I read this book a few years ago, before reading Ya-Ya's, and just recently got it back from my mom, who was cleaning out her office bookshelves. (That woman has an enviable library!!)
I was shocked when re-reading some things I must have forgotten in my original reading of the book. I don't think I would have moved on to "divine secrets", or have loved the movie so much, had I remembered some of the details. Part of me wonders, why was it included, near the end of the book, with Little Shep, in the one chapter dedicated to him, that his mother touched him, and the other children, he suspected, inappropriatly? I know these are fictional characters, but, it's almost like Rebecca Wells added insult to injury, making the character of Vivi Walker not only insane, and abusive, but a molester of her children.
In Ya-Ya's, we are supposed to be somewhat sympathic for her, and the situation that Siddalee's article has put her in. And then joyous at their final reconcilliation. But, how does one reconcile with a molestering mother?? I believe it was either an oversight, or a gratuitous except trying to make us hate the character of Vivi even more.

For the most part I enjoyed this book. There were parts of Viviane’s past that were extremely disturbing and actually not needed (it just took her from a drunk narcissist to an actual monster) in the YaYa book Vivi was one of my favorite characters but this book has forever tainted my opinion of her. (I know that’s silly because it’s fiction) I wish the author had just not put that in. I don’t see how it added to anything at all. I did enjoy how each section was told by a different character at a different point in their lives and with their own perspectives. I especially enjoyed the sections told by Big Shep.

Awful, awful book! I loved 'Divine Secrets' years ago and recently reread it to find it was better than I remembered. So I read 'Little Altars' for the first time and it ruined this storyline for me. Namely, Vivi Dahlin, the mother you love to hate. I had some empathy for her in Divine Secrets, but in Little Altars, you discover she's a monster of a child abuser. I liked her better when I thought she really only had one bad episode with her children. And honestly, it was unbelievable for the Vivi character for the author to take it this far. Why do modern day authors think they need to put in some seriously sick sh$t for someone to read their books? It was totally unnecessary.

I am SO glad I read this after Ya Ya. Ugh, if I had read it beforehand, I may not have read the other book at all.

YaYa was written in a way that made Vivi seem human, but also with a decidedly magical charisma. In Altars she was - well, I dunno. Totally bonkers, I guess I'd say. And this is on TOP of being an alcoholic, which tore my dress a little. I felt like it stole away some of the magic.

By itself it's a humorous, touching, poignant read - but as a companion book to YaYa it's ... I dunno. It'd be like taking a look inside your preacher's head - while he's delivering a message that you know is for you and will forever change the way you do something. So, say you could hear him talk to himself and what you heard him say was, "I need to poop." Altars was like that for me - suddenly I knew more than I wanted to. Boo.

This book leaves a bad taste in my mouth and a hole in my heart.

I have previously read the other two books in the Ya-Ya series, and upon completion I felt Vivi Walker was a damaged woman who sincerely tried to do the best she could with the hand she was dealt. "Ya-Yas in Bloom," in particular, ended with a feeling of redemption for the entire Walker clan. However, after reading "Little Altars Everywhere," I am disgusted beyond belief at this character. The Vivi Walker in this book is a bitter, angry, cruel child molester who ruins the lives of her children. Forever. I am not able, for the life of me, to understand how other critics and readers can describe this book as "hilarious" or "witty" or "nostalgic."

Overall, this book leaves me feeling conned. I fell for the Ya-Yas (Vivi especially) only to discover that at their core they are rotten. I am unable to reconcile the two images I now have for this family and that leaves me feeling angry and betrayed.

Take my advice, read the other Ya-Ya books, but little "Little Altars" alone.

Ok I rarely review things with 5 stars, I'm a notorious 4-starrer all around because I generally like the books I read by the time I finish them

This book was much more fucked up than I thought it would be. Two stars may not be enough but after pounding through it all night I can't decide if I want to kill the author or myself. I am almost afraid to read the other two books. But, I shall soldier on!

I think a childhood in America in the 1960's is going to have a lot in common whether you grew up in the suburbs of S. Calif like I did, or in a farming family in a small town in Louisiana like the character Siddalee and her siblings. From being called Sara Bernhardt when you pouted and stomped your foot and whined, to watching Roadrunner on TV, to eating Ritz crackers, bologna sandwiches, Fritos, grilled cheese sandwiches, coca-cola, and snickers bars, calling things "even-steven", being told to push back your cuticles and wearing cold cream at night. And a lot of the tougher stuff too, like most adults smoking cigarettes and drinking, getting "belted" for a punishment, parents screaming at each other.
But this book goes beyond that. It starts out eccentric and charming in its way, the drinking doesn't seem beyond what I used to see, as I said drinking and smoking was accepted in the 1960's as regular behavior, and belting your kids was acceptable as well. This book strays into territory beyond that, it gets kind of monstrous and very sad really.
The author is a gifted writer and succeeds at connecting her reader to each character in her story, and to Louisiana itself. Without being overly descriptive each character tells you about what is going on with them at the time and it makes a very complete picture, especially when the children are young. When the children are grown I had a harder time relating to them although I retained my connection to the main four adults: Vivi, Big Shep, Letta and Chaney. I felt especially connected to Big Shep in the section where he finds an old black man in his fields looking for his mules. I could understand his tears and his feelings very well and I mourned the changes and the loss of the farmland in Louisiana, I cried along with Big Shep. Despite Vivi's behavior I found myself often liking her and I liked the way the book wrapped up with Siddalee's declaration to her mother, the one she repeats twice, that felt right. Still a sad book in many ways, not the light-hearted read that I expected. It is much more complex and sophisticated than it would seem to be, a social commentary, not just a story of one family.

