Redemption and reunion figure prominently in McFadden's sequel to Sugar (2000), this time focusing on the life of the mysterious woman who came to the small town of Bigelow, Arkansas, and unleashed gossip, passions, and long-buried secrets. Having survived a near-fatal slashing, Sugar Lacey retraces her sorrowful life--back to Short Junction and the Lacey sisters who raised her in a whorehouse, back to St. Louis and Mary who helped her recover, and finally back to Bigelow to reconcile her past. But she returns with Mercy, Mary's drug-addicted granddaughter, now an orphan. The 1960s and the Vietnam War have taken their toll on the residents of Bigelow, compounding the human frailties of grief and revenge and the power of secrets. Sugar is reunited with solid Joe Taylor, emotionally fragile Pearl, angry Seth, and reticent J. J. But her tragic past also returns in the person of Lappy Clayton, who threatens to destroy the place Sugar has made for herself. To fully understand and appreciate this complex, vivid novel, be sure to read Sugar first. |
