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.
Helpful Score: 2
I agree with the previous reviewer: this book follows the widow's wanderings and takes an awful long time to reach any conclusions. I'm not giving away much by saying the plot focuses on a woman who murders her husband and then is pursued by his relentless twin brothers. Through flashback we get very little glimpse of her background, and no surprise, she has a bit quirky upbringing. But...there are so many unanswered questions! WHY is there mention in the beginning of her imagining voices, but no followup? Why are we told of her priviledged upbringing but then no real transition where she becomes Wilderness Jane? Why is there so much focus on how "unnatural" the twin brothers are, but then they just sort of wimp out towards the end? And I really disliked the ending- to me, it just showcased how selfish and childish the Widow was.
The saving grace of this book is the prose. The author writes beautifully, almost like you're reading a documentary. But sorry, I kept thinking of Gil Adamson as the Female Cormac McCarthy. I don't discourage anyone from reading this, but I really didn't find anything unique about this book.
The saving grace of this book is the prose. The author writes beautifully, almost like you're reading a documentary. But sorry, I kept thinking of Gil Adamson as the Female Cormac McCarthy. I don't discourage anyone from reading this, but I really didn't find anything unique about this book.
Helpful Score: 2
The outlander
I tried so very hard to turn the pages, YES the author does write well, but I just was NOT in the mood for the madness. Didn't even finish it. got to page 50 & gave up
I tried so very hard to turn the pages, YES the author does write well, but I just was NOT in the mood for the madness. Didn't even finish it. got to page 50 & gave up
Helpful Score: 1
Way too heavy on descriptive writing and not enough story........longed to know more about the main characters.
"The Widow" (all of 19 or 20 years old) is on the run from her twin brothers-in-law, a creepy pair who give an immediate clue as to why she killed her husband. As she flees into the mountains and they follow behind, shotguns over their shoulders, her story comes together piece by piece. She encounters an eccentric array of strangers on her travels, who help her in a variety of ways.
I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that I did not see most of the twists coming, although I did hope for the ending.
I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that I did not see most of the twists coming, although I did hope for the ending.
A really good read, the author has a great grasp on writing and keeping you wanting to be tuned in. She wrote like no other author, I've read. It was thrilling to read another truly great book. Twists, heartache, a story that builds backwards. Up there with The English Patient (the book). The ending left me hooting a "Yeah" that good of a book, that interesting of a tale...
This is one I could not put down. Lovely prose. Made you feel like you were living through it. The main characters are well developed and believable. Wish the author had developed the brothers more though. That side of the story seems like it would be interesting. I can definitely recommend this book.
