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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just OK. The writing was great, but the story fractured and depressing.
It started out very strong and I especially loved that the setting carried such weight it was almost another character. The story got convoluted toward the middle, but still an okay read.
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage
This book did not hold my interest at all. I was intrigued by the premise, but I didn't get into it at all. I quit early on.
The Quickening was a fast and engrossing read. I read about half the first night and felt completely immersed in farm life on the prairie in the olden days. I have to admit it seemed more like the early 1800s than the early 1900s, except for the few references to other people's cars. But I guess things probably didn't change all that much in really rural farm areas over that century.
The descriptions were lovely and I loved the author's writing. The book got needlessly violent about 2/3 of the way through, in my opinion, but that section was pretty brief. What I enjoyed more than the overall story was the description of the lives the main characters led. And I have a feeling that this would be a good book to discuss in a book group -- people would probably have very different opinions of the various characters and their reactions to various situations.
The descriptions were lovely and I loved the author's writing. The book got needlessly violent about 2/3 of the way through, in my opinion, but that section was pretty brief. What I enjoyed more than the overall story was the description of the lives the main characters led. And I have a feeling that this would be a good book to discuss in a book group -- people would probably have very different opinions of the various characters and their reactions to various situations.
This book was likened to My Antonia, but I felt that it fell very short of that classic. It is the story of two women, neighbors, part of the farming community but polar opposite in personalities. There was too much death, animal death, and sadness for me to enjoy the lighter parts of the story.
hard to choose how many starts - i think this was well written and interesting, but i didn't really enjoy reading it......
I'm still processing this book. Although it is a short read, the story is a very vast and dreary work, much like the landscape of the story. The characters live in rural Iowa from 1913-1950, not the easiest time. Their struggles are many, the harshness of the land, the loneliness, and daily struggles of family life.