Consider this a review of all three of the Ya-ya books because what I have to say about this one can't be said without referencing (without spoilers, of course) the other two.

These books are going to be love/hate for everybody who touches them. So let's get the good out of the way: some people say this series sucks because it's another quirky my-dysfunctional-family series and really, that's misleading. The movie made it into that, sure, but these books are a lot deeper than that. Wells writes characters as people. In one story, the characters are delightfully gray. I mean in one story, all of the characters will be right and wrong simultaneously, caring and aloof, vindicated and unquestionably unforgivable. By writing characters this way, you really get a fuller narrative. These characters could easily be people you know, maybe even people you've met before. And the range of characters and narrations is a delight. Also, I love how well connected all the books are. You learn one detail from a story and it pops up in other stories, from the point of view of others or as a reference or an example. You see these characters from 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person, with different people taking on different roles and evolving (for many of them) from childhood to adulthood. My favorite example of this is Mr. Ogden who is an often mentioned character (the least "fun" of the husbands). He starts as a reference, even sometimes as a stereotypical stuck-up older white man, but by book three, we see him as a fearful grandfather, a protective father, and a vulnerable man all in one story. It's a great evolution and it's nice to see characters written this way in short story format.

The major problem that readers will face is a difficult one. All people triggered by child abuse or alcoholism, stay away. Do not even bother with this. And that is part of the problem. In Little Altars Everywhere, we find out that Vivian abuses her children above and beyond "hey, it's the 1960s and everybody hits children as a form of discipline". If you've seen the movie, it is much worse in the book and, in one story, we find out as an audience that Vivian sexually abused one of her children, the extent of which is vague. This issue is never brought up again. Ever. It's in one story from one of her children's point of view and while the story is well written and deals with the honest truth of coming from an abusive home and being unsure of one's body and one's boundaries with others, that's it. One well written story and done. It's never mentioned again in any of the other books. So you, as a reader, see so much about how Vivian has suffered and how she gets into crazy escapades with her girlfriends...all while knowing that she's a child molester and a child beater. And the main book (the one the movie is based on) takes a sinister feel to it when you realize that the Ya-Yas are trying to fix a relationship between a woman and her mother who abused her. Do they excuse her behavior? Yes and no at the same time and it's uncomfortable. But through this exploration of Vivian, we see the cycle of abuse and how it continues from one generation to the next. So many people gush about Vivi as if she is the most awesome thing ever and I think the movie is slightly to blame for that because when you hear her mother's back story and see what happens with her children, it's really hard to sit through her stories. It's hard to empathize with her and it does color many of the stories from her point of view.

Does she have a tragic back story that causes everything? Yes and it is heartbreaking to watch how she is nearly broken over and over again. But does it take away from her unapologetic attitude about the abuse? Why does Siddalee need to have her relationship mended with her mother? Why don't her siblings have a similar experience? It puts a sour taste in your mouth and that might be too much for some readers.

Also, I'm really not sure how to feel about this but there are at least two (I might be remembering wrong) stories from the point of view of the Walkers' black maid and handyman. Their stories, while a more honest portrayal of black people than you usually get from Southern literature, are still hard to deal with without getting headaches at the stereotypes that Wells doesn't break. I think they're worth reading but bear that in mind, POCs. It's not THE HELP but it's not BELOVED either, okay?

I personally like these books because of the development of character and setting, not for the happy fun joy ride with kooky characters that some proclaim that it is. I like it because it's realistic and every happy ending has a black lining through it. If you're curious, check it out but I really cannot stress enough that you go into this series knowing what you're in for.

The only book in existence I wish I could unread

Fastest I'v read any book this year! Love, love, love this writer, a cross between Judy Blume and Jodi Picoult. The narrative switches between characters and the plot is built around what each character says and their point of view. For the most part it is told in the present tense, but switches back and forth between the 60s and 90s. The chapters aren't necessarily in chronological order, however, that doesn't diminish the power of the story. This is the introductory book to the famous Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The Ya-Ya's are in the background as we meet and learn about each of the Walker children, parents and help (in the roles of Chaney and Willetta, who I love). Although it is presented in a first person narrative, I didn't get the sense of being "told" something. I really felt and saw the whole picture. Experienced, talented writers can pull this off and believe me it isn't easy to do. I've read a number of "telling" books this year and it is quite exhausting. "Showing" is a fine art, one that takes time to develop. Also, the characters just jump off the page! They are so real. Delve between the covers of Little Altars and prepare to be transported to a different time and place. I didn't grow up in the south (unless you count southern California) but I felt like I connected with these characters and this story. I can't wait to read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and finish up with Ya-Ya's in bloom.

I can tell that I liked this better having first read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, even though Little Altars was published first.

The two books both deal with the dysfunctional relationships, psychological screwiness, and family stories that make Sidda's family so compelling. This one doesn't have the same redeeming overarching plot as Divine Secrets, though. I was also left wondering as I read the whole first part why the stories were jumbled out of order, thinking it must serve some purpose, but unable to find any.

I did like the way Wells reveals the stories in this book from the different family members' mouths. She does an excellent job of letting the characters' language augment their personalities.

And one is, again, left wondering how much of this is biographical and how much "just" fancy. Wells is clearly intimate with the life-long effects of childhood abuse.