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The Hand I Fan With
Tina McElroy Ansa
10 copies

Bestselling author Tina McElroy Ansa is back with another tale from Mulberry, Georgia, the richly drawn fictional town and home of the extraordinary Lena McPherson.  Lena, now forty-five and tired of being "the hand everyone fans with," has grown weary of shouldering the town's problems and wants to find a little love and companionship for herself.  So she and a friend perform a supernatural ritual to conjure up a man for Lena.  She gets one all right: a ghost named Herman who, though dead for one hundred years, is full of life and all man.  His love changes Lena's life forever, satisfying as never before both her physical and spiritual needs.  Filled with the same "humor, grace, and great respect for power of the particular" (The New York Times Book Review) as her previous critically acclaimed novels, Baby of the Family and Ugly Ways, The Hand I Fan With  is yet another memorable and life-affirming tale from one of America's best-loved authors.

Library Journal

Lena McPherson, first seen in Ansa's Baby of the Family (Harcourt, 1991), is now the 45-year-old town matriarch of Mulberry, Georgia. Lena was born with a caul over her face, a veil of skin that, according to legend, signifies a charmed life and the powers of clairvoyance. A successful businesswoman, Lena has always been financially and spiritually supportive of Mulberry citizens and her generosity has earned her the nickname "the hand I fan with." Though overwhelmed with business and social obligations, Lena begins to realize that something is missing in her life. She and a friend perform a ritual to conjure up a man for Lena, and a few days later, Herman, the spirit of a man who died 100 years ago, appears. Sheryl Lee Ralph's lively narration adds much to this engaging but sometimes uneven romance. Suitable for popular collections.Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., Ohio