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This is an Oprah's Book Club selection by a prize winning author, which usually equates to the Midas Touch of Literature. However, it didn't ring true for me. Perhaps it was because it was a man writing a female character. It reminded me a great deal of someone writing about the sea who had never seen it or smelled it or touched it. The main character, Julie, came across as an abstract, conceptual woman rather than a real one.
There were whole passages in the book I started to skim because they screamed, "I have a degree in literature! Look at my beautiful prose that could have been summed up with small words in two sentences!" A lot of the dialog fell flat for me and I didn't feel like each character had their own voice.
I did like the detail and accuracy paid to the day-to-day life of the time period, from hog killing to housekeeping. That rang true for me, while most of the novel did not. I know a great many people loved this book, but sadly, I found it lacking.
There were whole passages in the book I started to skim because they screamed, "I have a degree in literature! Look at my beautiful prose that could have been summed up with small words in two sentences!" A lot of the dialog fell flat for me and I didn't feel like each character had their own voice.
I did like the detail and accuracy paid to the day-to-day life of the time period, from hog killing to housekeeping. That rang true for me, while most of the novel did not. I know a great many people loved this book, but sadly, I found it lacking.
