Now You Know by Susan Kelly

     Susan Kelly is superb at depicting the everyday lives of everyday people. In this novel, she tells about an amazing friendship which begins when roommates meet for the first time. Libba slams the door open and immediately starts breaking the college rules, whlie Frances is a conventional Southern girl. Nevertheless, they are inseparable throughout their college days. Then Frances gets married and starts her family and Libba starts a career as a popular novelist. Throughout their lives they frequently get together, and Frances tells Libba about almost every development in the lives of her family. Frances' daughters resent Libba's competition with them for Frances' time and affection, and they are embarrassed when Libba uses the events of their lives in her novels. As the book progresses, Frances' daughters become adults, and we experience the developments in the relationships of the five women. The plot includes many flashbacks which reveal surprising revelations about the past of the two friends.

     Kelly is a Greensboro resident and a Carolina graduate, and part of the novel is set in North Carolina, with many scenes in the mountains near Asheville. Her being a local writer gives additional interest to an excellent novel.

(Helen Snow, Information Services)