Post by adelynechan on May 27, 2019 10:06:41 GMT
Taking advantage of the Bank Holiday to write this very belated post for the book club read which I actually read (gasp!) a month ago now, how time flies! Can't seem to find the discussion thread for this book (?) so if an admin could kindly move this post to where it should be that would be greatly appreciated.
I think my favourite thing about this book is the way in which the chapters really flowed from one to the next, where the modern day narrations often ended with a bit of a question in my head, which was then answered by a flashback to the past. Bartels then somehow manages to seamlessly go in reverse, generating the next question mark in my head then going on to answer it in the proceeding time-jump. This has to be one of the best uses of time-jumping that I’ve seen in a book.
I also particularly liked the use of three women with amazingly strong characters as the “protagonist” for each of the time periods, each with their own set of problems to overcome which was appropriate for their times. It was also nice to read about the view of a previous generation from the voice of a younger one (in both cases), as a more progressive view of things and how “this would not be the case today”. The middle timeline was especially interesting as this worked both ways: Both upwards (looking towards the issue of slavery and the rescue of blacks and retaining them as farm workers) as well as downwards (the issues of interracial marriage which became less of a problem as America progressed) – but how new social issues cropped up instead.
Particularly the older two social issues – having to hold the fort for a husband that is off at war, who is subsequently unfaithful upon his return and mixed-race marriage in a time where events such as the Detroit racial riots were underway – are not ones that I’m familiar with. As a first-timer I felt that there was adequate discussion and description to give me a general picture of what (I think) transpired at the time, although I cannot comment on how accurate these pictures I have in my head are. That being said, I am now more interested in the topic and am keen to read more books on similar issues.
Thank you mattydog for choosing this book, it’s really not one that I would have chosen to read from the blurb (which in hindsight is incredibly underwhelming for what the book turned out to be) but was a fantastic journey right from the first chapter and a book that I genuinely enjoyed very much.
I think my favourite thing about this book is the way in which the chapters really flowed from one to the next, where the modern day narrations often ended with a bit of a question in my head, which was then answered by a flashback to the past. Bartels then somehow manages to seamlessly go in reverse, generating the next question mark in my head then going on to answer it in the proceeding time-jump. This has to be one of the best uses of time-jumping that I’ve seen in a book.
I also particularly liked the use of three women with amazingly strong characters as the “protagonist” for each of the time periods, each with their own set of problems to overcome which was appropriate for their times. It was also nice to read about the view of a previous generation from the voice of a younger one (in both cases), as a more progressive view of things and how “this would not be the case today”. The middle timeline was especially interesting as this worked both ways: Both upwards (looking towards the issue of slavery and the rescue of blacks and retaining them as farm workers) as well as downwards (the issues of interracial marriage which became less of a problem as America progressed) – but how new social issues cropped up instead.
Particularly the older two social issues – having to hold the fort for a husband that is off at war, who is subsequently unfaithful upon his return and mixed-race marriage in a time where events such as the Detroit racial riots were underway – are not ones that I’m familiar with. As a first-timer I felt that there was adequate discussion and description to give me a general picture of what (I think) transpired at the time, although I cannot comment on how accurate these pictures I have in my head are. That being said, I am now more interested in the topic and am keen to read more books on similar issues.
Thank you mattydog for choosing this book, it’s really not one that I would have chosen to read from the blurb (which in hindsight is incredibly underwhelming for what the book turned out to be) but was a fantastic journey right from the first chapter and a book that I genuinely enjoyed very much.
