Preview of Five Minutes in Heaven Summary:

The themes of growing up, initiation, and identity are paramount in Alther's work, and Jude's odyssey from girlhood to womanhood encompasses the embattled childhood of a tomboy raised by an adored yet somewhat preoccupied part-Cherokee father and a black housekeeper. She and her best friends, Molly and Sandy, do battle with the forces of conventional Southern womanhood and macho manhood until, undone by puberty, Molly dies in a car wreck instigated by her...