About the book: 1991 / "The Optimist's Daughter" - the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who, having left the South, returns to New Orleans a year later, where she dies father. After his death, together with her stupid young stepmother, she goes even further, to the small town on the Mississippi where she grew up. In the solitude of the old house, Laurel finally comes to an understanding of her past, herself and her parents. Pulitzer Prize 1973.