Claire B. reviewed on + 29 more book reviews
I picked this up as a fan of Jane Smiley's modern novels (Horse Heaven, A Thousand Acres, Moo), and little expected what would be inside. This might be the book least aptly summed up by its cover blurb.
It's a long and dense book in which many characters tell pages-long stories of their own. That doesn't, however, mean that the pacing of the story is slow - deaths, births, hunger, and misfortunes are told of in single sentences. Throughout, the language is that of a different time. The way people speak seems oddly formal at first, but becomes familiar as the book goes on. The way they view the world, though, remains utterly different.
This is one of those rare historical novels that seems utterly true. The people, events, and turns of phrase stayed with me when I closed the book, and I am still thinking of how these families and this society worked. Perhaps in ways not too different from our own.
It's a long and dense book in which many characters tell pages-long stories of their own. That doesn't, however, mean that the pacing of the story is slow - deaths, births, hunger, and misfortunes are told of in single sentences. Throughout, the language is that of a different time. The way people speak seems oddly formal at first, but becomes familiar as the book goes on. The way they view the world, though, remains utterly different.
This is one of those rare historical novels that seems utterly true. The people, events, and turns of phrase stayed with me when I closed the book, and I am still thinking of how these families and this society worked. Perhaps in ways not too different from our own.
