Firefly Lane
Kristin Hannah
Reviewed by Eileen Goudge
“Best friends forever,” that’s the catch phrase of bosom buddies, Tallulah “Tully” Hart and Kate Mularkey. Ever since they were teens, when the gloriously tempestuous Tully moved in across the street from shy, self-described nerd Kate, they’ve been the “Firefly Lane girls.” At first, Kate can’t imagine what the “most fabulous-looking girl she’d ever seen” would see in her, but Kate has her own strengths. She and her family provide the ballast that keeps the storms raging in Tully’s life from capsizing her. Tully, the child of a sixties drop-out drug addict, has never known what it is to feel totally secure, while Kate’s upbringing has been so safe she deems it early on to be “boring.” Together they are fire and water, a perfectly mismatched pair that somehow strike the perfect balance.
Their friendship is a life-long one that spans the restless seventies and “glitter and cocaine” eighties to the present day. Their paths diverge---Tully rises to fame as a TV anchorwoman. Kate chooses marriage and motherhood---and though they occasionally clash, they never lose the essential connection that makes them TullyandKate. With dialogue that rings true on every page, Kristin Hannah paints a vivid portrait of what it means to be a friend. I was reminded of what, I think, most women my age have come to realize: Boyfriends and husbands come and go, and children eventually go off on their own, but a best friend is forever. I found myself constantly thinking of my own best friend, who has been the sane voice at the other end of the phone for more than thirty years. Our friendship has endured through (collectively) two divorces, eight moves, the deaths of both my parents and her youngest brother, the sturm und drang of raising three children, career dips and domestic cataclysms. Hers is the first number I call when I have thrilling news to report…or when there’s a life crisis. I vividly recall phoning her from the hotel room where I was holed up after leaving my (now) ex-husband. I was an emotional wreck, but I ended up laughing through my tears as we wondered aloud what the reaction of the 911 operator would be were I to call with the “emergency” of not being able to stop crying.
In FIREFLY LANE, veteran author Hannah captures that essence. We see Kate struggling to keep up with the demands of motherhood, Tully extending a helping hand when needed…and Kate cheering Tully on with each of her career achievements. Neither is perfect. The inevitable misunderstandings arise and sometimes cause a rift. But even, later in the novel, when the more serious of those rifts threatens to end the friendship, a life crisis once more pulls them together.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll read this page-turner of a book, as I did, with a knowing smile, thinking of your own friendships. At the end, you’ll be wiping a tear from your eye. It’s a lovely story, compelling told, that captures what it means to be a BFF (best friend forever).
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About the Reviewer:
Eileen Goudge is the New York Times bestselling author of such beloved novels as ONE LAST DANCE, GARDEN OF LIES, THORNS OF TRUTH, and IMMEDIATE FAMILY. She’s also written a cookbook, SOMETHING WARM FROM THE OVEN.
She lives in New York City with her husband, reporter Sandy Kenyon.
Eileen invites you to visit her online at www.eileengoudge.com.
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