Helpful Score: 10
I have tried very hard to like this book. The prose is excellent, as is Adamson's
overall style. She has a definite ability to place you within the story; you can
see, smell, touch and hear the widow's world as you travel through the pages. But...that is all you do - travel through the pages.
Just like the widow, you keep aimlessly moving forward without a plan and at the end of
the book your journey just stops. This novel lacks a basic overall structure for full
development. The reason for this becomes apparent when you read the "the conversation
with the author" wherein she expresses she doesn't understand the need for an outline
and afraid she would get bored writing if she knew the outcome all along. I find this
a lazy way to approach a novel and it becomes an exercise to just hone one's writing skills. As a result, it is the reader who becomes bored. Reading this book is like taking a road trip until you run out of gas.
overall style. She has a definite ability to place you within the story; you can
see, smell, touch and hear the widow's world as you travel through the pages. But...that is all you do - travel through the pages.
Just like the widow, you keep aimlessly moving forward without a plan and at the end of
the book your journey just stops. This novel lacks a basic overall structure for full
development. The reason for this becomes apparent when you read the "the conversation
with the author" wherein she expresses she doesn't understand the need for an outline
and afraid she would get bored writing if she knew the outcome all along. I find this
a lazy way to approach a novel and it becomes an exercise to just hone one's writing skills. As a result, it is the reader who becomes bored. Reading this book is like taking a road trip until you run out of gas.
Helpful Score: 4
This book grabs you with an intense beginning and premise - frontier wife murders husband and runs for the wilderness, with two vengeful brothers-in-law after her. But it doesn't continue as super high paced adventure. Instead it simmers along, very enjoyably, with an intriguing main character who continues to develop, multiple phases and settings in her journey which keep it new and interesting all the way, and other characters that come in and out lending their own flavor. I really enjoyed the style and content of this book, highly recommend it.
Helpful Score: 3
I loved this book. It pulled me right in. The characters are amazingly real. I loved the character of McEchern, the owner of the general store and of course Mary, herself. I can only hope the author comes out with a continuation. It was very hard coming to the end. I wanted it to go on indefintely.
Helpful Score: 3
A very pleasant surprise that was hard to put down. Unexpected yet plausible plot twists and an original, well-drawn cast of characters made for an engaging read. Reminiscent of 'Cold Mountain.'
Helpful Score: 3
Reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy, or even Jack London, but with a female protagonist, this novel traces the midwinter journey of a young woman through the Canadian wilderness at the turn of the century, fighting her own ignorance and incipient madness as she attempts to stay ahead of the two men pursuing her -- the brothers of the man she has killed, who was her own husband.
