Reviews

The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories by Sarah Orne Jewett

neolx's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted sad slow-paced

4.5

This little novella (or novelette?) is a series of vignettes detailing the events of a woman's extended stay in a small Maine fishing village. The encounters are mostly heartwarming, the writing light on plot and heavy on description (this would make a great Miyazaki film!). A theme that runs throughout is isolation/loneliness, as many of the characters the unnamed narrator befriends are widows or widowers, and most are isolated either by distance, sea, or trade. But this is countered by an emphasis on the importance and pleasures of community, visits from old friends, etc. Though the text is short (my copy is only 88 pages), I found it a difficult and slow read at times, with some characters speaking in dialect, and some vignettes heavy with local vocabulary of the time for which I could not easily find definitions. Overall, this was a moving little book--several passages brought me to tears--with beautiful writing, lovable characters, and touching scenes.

Rating: Rave

(I use the BookMarks by LitHub rating scale--Rave, Positive, Mixed, Pan--which expresses my opinion about a book better than a star rating can)

boygirlparty's review against another edition

“At first he had seemed to be one of those evasive and uncomfortable persons who are so suspicious of you that they make you almost suspicious of yourself.” classic new england!

you can read this book for free at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/367/367-h/367-h.htm

also, i’m going to start working on reading this list: https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/100+Best+Books+by+American+Women+During+the+Past+100+Years%2C+1833-1933

redheadbeans's review against another edition

1.0

The prose is elegant and it does have one truly beautiful line near the very end of the book that touched me. The description is all very good.

I found this book extremely boring. I could almost tell no difference in my comprehension and enjoyment between when I was falling asleep while reading and when I was wide awake while reading, and I can assure you that this book will make you fall asleep. Not much happens.

There are some very deep messages, if you can sift through the overlong prose, about loneliness, disconnect, communication, gossip, and mourning. These are nice, but the book still feels bloated.

I would not recommend this to anyone. If you have to read it for a class, as I did, prepare for a long haul.

yosistachrista's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

jennybeastie's review against another edition

4.0

I'm not sure how to categorize this -- it's literary fiction, and quite beautiful literary fiction at that, but it reads like a quiet and cadenced memoir and it's a novel made up of short stories. Sarah Orne Jewett's language is a delight, and something about the structure and the telling makes the reader feel as though they are the mysterious visitor, writing, observing, and ever enjoying Mrs. Todd and her circle of community. It's a beautiful respite to visit Dunnett's Landing -- a story from a different space and time, one, I think, that was fading even as the book was written. Lovely, and like stepping through a window into historical Maine, or any secluded seaside town.

jimmylorunning's review against another edition

4.0

Do you need a lazy extended vacation? Then this is the book for you. You'll see landscapes breathtaking yet familiar, meet people who will welcome you into their homes and tell you stories of their youth. You'll learn to gather herbs and forage for supplies in the coasts of Maine. You'll take day-long or weekend-long trips to a nearby island while folklore swims in your head. You'll never feel hurried or stressed out. But if all this socializing is too much for you, don't worry. You'll find time alone too, in an abandoned schoolhouse, where you can sit at the desk and write, doodle, or read a book.

If you came for conflict or excitement, leave now. This is not the book for you. But even considering the complete lack of conflict or any semblance of a conventional plot, you'll want to continue reading because the people will be such good company. And the prose itself is so full of character and insights. A delightful book.

Similar to:
[b:The Summer Book|2263969|The Summer Book|Tove Jansson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320565854s/2263969.jpg|76813] by Tove Jansson
[b:A Month in the Country|60707|A Month in the Country|J.L. Carr|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388176690s/60707.jpg|2825054] by JL Carr
Old Joy (movie)

bahnree's review against another edition

5.0

Sarah Orne Jewett was robbed by the patriarchy

christythelibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

Re-reading it now because I hardly remember the book. I'm halfway through and let me just say that it is not going to be a mere three-star rating when I'm done.

teaandbooklover's review against another edition

2.0

This has to be one of the most boring books I've ever read. Nothing happens! I felt as if I were back in the midwest listening to my relatives mindlessly chatter and gossip about people. Plus the way the language in the book is written was just so annoying. For example: "You wouldn't think such a great creatur' 's I be could feel all over pins an' needles. I remember, the day I promised to Nathan, how it come over me, just's I was feelin' happy's I could, that I'd got to have an own cousin o'his for my near relation all the rest o' my life an' it seemed as if die I should. Poor Nathan saw somethin' had crossed me, -he had very nice feelings, -and when he asked what 'twas, I told him. 'I never could like her myself,' said he. 'You shan't be bothered, dear,' he says; an 'twas one o' the things that made me set a good deal by Nathan, he did not make a habit of always opposin', like some men." And on and on it goes.

If you like to read almost entire books like this, then you'll probably like it. Me? I wanted to throw it across the room many times!

meganmilks's review against another edition

5.0

had never read jewett before. she is a 'regionalist' and so often that means 'minor' writer. but in fact she can be seen as a precursor to woolf's aesthetic, and modernist literature as a whole, in certain ways.
what i loved most about this book is jewett's/her narrator's deep affection for her characters. here, humanity is a joy. an approach to character that's hugely refreshing, like a clean sea breeze lapping - or slapping! - the face.
i cannot write a simile that is not willfully bad.
episodic, loose narrative structure that happily, humbly eschews plot in favor of 'slice of life'.
i miss mrs. todd already.