Victoria Patterson

I loved this book for so many reasons. First off, it is the only sports novel I know of that is about women and actually written by a woman and that takes place in a time when leading media around the world hailed the Olympics as "reserved for the solemn and periodic manifestation of male athleticism," when the only academic career for women was in "Domestic Science" and where a woman running out on the street would be stopped by the police for madness.

You'd think we have come a long way from that, but the banning of Women's Ski Jumping from the Olympics until just recently (due the ancient idea that athletics are harmful to the female uterus) goes to show that women still have a long way to be accepted into the male-driven world of sports. THE PEERLESS FOUR not only brings these pioneering women to life, but it is a genre-bounding work of historical fiction, superbly written, ruthlessly honest, daring, action-driven and leaves no doubt that women can truly kick butt! It's a testament to womankind, our virtues, strength, compassion and integrity.

Women need to know about and champion this book, because if not us, then who will?
… (altro)

When I read the reviews for Victoria Patterson's latest, "The Little Brother", I knew I wanted to read it. It is actually based on a true crime that took place in 2006. Gabe and Even's parents get divorced, and Gabe stays behind with their mother in Rancho Cucamonga ("Rancho" for short, Victoria, never "Cucamonga". No one calls it that. "The IE" or "The 909" are also acceptable) while Even moves with their dad to Newport Beach. Even is pretty happy in Newport (it helps that his dad is pretty wealthy, trust me, you're a lot happier in NB with money than without it) but he is concerned for his big brother Gabe. Whenever Gabe visits, he seems off, unhappy, complaining about being stuck with their needy, dependent mother. Then one fourth of July holiday Gabe comes to visit with some Rancho friends. Even leaves to go to a party with his friends. Later, one of his friends calls him: she has Gabe's video camera and is horrified by what's on there. She doesn't know what to do. When Even sees it, he doesn't know what to do either. He does know his brother could get in big trouble. Feeling sick and guilty, he turns the camera over anonymously to the police. It was a pretty good story, even if I winced every time I read the word "Cucamonga" by itself :)… (altro)

I had a slow start with this book and put it down, but when I picked it back up, I got hooked right away. I think it is a thoughtfully written novel, humorous at times and heart-wrenching at others. Its depictions of Orange County life can seem over the top, but simultaneously I thought the author did an excellent job at capturing aspects of inner life and family dynamics. It is unusual to find a contemporary novel that makes a theme of shame and deals so well its effects among the characters and in the inner life. The degree to which I care about a character is always a sign of a book that I will like a lot. As I read the end, I had the wish that the author would pick up Esther's story again.… (altro)

A enjoyable read, but for some reason I had a difficult time keeping the four athletes straight, and had to keep looking back at the opening pages to figure out who was being referred to. While it is an important story, and one that is well worth telling, I kept wondering how much of it was based on fact and how much of it was embellishment. (I know that the Canadian women were the "Matchless Six" rather than the Peerless Four, and that one of the characters who dies in 1935 in the book, didn't die until 1982--although the means were the same.) It's a work of fiction so the author is allowed to change things/use characters however she wants, but there were times when her liberties took me too far out of the story (which, of course, is more a criticism of my reading of the book than the author's telling of the story).… (altro)