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lisam 's review for:
The Frozen River
by Ariel Lawhon
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am so very glad to have read this book. I’m not sure I would’ve picked it up on my own, but I received it as a Christmas gift and am trying to read more of the books the people I love press into my hands.
I confess it took a little time for me to warm to the story. I kept wondering about possible cultural anachronisms: would a woman in rural Maine in the eighteenth century have been literate? Would she have been this empowered? Was there any legal recourse against rape in the late 1700s? And a big one for me: could a marriage have been this egalitarian? Certainly Lawhon takes a lot of poetic license in telling the story. But the book is impeccably researched and Martha Ballard was a real person, and I suspect that my skepticism is rooted mostly in my own ignorance.
In addition to the legal (and seasonal) plot that moves the story forward, which was quite compelling, I was deeply moved to spend so much time in the company of pregnant and birthing and nursing women and in the busy and relationally rich settings of Pollard’s Tavern and the Ballard house and mill.
I confess it took a little time for me to warm to the story. I kept wondering about possible cultural anachronisms: would a woman in rural Maine in the eighteenth century have been literate? Would she have been this empowered? Was there any legal recourse against rape in the late 1700s? And a big one for me: could a marriage have been this egalitarian? Certainly Lawhon takes a lot of poetic license in telling the story. But the book is impeccably researched and Martha Ballard was a real person, and I suspect that my skepticism is rooted mostly in my own ignorance.
In addition to the legal (and seasonal) plot that moves the story forward, which was quite compelling, I was deeply moved to spend so much time in the company of pregnant and birthing and nursing women and in the busy and relationally rich settings of Pollard’s Tavern and the Ballard house and mill.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Sexual content