summary of Lily of the Valley |
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"Since she was a child, Lily Wilk has wanted to be an artist. But by her late thirties, she's still forced to supplement her existence with trivial jobs - painting supermarket windows, designing T-shirts for tourists, and other tasks that hardly allow her to utilize her full artistic potential.
To make matters worse, Lily's husband Jack has just returned to his ex-wife - taking his son, Little Ted, with him. Going above and beyond most stepmothers, Lily had fully welcomed Little Ted into her home and heart.
One day, Lily receives an unexpected phone call. Mary Ziemba, the most successful businesswoman in town, has heard of Lily's talents, and wants to commission her for a special project. From a boxful of old photographs, Lily is to draw a portrait of Mary and her father, sister, brother, husband and son, as they appeared during the best times of their lives.
As she begins working on Mary's portrait, Lily learns from the stories of Mary's full life, detailing the journeys upon which her family members embarked, as Mary herself arrived in America as a poor Polish immigrant, working her way to financial success with a local supermarket chain. The more she becomes engrossed in the joys and failures of Mary's family, Lily begins to worry about capturing them exactly as they should be, and develops a block.
Lily forces herself to complete her work. By the time the portrait is complete - and Lily suddenly discovers what the TRUE reason for its commission was - she also understands that the concept of "family" is far more complex and all-encompassing than she'd ever imagined.
"
Joanna, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Lily of the Valley |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- present (2000-2010)
Life of a profession:
- artist
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- lack of a boyfriend/girlfriend/squeeze
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Coping with loss of loved one(s)
Yes
Loss of...
- child/children
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- artist
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Eastern European
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- almost none
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 (a little)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Suzanne Strempek Shea Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Joanna
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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