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bookwoman1967's review against another edition
3.0
This is a thoughtful, elegiac book. (Yes, for some people that can be translated as "slow.") It is reflective of a time and people very removed from today's hustle and bustle, and yet they made up a history very similar to that of the place I live to today.
lissaj2005's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
simplymary's review against another edition
5.0
I wish the cover of the copy I read had looked like this, instead of a lame picture from the movie they made. Anyway, I don't give out five stars very easily anymore, but Jessamyn West fully earned it with this one. You know how some authors have that knack of beautifully describing something perfectly normal or banal in a way that makes you completely identify with their words and view that thing in a new light? She does that, time and again. Her humor is impeccable, too. The story is about a Quaker family living in Indiana back in the glorious olden days, and once you get past the "thee" and "thou" language, it's just a delight to read the quick-witted chapters that give you a glimpse into each member of the family, with Jess, the father, being the focal point. I found West's skill as an author most evident when I realized how very different the characters are, but she gets into each of their heads perfectly. This is a book I'd love to own, and that would be fun to read aloud to someone else. My favorite chapter was when Jess bought an insanely ugly but unbelievably fast horse...I was dying in laughter by the end. Oh, and the very first chapter on his organ is a classic as well. I'll definitely be looking into her other books.
sarahcoller's review
2.0
From Wikipedia: "The Friendly Persuasion is an American novel published in 1945 by Jessamyn West. It consists of 14 vignettes about a Quaker farming family, the Birdwells, living near the town of Vernon in southern Indiana along "the banks of the Muscatatuck, where once the woods stretched, dark row on row." The Birdwells' farm, Maple Grove Nursery, was handed down to them by pioneering forebears who came west nearly fifty years before the onset of the novel. Originally published between 1940 and 1945 as individual stories in Prairie Schooner, Collier's, Harper's Bazaar, The Atlantic Monthly, the Ladies' Home Journal, New Mexico Quarterly Review, and Harper's Magazine, West had them reprinted in more or less chronological order covering a forty-year span of the Birdwell family's lives in the latter half of the 19th Century."
I chose this book as my first book of the year because it fulfilled several reading challenges I'm working on for January. At first, I really struggled with it and wanted to abandon it, but now that I'm through it, I'm glad I read it. It was sweet to see the way the family changed over the years and to find that many of the experiences this couple went through were also ones my husband and I have shared. My favorite stories were The Buried Leaf, The Meeting House, and The Vase.
I chose this book as my first book of the year because it fulfilled several reading challenges I'm working on for January. At first, I really struggled with it and wanted to abandon it, but now that I'm through it, I'm glad I read it. It was sweet to see the way the family changed over the years and to find that many of the experiences this couple went through were also ones my husband and I have shared. My favorite stories were The Buried Leaf, The Meeting House, and The Vase.
jannamitchell's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shighley's review against another edition
4.0
We read this for our church club, partly in honor of Indiana's Bicentennial. I was surprised that it had been several years since anyone had rated this in Goodreads.
It takes a bit of patience to read this, because the delicate prose requires a bit more reflection than much of today's straight-forward, "dumbed down" reading. There were times I had to look up words, re-read, re-read even a few paragraphs because it seemed I had missed something....
I have not seen the movie, but do plan to watch it now.
It takes a bit of patience to read this, because the delicate prose requires a bit more reflection than much of today's straight-forward, "dumbed down" reading. There were times I had to look up words, re-read, re-read even a few paragraphs because it seemed I had missed something....
I have not seen the movie, but do plan to watch it now.
indydc's review against another edition
4.0
This isn't the sort of book I'm normally interested in, but it was exactly what I needed at the time.
alissabar's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed finding out that Jessamyn West based these stories on her own ancestors. I also appreciated the humor that she wove into quite a few of the stories and learned a little about Quakers as I read.
catmorg128's review against another edition
4.0
I read this a few months ago so it isn’t fresh in my memory, but I’ll put down a few thoughts.
I really enjoyed this book. The little anecdotes or “episodes” are all interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable. They’re also all brought together well. I enjoyed reading this book, and the characters are so memorable. Really, they are all iconic, even down to Samantha the tea-drinking goose.
I really enjoyed this book. The little anecdotes or “episodes” are all interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable. They’re also all brought together well. I enjoyed reading this book, and the characters are so memorable. Really, they are all iconic, even down to Samantha the tea-drinking goose.