New England residents and lovers of the region’s history should find a treasure trove in this collection.
A reissued debut book presents a set of vignettes on life in rural Massachusetts.
“Most of the stories are true. Many, I experienced. Others are ones passed on by friends, neighbors and relatives,” writes Brown in the Preface of his collection, first published in 1982. (The author, born in 1907, died at 102.) These are folk tales in the truest sense of the word; they tell the reader not only funny or intriguing happenings, but also the everyday events of bygone years: how people went about their business and why. The stories range in time from the early Colonial days of the mid-1600s to the early 1900s, sketching out the evolution of the close-knit community of what became Fullertown, Massachusetts. The opener, “Wolf Rock,” tells of the first recorded settler of the area, John Tomson, and his perilous trip through a wild forest. “Luke Short” is the sketch of a remarkable early settler who “lived through the reign of eight British monarchs,” served in Britain’s colonial army in India, sailed across the ocean, and eventually made his way to the New World. The relationship between the native population and the settlers is explored in “The Indian Watchman,” and an influx of Acadian immigrants brings some changes to the community in “Halifax French Gardens.” On the lighter side are fishing tales like “Uncle Gus Loses His Fish,” which delivers a pretty surprising twist, and an entertaining yarn about early dentistry—“Farmer Brown Goes to the Dentist.” “Fresh Meadow Hay” and “The Gypsy Moth Hunters” aren’t so much stories as reports on how hay was harvested or the way the town dealt with moth infestations. And there are tales of communal joy, such as “The Day the Gypsies Came to Town.” A matter-of-fact storyteller, Brown pays special attention to the details and minutiae of daily life, making these vignettes uncommonly informative and in-depth even if they barely run over one or two pages. Many of the offerings display a deft comedic touch, and ironic endings abound. The effect is something like talking to an old relative about the past and listening to someone who is instantly familiar and extensively knowledgeable.
New England residents and lovers of the region’s history should find a treasure trove in this collection.Pub Date: March 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4948-5080-7
Page Count: 82
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
