An overlong epic where the historical detail obscures the human narrative at its heart.
This sweeping historical novel follows the titular pioneer from her adolescence to old age, cataloguing the early history of Canada in the context of her life.
Born in rural Canada in the mid-nineteenth century, Lily is introduced as a rough-hewn, taciturn, and uncompromising woman: uneducated and short on opportunity, but blessed with plenty of backbone. Orphaned following the death of her mother and abandonment by her father, she is taken in by her caring Aunt Bridie and Uncle Chester, who give her their last name, teach her farming, and instruct her in how to sell their wares at the weekend market. While not always a direct actor in them, Lily is often used to bear witness to the events of her time: the influx of escaped slaves from the Underground Railroad, a visit from the Prince of Wales, the unrelenting construction of railways in Canada, and so on. The young Prince Edward’s 1860 visit is one of the richer diversions in the novel: after meeting Lily, he swiftly fathers a daughter, who Lily is forced to give up to a wealthy Toronto family to be raised. Events such as this one characterize Lily’s life: beholden to a male-dominated society, and grimly accepting of her fate, all of it told in Gutteridge’s (The Rebellion Mysteries: Turncoat, Solemn Vows, Vital Secrets 2012, etc.) patient, lilting prose. One of the more affecting passages relays her courtship with the soldier Tom Marshall, a Londoner who eventually becomes Lily’s husband and the father to her children. A central narrative is eschewed in favor of an impressionistic portrayal of Lily’s life, however, with diversions not just accepted but the central feature of Gutteridge’s storytelling. What’s clear is that, while his sentence construction is at times lovely, he is in dire need of an editor: seemingly unable to separate an interesting historical fact from one that might be of service to his narrative, the novel comes across as shapeless and meandering. Much like a life, to be sure, but prioritizing historical meticulousness over a gripping narrative renders the book frustratingly unfocused.
An overlong epic where the historical detail obscures the human narrative at its heart.Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1770843882
Page Count: 618
Publisher: Bev Editions
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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