Myra Sims

by Janis Owens

Overview

Readers received a refreshing introduction to the Sims and Catts families in Owens' first novel, My Brother Michael, narrated by the inimitable Gabriel Catts. Here to tell her side is Myra Sims, the apex of a love triangle that includes Gabe and his brother, Michael. Myra's fresh perspective will bring new insight to a story of incest, adultery, and hard-won love among the denizens of Magnolia Hill, a Florida Panhandle mill town. We follow Myra from her violent childhood and entrancement with Gabe's snap-eyed genius, through her marriage to the older and more stable Michael, to her breakdown and renewal as she battles the demons from her childhood that haunt all three of them. In the end, you will, as both Gabe and Myra do, love Michael.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561647118
Publisher:	Pineapple Press, Inc.
Publication date:	11/22/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	715,335
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Janis Owens was born in Marianna, a small town in the Florida Panhandle. Her father was a preacher and insurance salesman who moved his family to Mississippi and Louisiana before settling back in north Florida. She earned a degree in English and Southern History from the University of Florida. She is also the author of Myra Sims, the companion to My Brother Michael.

Editorial Reviews

Readers got a refreshing introduction to the Sims and Catts families in Owens's first novel, My Brother Michael (LJ 12/96), but there is more than one side to every story. Here to tell her side is Myra Sims. Perhaps it is her fresh perspective as narrator, or perhaps it is Owens's more confident and poignant writing, but this retelling adds depth to an already complex and haunting tale. Readers will become engrossed in the stories of brothers Gabe and Michael Catts and the woman, Myra, with whom their lives are entangled. For those who are new to their story, these strong and refreshing characters will not disappoint. Owens has proven she is a Southern writer who is here to stay, at least in the hearts of her readers.--Shannon Haddock, BellSouth Corporate Lib., Birmingham, AL

Library Journal

Complementing the story told by Gabe Catts in the author's much-praised first novel, My Brother Michael (1997), comes the tale of Myra Sims, an abused young woman. This time out, though, Owens narrative doesn't quite pack the expected punch. Even the revelation by Myra of her father's rape and transmission of syphilis to her-this when she was 12-somehow falls flat. Her story also begins with the funeral of Michael Catts, her fortyish husband, at which Gabe, Michael's younger brother, arrives drunk and late. Gabe's been in love with Myra ever since her family settled in next door to the Cattses in north Florida's working-class Magnolia Hill. Myra describes how, as a child, she fell in love with the entire Catts family, if only because they were kind and decent. After Myra's drunken father brutally beat up Mr. Catts, broke young Gabe's wrist, and then raped Myra (and was arrested), the Simses moved away. Later, grown up and on the way to a promised job, 17-year-old Myra decided to visit the Catts family-and simply never left. She married hard-working Michael, and in another year became a mother. But her difficult past began to oppress her: she grew psychotic, and had to be medicated. While ill, she dallied with Gabe and bore Hinson-but Michael, now a successful businessman, nevertheless forgave her. Terminally ill, he devised a plan to bring Myra and Gabe together, and after some rather strange moments, it worked-like most of the Cattses' schemes. With her story told, Myra feels forever grateful to Michael: for he was the man who taught her to hold her head up. A wryly sweet if underwhelming down-home saga. .

Kirkus Reviews