A review by andresreading
The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

3.0

"Jewett herself felt that her strengths as a writer lay not in plot development (...)" (introductory note), and truly, if there is a plot, per se, it's very hard to find. It feels like a series of sketches portraying the landscape, the people, the customs, of coastal Maine around 1896 (the date of publishing). Of course the lack of a clear plot reduces interest in this work, but it's still written in a beautiful way, and we do get a clear picture of the time and place. It's simple, and that simplicity is the key to appreciating this book.