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dave37's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful, soft, quiet, gentle addition to the Port William stories. Probably not the place to start, but a worthwhile read if you're already enchanted.
joel_buck's review against another edition
3.0
An average Wendell Berry novel is still a cut above. And that's what this is. It's slight. Bears his usual stamp of the mundane and profound wound up and experienced by a resident of Port William. As always, I'm happy to see Hannah, Jayber, and the other familiar faces. As usual I'm hung up on how ideal this way of life seems in the reading but not sure it's possible again
randyrasa's review against another edition
3.0
[a:Wendell Berry|8567|Wendell Berry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1209652700p2/8567.jpg] has such a comforting authorial voice: warm and wise, contemplative, humane, nostalgic. This short novel is a snapshot of a vanished America. It never really goes anywhere, but it's a joy to spend time with these characters nonetheless.
mary_elizabeth's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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
randyrasa's review against another edition
3.0
[a:Wendell Berry|8567|Wendell Berry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1209652700p2/8567.jpg] has such a comforting authorial voice: warm and wise, contemplative, humane, nostalgic. This short novel is a snapshot of a vanished America. It never really goes anywhere, but it's a joy to spend time with these characters nonetheless.
traeh's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first Wendell Berry book I have read and I can’t wait to dive into more. I felt like I was sitting at my grandpa’s feet listening to him tell me stories of his childhood. This book was comfortable.
sararjo's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
pixie_hallows's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first book by Wendell Berry (thanks, Ron!). It was told from the viewpoint of a grandfather remembering back to 1944 when he was 9 and went to visit both sets of his grandparents. There’s a large undercurrent of “the good old days” pre-technology and also of the new awareness of racism by this young child in the South.
This book is largely character driven. You can picture the grandparents and the work hands because they are like people you know. I’ve heard a lot about Jayber Crow, and we meet him in this book. I’m guessing that many of Berry’s books center around the people of this town?
The lack of plot made me feel like I was sitting down with one of my own grandparents reminiscing about their childhood. That’s not a bad thing - it has its place - but I also kept waiting for something more to happen. It seemed a bit rambly.
This book is largely character driven. You can picture the grandparents and the work hands because they are like people you know. I’ve heard a lot about Jayber Crow, and we meet him in this book. I’m guessing that many of Berry’s books center around the people of this town?
The lack of plot made me feel like I was sitting down with one of my own grandparents reminiscing about their childhood. That’s not a bad thing - it has its place - but I also kept waiting for something more to happen. It seemed a bit rambly.
sonofthunder's review against another edition
4.0
A very small book published quite recently (in 2018 I believe!)...this is a worthy addition to my small but steadily growing Wendell Berry collection. It is not very long and its scope is very limited but...it's completely lovely? It's the description of a small boy's vacation to both sets of grandparents in the long ago time of 1943. Yes. That's it. And it's written in Berry's inimitable comfortable style...as I read, I couldn't help but smile as I saw through the eyes of a small boy trying to be grown up...not quite there yet, but oh does he want to be. Really this book is the depiction of a lifestyle that is all but gone now...so in a way, it's nostalgia for a time I've never known that draws my heart, but it also makes me think of my own grandparents, who would have been young men and women during the time period in which this book was set. I wish I could have known them more and be enveloped by their love, just as Andy felt oh so at peace and loved during his time with his grandparents. This book describes a simple life (when not all was electrified and houses and farms were pretty close to self-sufficient and...there were possibly less distractions from the outside world than there is today)...yet this book was still set in the age of the second world war and so darkness hung in the air and all the good things were set in the shadow of the promise that not all the young men that had gone off would come home. Yet. This book is simple and sweet and heartily recommended.
ecthompson's review against another edition
4.0
It’s simple and not much happens, but the writing is beautifully done and cozy.