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leah_alexandra's review against another edition
I have so many books to read. I'm sure there are folks who will love this book, but I'd rather spend time on one of the other titles crowding my bookshelves!
laura_trap's review against another edition
3.0
I was not overly fond of this book. Now that's out of the way, I can say I enjoyed the layout of the novel, in that they were various snippets, almost vignette in nature, regarding the various denizens of Dunnet's Landing, a fictional town in Maine. But as a Maine native, I can say the accent the writer mimic in the book is SPOT ON. This isn't my usual style of writing - it's very quintessential nineteenth century American. In some ways it was reading a book by Mark Twain, except we were talking about New England instead of Life on the Mississippi. Nevertheless, I have done my duty and read this book concerning characters that so closely resemble people I know here. The stern lobstermen and the hardy women. I have to say that I did enjoy that, as this type of book is a rarety from that time. The narrator, although nameless, was a woman and most of the stories center around women in the town. It frequently mentions that there were more women than men, because the men went off into the sea as sailors and rarely returned. I thought that was an interesting perspective, especially since this book came from a woman's point of view and describes some of the hardships that come with that. Overall, it was good. As with most American literature, nature and the land takes a very important role within the confines of the story, and Jewett's book is no different. Here, Maine and the landscape, where the fir trees reach down to touch the rocky sea's shapes the characters instead of the other way around. The colorful and sometimes stormy world around the narrator is both an adventure and an adversary. Yet, still there were times when the book was slow and unresponsive, there was little action. There was no device within the narrative that moved the reader forward other than the narrator's descriptions and thoughts, which left for a dry read.
mirificmoxie's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
4.5
I am always on the lookout for books set in my home state. And Maine is a place that has inspired many different authors, so there is no shortage of books from which to choose. The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories is one that I’ve my eye on for a while. So when I came across a copy in the bargain bin at the bookstore, I knew it was time to read it.
The book is set in the fictional town of Dunnet Landing, Maine but is heavily based on Jewett’s life in Berwick, Maine. This is more like a series of loosely connected short stories than a full novel. Indeed, it was first published in a serial manner before being reworked into a book. (Which is why there are two versions of the book: [b:This One|1067941|The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories|Sarah Orne Jewett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1272689299s/1067941.jpg|639305] and [b:This One|2347137|The Country of the Pointed Firs|Sarah Orne Jewett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524027186s/2347137.jpg|16672030]) The focus is about describing snippets of everyday life in a small Maine fishing village. If you like to escape to simpler times, then you’ll love to slip into these idyllic summer days. Jewett’s writing is down-to-Earth yet poetic too. She sets the scene excellently from the people to the food to the scenery and easily switches tones from humorous to poignant.
The book is set in the fictional town of Dunnet Landing, Maine but is heavily based on Jewett’s life in Berwick, Maine. This is more like a series of loosely connected short stories than a full novel. Indeed, it was first published in a serial manner before being reworked into a book. (Which is why there are two versions of the book: [b:This One|1067941|The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories|Sarah Orne Jewett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1272689299s/1067941.jpg|639305] and [b:This One|2347137|The Country of the Pointed Firs|Sarah Orne Jewett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524027186s/2347137.jpg|16672030]) The focus is about describing snippets of everyday life in a small Maine fishing village. If you like to escape to simpler times, then you’ll love to slip into these idyllic summer days. Jewett’s writing is down-to-Earth yet poetic too. She sets the scene excellently from the people to the food to the scenery and easily switches tones from humorous to poignant.
“In the life of each of us, I said to myself, there is a place remote and islanded, and given to endless regret or secret happiness; we are each the uncompanioned hermit and recluse of an hour or a day.”
But there is far more to this story than pretty descriptions of landscapes. Beneath the idyllic haziness, there is the tension of an entire way of life teetering on the edge of a knife. It was a pivotal time in history. The civil war was still fresh in people’s memories. The industrial revolution was massively changing people’s lives. So an area that had largely relied upon fishing, whaling, and merchant clippers found itself pushed into obscurity. Jewett explores not only the more obvious economic impact of this but also the subtler cultural impact. She mentions how previously sailors brought back bits of foreign culture from all over the world, but the loss of their international jobs caused communities to become more insular. It was fascinating to look at this little slice of history and see what has changed and what remains the same.
This book is beautiful and greatly underappreciated these days. Not everyone will enjoy this though. If you prefer fast-past, plot-driven stories or get annoyed with old timey language and regional dialect, then this isn’t the book for you. Nevertheless, it is a classic that deserves to be remembered. Far from being quaint and outdated, this story shows a momentous piece of time. It excellently captures the period and place and really is a work to be treasured.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars
jayrothermel's review against another edition
5.0
Simply superb, an almost essay-like consideration of near-utopian pleasures of friendship, work, and self-forgetting.
mimima's review against another edition
3.0
A lovely, quiet character study. Not much happens, and that is ok, though won't be a meaty Book Club discussion :)
mimii's review against another edition
4.0
This was a lovely collection of sketches of the inhabitants of Dunnets Landing. In all the stories, the influence of the landscape and the sea has a major influence on the characters. For anyone who loves Maine, they will immediately appreciate the beauty and the power of the land that Jewett has so beautifully captured. A little known (?) gem of American literature.
lofiultraviolet's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
3.75
I have no idea where this book came from, sometime in the past few years it just sort of appeared on the bookshelf in my old room at my parents...I probably picked it up at a yard sale before leaving for school one summer.
The prose is engaging, features dead-on dialect, and good folkisms; it's real slice of life stuff - so nothing really happens.
Thirtysomething Victorian Woman Author Stays in Rural Coastal Maine Town for Summer and Makes Friends. The narrator supposedly is working on some project but she, unnamed, never mentions if she even finishes it. It's just a plot convenience for her to be in town for the whole summer.
But, Jewett does develop her characters nicely and while reading it you begin to experience the setting and the realities of life in coastal Maine at the end of the nineteenth century.
Where Jewett really shines is in her short stories, there are four Dunnett Landing stories that share a narrator and setting with 'The Country of the Pointed Firs', but would not sit well with the novella itself simply because they are such extended portraits and, with the possible exception of the last, so self-sustaining. That last story was one I was glad to read because it offered rare closure.
The other four stories are great, especially "Martha's Lady", which is very neatly done. There is little else I can say about it other than that the tone of sadness and expectation are something else.
The prose is engaging, features dead-on dialect, and good folkisms; it's real slice of life stuff - so nothing really happens.
Thirtysomething Victorian Woman Author Stays in Rural Coastal Maine Town for Summer and Makes Friends. The narrator supposedly is working on some project but she, unnamed, never mentions if she even finishes it. It's just a plot convenience for her to be in town for the whole summer.
But, Jewett does develop her characters nicely and while reading it you begin to experience the setting and the realities of life in coastal Maine at the end of the nineteenth century.
Where Jewett really shines is in her short stories, there are four Dunnett Landing stories that share a narrator and setting with 'The Country of the Pointed Firs', but would not sit well with the novella itself simply because they are such extended portraits and, with the possible exception of the last, so self-sustaining. That last story was one I was glad to read because it offered rare closure.
The other four stories are great, especially "Martha's Lady", which is very neatly done. There is little else I can say about it other than that the tone of sadness and expectation are something else.
kaseyd's review against another edition
4.0
Quick and delightful to read. It is light-hearted, sweet, beautifully written, and calming to read.