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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
It was difficult to get interested in reading this book. The last 100 pages were better. The ending was poetic justice.
I did like the main character and think that there should be more stories to tell about her.
I did like the main character and think that there should be more stories to tell about her.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wondered if Sharyn McCrumb actually wrote this, or allowed an aspiring author to ghost-write this entry in the Ballad series. The general "feel" was there -- ordinary, salt-of-the-earth folk dealing with the biggest and tiniest of life's complications. And the plot, when we finally got there, was a stellar choice. But this novel suffered from a glacial pace and repetitionrepetitionrepetition. As if she came up with three or four great sentences to say the same thing and couldn't decide which one to use, so she used them all. I will read anything by McCrumb; she's one of my favorite authors but the workmanship of this one disappointed me.
Interesting enough but the real story happens in the last 1/4 of the book, almost independently of the 3/4 it takes to get to it.
This was such an amazing book! Based loosely on real-life events, it begins with several young girls enacting a mountain tradition to discover whom they will marry. During the course of the event, one of the girls accidentally breaks the rules, but chooses not to tell the others about it.
As the story unfolds, we're introduced to another mountain-bred couple who have moved to town, where the husband eventually is elected sheriff. After his unexpected death, his wife applies for and is hired to fill out his term.
We then discover that several people have broken rules, not just the young girl, and the results of their actions resolves is what I consider one of the most perfect, retributive endings Sharyn McCrumb has ever written!
As the story unfolds, we're introduced to another mountain-bred couple who have moved to town, where the husband eventually is elected sheriff. After his unexpected death, his wife applies for and is hired to fill out his term.
We then discover that several people have broken rules, not just the young girl, and the results of their actions resolves is what I consider one of the most perfect, retributive endings Sharyn McCrumb has ever written!
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I have loved Sharyn McCrumb's novels for twenty years and always look forward to the next. This one was no disappointment. I found the idea of a single mother sheriff during the Great Depression fascinating. I admired the compassionate yet professional way she discharged her duties.
Another example of a horrible editing job. What is it with authors repeating whole sections of narrative? The story was fine but the annoyances got in the way of enjoying it.
medium-paced