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mischievous_monkey's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a singular delight. Set in Winston Salem, North Carolina in the 1960s the book is written in the more florid language of that time and, as a result, I felt transported to that period and place. While there is a mystery which drives the plot forward I would say that the book is more about awakenings; awakening from benign neglect when it comes to personal responsibility in matters of race and gender equity, awakening to sensuality and freedom of self expression, and awakening to the joys and benefits of fellowship with good people.
Here’s a lovely passage from the book about that last (any punctuation mistakes are my own as I dictated this while listening to the audiobook):
“With shock, I realized that I had known them less than a month. It was impossible for me to recognize the swift intimacy and affection that had grown up between us in such a short period of time but I chose not to question it and resolved instead to be grateful for the richness that their friendship added to my once solitary life.”
Those friends E.J. reluctantly lets into her life are just a few of the many interesting characters in the book not the least of which was Harry, the young daughter of E.J.’s new neighbor and the sidekick E.J. never saw coming nor knew she wanted. I loved Harry as a kindred spirit and enjoyed every scene she was in. The gradual development of their relationship as well as the others were some of the best parts of the story.
The audiobook narration by Christine Williams was quite good. She did an excellent job with the pace of the story along with its tone, the regional accent and differentiating between characters. She has a nice voice in the lower register which was quite pleasant to listen to as well.
I can definitely see myself relistening to this book in the future as I enjoyed the tale and the excellent conclusion left me in high spirits and with a smile on my face.
Here’s a lovely passage from the book about that last (any punctuation mistakes are my own as I dictated this while listening to the audiobook):
“With shock, I realized that I had known them less than a month. It was impossible for me to recognize the swift intimacy and affection that had grown up between us in such a short period of time but I chose not to question it and resolved instead to be grateful for the richness that their friendship added to my once solitary life.”
Those friends E.J. reluctantly lets into her life are just a few of the many interesting characters in the book not the least of which was Harry, the young daughter of E.J.’s new neighbor and the sidekick E.J. never saw coming nor knew she wanted. I loved Harry as a kindred spirit and enjoyed every scene she was in. The gradual development of their relationship as well as the others were some of the best parts of the story.
The audiobook narration by Christine Williams was quite good. She did an excellent job with the pace of the story along with its tone, the regional accent and differentiating between characters. She has a nice voice in the lower register which was quite pleasant to listen to as well.
I can definitely see myself relistening to this book in the future as I enjoyed the tale and the excellent conclusion left me in high spirits and with a smile on my face.
geraldine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
realizing that the moravian church body came from the hussites explained everything about this book. if this doesn't make sense to you know that you are free
i wish i didn't know anything about jan hus, if only i myself was free as well
i'm leaving this unrated here but i think an honest rating would be a 2.75, not quite a 3 but rounding down to a 2 seems cruel.
the author clearly did a lot of historical research for this book but a lot of it ends up feeling like flat set dressing, especially the parts about segregation and racism in winston-salem in the 60s. i'm not against the protagonist being an ignorant white woman who doesn't think of herself as racist (she has black friends!) but doesn't notice clear discrimination in front of her until it's pointed out, i think that's unfortunately realistic and an interesting character move. but then the resolution is that... the city desegregates lunch counters and she doesn't really change her behavior all that much. and lottie and nelson feel like they're only there to give her Words of Wisdom or Pointed Advice which is unfortunate, especially nelson.
i also didn't love that like... why did she need to get a 90s high school movie style makeover. this girl is out digging in the garden all the time it makes sense for her hair to be up!!!
and additionally i feel like i wanted the book to end like 5 pages earlier, the infodump of dorothea's last letter feels clunky to me! i did think the reveal of who dorothea was in love with originally was subtlety implied earlier (and well!) but it really felt like sledgehammering it in at the end. did like that it does end open ended though.
i liked that everyone is called a single name except fay marian is always fay marian. this was funny to me and i genuinely think it worked. i also liked harrie and felt like she worked as a kid character, it can be hard to make a precocious child without making them seem to precious or twee and i felt like she had a solid balance. also harrie calling ej "eej" was such a funny way of spelling that but i think it worked too!! and as mentioned before i do think ej was a compelling character, just kind of floating through her life, this worked also.
really read two north carolina books back to back. this woman also north carolinas
i'm leaving this unrated here but i think an honest rating would be a 2.75, not quite a 3 but rounding down to a 2 seems cruel.
the author clearly did a lot of historical research for this book but a lot of it ends up feeling like flat set dressing, especially the parts about segregation and racism in winston-salem in the 60s. i'm not against the protagonist being an ignorant white woman who doesn't think of herself as racist (she has black friends!) but doesn't notice clear discrimination in front of her until it's pointed out, i think that's unfortunately realistic and an interesting character move. but then the resolution is that... the city desegregates lunch counters and she doesn't really change her behavior all that much. and lottie and nelson feel like they're only there to give her Words of Wisdom or Pointed Advice which is unfortunate, especially nelson.
i also didn't love that like... why did she need to get a 90s high school movie style makeover. this girl is out digging in the garden all the time it makes sense for her hair to be up!!!
and additionally i feel like i wanted the book to end like 5 pages earlier, the infodump of dorothea's last letter feels clunky to me! i did think the reveal of who dorothea was in love with originally was subtlety implied earlier (and well!) but it really felt like sledgehammering it in at the end. did like that it does end open ended though.
i liked that everyone is called a single name except fay marian is always fay marian. this was funny to me and i genuinely think it worked. i also liked harrie and felt like she worked as a kid character, it can be hard to make a precocious child without making them seem to precious or twee and i felt like she had a solid balance. also harrie calling ej "eej" was such a funny way of spelling that but i think it worked too!! and as mentioned before i do think ej was a compelling character, just kind of floating through her life, this worked also.
really read two north carolina books back to back. this woman also north carolinas
noelle_99's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars. This was so lovely. McMann’s writing is at its absolute best here. I loved the plot and the setting being the 1960s. I liked the way she handled a lot of the heavier topics with care but also not shying away from anything. I liked the letters aspect and I thought the main character EJ was intriguing and a great lead. This isn’t a romance but there is a bit of love story lingering in the background. Everything about this was so well done and I absolutely loved it. It’s a quiet kind of read that definitely makes an impact.
iannamico's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
taralorraine's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
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