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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
Book was flat. Felt like McCrumb learned of the story of a woman who took over her husband's job as sheriff after he died - but felt compelled to tie in some mountain lore - thus the story of the Dumb Supper. We could have had a story of two marriages with husbands who are dissatisfied - both marriages ending with the death of the husband - and never mentioned the Dumb Supper. Varden still could have married the school teacher and we might have gotten to know a little more about Ellendor that way. She started to show some gumption at the end of the book - but we'll never know.
This wasn't my favorite book by this author, but after reading her acknowledgements page, I agree that she did a good job accomplishing her stated goal. She showed a lot of different views about the same event.
I'm a big fan of Appalachian ballads, and I've been meaning to read Sharyn MCrumb for some time. This, her latest, was the one the library had available so I took it off the shelf. I expected a regular sort of mystery with an interesting setting, a little lore thrown in for good measure, and mountain characters a la Winter's Bone. Imagine my surprise. There is a crime, but it doesn't happen until about page 200, it's not a mystery except for motive, and as for lore and character, the author is too good to traffic in stereotypes.
The unfortunate flaw in the novel is the author's use of repetition. I don't know why she felt the need to tell us the same things two or three times, but those were pages I skimmed, and I hate skimming.
Otherwise, Prayers the Devil Answers is a good novel about family and place. If you would like to be reminded that people are basically good regardless of locale, mores and cultural tics, this is a good book to read, even as you gain insight into those other things. Ms. McCrumb has a hold on her plot, insight into her characters, and a true feeling for a place she's spent all her life.
It's a good read that could have done with some trimming.
The unfortunate flaw in the novel is the author's use of repetition. I don't know why she felt the need to tell us the same things two or three times, but those were pages I skimmed, and I hate skimming.
Otherwise, Prayers the Devil Answers is a good novel about family and place. If you would like to be reminded that people are basically good regardless of locale, mores and cultural tics, this is a good book to read, even as you gain insight into those other things. Ms. McCrumb has a hold on her plot, insight into her characters, and a true feeling for a place she's spent all her life.
It's a good read that could have done with some trimming.
I tend to prefer McCrumb's current day Appalachian novels to the historical ones, but this one was so good. And that ending!!!
I remember the first Sharyn McCrumb book I ever read. It was a book called She Walks These Hills and was about a girl named Katie Wyler who had been kidnapped by the Shawnee two hundred years before and now people were seeing her ghost. In all of her Ballad series novels McCrumb starts with a folk tale - true or not - and weaves all these wonderful stories and characters into it and really makes it come alive.
This book isn't from her Ballad series but it has a similar feel. McCrumb takes 3 people - Ellendor Robbins trying to get herself back up on her feet after the death of her husband for the sake of her 2 boys, quiet little Celia with her bad luck at the Dumb Supper, and Lonnie Varden a mediocre artist whose job is to paint a mural on the wall of the local post office - and weaves their stories together. It takes some time to figure out how everything is connected but I wasn't impatient and I enjoyed watching everything unfold.
Of the three characters and stories, Ellendor's was my favorite. She's a quiet reserved woman who isn't good at small talk and can't take charity. Without her husband to handle the social aspect she feels adrift. She's also tough and smart and loves her boys fiercely. The book does seem to primarily on her for which I was glad as I found her story the most interesting.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the other 2. With Celia in particular I wanted to figure out just what a Dumb Supper was. McCrumb gives a good description so I understood what went on, what it looked like, and what the point was. I also enjoyed Lonnie's POV because of his honesty about his art abilities.
McCrumb's writing never fails. There's a musical quality to it and it feels like listening to the best of storytellers weave a complex and beautiful story. I love seeing the ins and outs of these characters and really getting to know them. If you haven't read Sharyn McCrumb before than this book is a wonderful place to start. If you're familiar with her work you'll love this newest tale of life in the Tennessee mountains.
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/05/prayers-devil-answers-review.html
This book isn't from her Ballad series but it has a similar feel. McCrumb takes 3 people - Ellendor Robbins trying to get herself back up on her feet after the death of her husband for the sake of her 2 boys, quiet little Celia with her bad luck at the Dumb Supper, and Lonnie Varden a mediocre artist whose job is to paint a mural on the wall of the local post office - and weaves their stories together. It takes some time to figure out how everything is connected but I wasn't impatient and I enjoyed watching everything unfold.
Of the three characters and stories, Ellendor's was my favorite. She's a quiet reserved woman who isn't good at small talk and can't take charity. Without her husband to handle the social aspect she feels adrift. She's also tough and smart and loves her boys fiercely. The book does seem to primarily on her for which I was glad as I found her story the most interesting.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the other 2. With Celia in particular I wanted to figure out just what a Dumb Supper was. McCrumb gives a good description so I understood what went on, what it looked like, and what the point was. I also enjoyed Lonnie's POV because of his honesty about his art abilities.
McCrumb's writing never fails. There's a musical quality to it and it feels like listening to the best of storytellers weave a complex and beautiful story. I love seeing the ins and outs of these characters and really getting to know them. If you haven't read Sharyn McCrumb before than this book is a wonderful place to start. If you're familiar with her work you'll love this newest tale of life in the Tennessee mountains.
Full Review: http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2016/05/prayers-devil-answers-review.html
Normally I love Sharyn McCrumb, but this plot just didn't have enough to make a novel. It's really a character study and exploration about a specific time and place - a woman who takes over the sheriff's job after her husband dies in Depression-era Tennessee and has to execute a murderer. No mystery, occasionally repetitive (needed an editor to cut redundant thoughts/variations of sentences) and ultimately no substantial conflict or struggle to compel you to want to keep reading. But that won't stop me reading her next book....
I tend to prefer McCrumb's current day Appalachian novels to the historical ones, but this one was so good. And that ending!!!
This is another book that I'm marking as "read" even though I didn't finish it. That's because it was unreadable. I only got to page 100, and I lost count of the number of times that the narrator informed me that she was shy and uncomfortable around strangers. I also lost count of the number of times I read that the opposite was true of her husband. Okay, you're awkward, I f***ing get it.
The last straw, however, was when the narrator went into a detailed description about her husband's run for county sherriff, and how he thought he'd won because the county commissioners helped him out behind the scenes. Okay, cool. But then we had to go through it all again in a remembered conversation with her husband, in which he tells her about how he thinks he won the post of sheriff. It was the same. Damn. Thing. Even her husband's words were VERBATIM repetitions of what the narrator had laid out earlier. Awful, awful writing. And how did the editor let that ride? Did they even read the book before it was published? My money's on "no".
Never going to pick up one of her books again.
The last straw, however, was when the narrator went into a detailed description about her husband's run for county sherriff, and how he thought he'd won because the county commissioners helped him out behind the scenes. Okay, cool. But then we had to go through it all again in a remembered conversation with her husband, in which he tells her about how he thinks he won the post of sheriff. It was the same. Damn. Thing. Even her husband's words were VERBATIM repetitions of what the narrator had laid out earlier. Awful, awful writing. And how did the editor let that ride? Did they even read the book before it was published? My money's on "no".
Never going to pick up one of her books again.
Another fascinating read by Sharyn McCrumb. Started slowly but I found it became more engrossing as the story progressed