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book_concierge's review
3.0
From the book jacket - Following his release from prison, Mason Laws returns to the mountains of his youth where his estranged wife, Lavada, has been caring for his ailing father in Mason’s absence. As Mason and Lavada each set forth to recover themselves, they remain entrenched in the rural and rugged landscape that bore them and their own haunted histories.
My reactions
I had read blurbs that compared White’s writing to Ron Rash’s, and I’m a fan of the latter, so was looking forward to this novel. Talk about Southern Gothic! This is a dark story, where the characters are greatly affected by (and seemingly unable to avoid) forces greater than themselves.
None of them – Mason, Lavada, Sam (Mason’s Dad), Irving or Cody – seems able to overcome or even avoid their history. They are compelled to behave in ways that are counterproductive to success, and consequences of past actions (of their own or others) are inescapable.
White’s writing has some powerful images, but the book is light on dialogue and I found this frustrating in places. I wanted more interaction between the players, but I think I understand why the author chose to minimize this; the style forces the reader to acknowledge the kind of circumstances and confluence of “powers beyond our control” that can influence the characters.
However, I thought this approach resulted in less character development since much of their interaction was missing. I never understood Lavada’s actions or why she did not speak up to correct the assumptions made by others.
White also switches perspective frequently, telling the story from alternating character’s point of view. This serves to keep the reader slightly off balance, while also giving the reader more information than the individual characters might have. We see the train wreck coming before the characters even know there are railroad tracks near.
My reactions
I had read blurbs that compared White’s writing to Ron Rash’s, and I’m a fan of the latter, so was looking forward to this novel. Talk about Southern Gothic! This is a dark story, where the characters are greatly affected by (and seemingly unable to avoid) forces greater than themselves.
None of them – Mason, Lavada, Sam (Mason’s Dad), Irving or Cody – seems able to overcome or even avoid their history. They are compelled to behave in ways that are counterproductive to success, and consequences of past actions (of their own or others) are inescapable.
White’s writing has some powerful images, but the book is light on dialogue and I found this frustrating in places. I wanted more interaction between the players, but I think I understand why the author chose to minimize this; the style forces the reader to acknowledge the kind of circumstances and confluence of “powers beyond our control” that can influence the characters.
However, I thought this approach resulted in less character development since much of their interaction was missing. I never understood Lavada’s actions or why she did not speak up to correct the assumptions made by others.
White also switches perspective frequently, telling the story from alternating character’s point of view. This serves to keep the reader slightly off balance, while also giving the reader more information than the individual characters might have. We see the train wreck coming before the characters even know there are railroad tracks near.
bakersmom's review
4.0
Just as the descriptions this is a modern Gothic depiction of small town America. The book kept me interested and moved at a fairly quick pace.
nicka's review
4.0
One of the knocks on southern realist 'hick lit' is the by-the-numbers feel of much of the work. Genre characteristics give way to cliché. Authors worship at the altar of Faulkner or O'Connor. A dog-eared 1930's thesaurus inexorably sits alongside a modern permutation of an Underwood Portable. The writing is either brimming over with warmth in the oral storytelling tradition or is all but humorless, happy to follow the well-trod path of Great Stoic Writerly Men, the Melville's and McCarthys. Homeric in their majesty. Characters are more or less stock. A wayward soul is given a chance at redemption. Women are often strictly maidenly or motherly. The supporting casts' lives do not exist in grey areas. They're either kind or crooked.
A Shelter of Others--either unfortunately or happily--falls within this critique. Personally, I respond warmly to these otherwise faulty shortcomings. White's assembly of this novel, of these characters, rarely feels unique. The denouement unmistakably evokes If I Forget Thee Jerusalem but also more subtly Rash’s One Foot In Eden. Though Shelter is often predictable, I still enjoyed experiencing the story unfold itself. If White is too self-serious, it’s only because he’s following in the footsteps of the very Gods themselves. He’s tackling big game here; love, death, and the innumerable tumult of the human experience.
A Shelter of Others--either unfortunately or happily--falls within this critique. Personally, I respond warmly to these otherwise faulty shortcomings. White's assembly of this novel, of these characters, rarely feels unique. The denouement unmistakably evokes If I Forget Thee Jerusalem but also more subtly Rash’s One Foot In Eden. Though Shelter is often predictable, I still enjoyed experiencing the story unfold itself. If White is too self-serious, it’s only because he’s following in the footsteps of the very Gods themselves. He’s tackling big game here; love, death, and the innumerable tumult of the human experience.
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