| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Clare |
Posted - Sep 01 2005 : 08:36:03 AM
I am going to run, not walk, out to get this book today, after reading this review in the Seattle-PI. If you have a chance to buy the paper today, the pictures alone are worth a thousand words, as only a couple pictures are included on the web site. What an inspirational woman, to work on a novel about the Oregon Trail for 14 years.. plus be such a down to earth woman. Please read the article and I think you'll too be impressed.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/238782_fisher01.html
**** Love is the great work - though every heart is first an apprentice. - Hafiz
Set a high value on spontaneous kindness. - Samuel Johnson****
|
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Nov 05 2005 : 8:38:18 PM
Voices from the Prairie ... I think it is about pioneers heading to Kansas .. but will check on the exact title and author when i get back home. (in ohio and working on a friend's comuter and cannot figure out how to 'maneuver' my way into cyberspace with it. i have not read it but saw a group of very talnted actresses doing monologues from it .. and it just touched my heart .. big time!
and as always ... janice holt giles .. haven't read any author that so explains early american life to me as she does. the language throughout is lyrical in it's 'twang'. |
| lareyna |
Posted - Oct 26 2005 : 7:22:59 PM
Kim I just wondered if the book got to you and the site won't let me e-mail anybody,,,,,,,,,,did you like it?
http://bumpercrop.blogspot.com/
I was Country before Country was COOL |
| Linda Houston |
Posted - Oct 14 2005 : 03:27:32 AM
Clare, I am going to buy the book---the hurricane took the intent away, but I have to read this book....Please don't hold up the discussion of another book because of this...I will jump in and catch up.
I am deligted for this site bacause reading is my thing and right now it is a wonderful escape for me while in the mist of resettling in one more time. |
| quilt8305 |
Posted - Oct 13 2005 : 9:08:44 PM
I am about half way through and off to the ranch this weekend so will probably finish it then. I am really enjoying it and plan to recommend it to several friends.
Mary
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Wm. James |
| Clare |
Posted - Oct 13 2005 : 5:44:11 PM
I'm still waiting to hear from the others who are reading Sudden Country. How's it coming along, girls? I know some of you just got the book.
(We've got a topic going on The Mermaid Chair here: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=632&SearchTerms=mermaid,chair )
May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. ~~Apache Blessing
|
| connio |
Posted - Oct 13 2005 : 5:19:52 PM
Hey Farm Girls!!
Are we ready to move on to another book? Any suggestions?
I am reading The Mermaid Chair for a book discussion group that I lead at the library where I work. Just a suggestion--there are so many titles out there.
My other suggestion would be that we not select a newly published book because it is so difficult to get one from a library.
Connie
cozycottage |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Oct 11 2005 : 3:38:16 PM
I am ready for another one now too!!
Jenny in Utah
Put all your eggs in one basket..and then watch that basket!! Mark Twain |
| connio |
Posted - Oct 11 2005 : 11:28:38 AM
Hey Farm Girls!!!
I thought about Sudden Country over night and decided that the real issue for me was what I saw to be the disjointed writing style. I felt like the work was not cohesive. I know that things were very grim for these pioneers; my ancestors arrived in Boston from Sweden in 1903 and rode in a wagon to Illinois. Mary and Margaret, who were my grandfather's infant sisters, both died. I have read many realistic novels so as I said, it was the writing style that I felt to be the most unpleasant or difficult.
I will check out the other title today.
I guess that my next question is what will we read next???
Connie
cozycottage |
| quilt8305 |
Posted - Oct 11 2005 : 09:08:49 AM
jpbluesky,
How perceptive of you to note the 'swing of the pendulum'. I agree that this trek to Oregon was much harder than anyone could imagine. I think a lot of previous novels have romanticized it.
I would like to recommend another book about pioneering in Oregon called A Sweetness To The Soul by Jane Kirkpatrick. It is based on a true story and filled with heart-warming insights. I think Connie would love it.
Mary
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Wm. James |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Oct 11 2005 : 07:45:00 AM
Connie -The story was grim in places, I agree. Interesting that many of the "grim" novels I have read were written by men, but not this one. I bet life was grim then, however. I noticed that after a depressing part, there would be the telling of a loving moment between Lucy and her baby, or a desription of a breathtaking view along the trail. I imagine life was like that then - a big swing of the pendulum between the hard and scary, and the beautiful and exciting. |
| connio |
Posted - Oct 10 2005 : 6:15:10 PM
Hey Farm Girls!!
I know that I am in the minority here, but I just could not get through Sudden Country. I found the plot to be just too dismal and consequently, gave up on trying to wade through what I saw to be a very disjointed narrative. If I had been enthralled by the plot, I probably would have stayed with it. I usually like these types of novels, but this was just too grim, and I felt like the very dark tone kept me from really wanting to know the characters.
Glad that others did enjoy it.
Connie
cozycottage |
| quilt8305 |
Posted - Oct 09 2005 : 12:10:03 PM
Clare,
I have the same feeling - I am drawn in to these lives. I am constantly amazed how the author writes as if she were intimately involved with these people and this journey.
Mary
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Wm. James |
| Clare |
Posted - Oct 09 2005 : 11:59:15 AM
Take heart Susan, I agree with you on the contemplation. I could read one chapter, maybe two, at a time, then needed to contemplate. Lucy and everyone lived with me the whole time I was reading the book, if you know what I mean. 
May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. ~~Apache Blessing
|
| BlueEggBabe |
Posted - Oct 09 2005 : 10:39:24 AM
I am relieved to hear a few of you are having difficulty with the writing style. I am glad the story line is really appealing to me otherwise I may have given up on it.
I just got past page 100 and keep hoping that I hit a point where I can't put it down. The imagery in the words is beautiful, I agree,
but it reads like poetry that must be contemplated before reading on.
Interesting.
|
| katie-ell |
Posted - Oct 09 2005 : 09:19:36 AM
For those looking forward to this book, check out the Farmgirl Barter posts -- there's one up for barter (and not by me) -- autographed, too! |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Oct 09 2005 : 08:57:52 AM
Thank you Meadowlark! It is good to be home, but was wonderful in the mountains.
I finished A Sudden Country last night. I must say it is the best book I have read since The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
The sentence structure was very poetic to me and it painted visuals that normal sentences would not have come close to doing. I dearly loved the gut deep feelings that were so subtly conveyed in one paragraph or less.
I outlined and underlined quotes all over the place that spoke wisdom to me. Here are a few I noted from different places in the book:
"They'd left a memory alive that night, he was sure of it. All people did, in places, all the millions who had lived, their flickering revenants here and there: fighting, loving, dying." pg 131
"Ideas will not save us, he thought. Not right or wrong, not peace or retribution. Our stories are all we have. The only thing that can ever save us is to learn from each other's stories. From beginning to end." pg 338
"For every life we know, we are expanded. There is no forgiveness without stories. There is no dignity. These is no way to speak in other tongues but that." pg 339
"She said,"I'm not accustomed to surprises."
"Well", he said, "It is a sudden country." pg 87
Great book!
|
| lareyna |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 8:47:16 PM
E-mail me your address I will send it out to you
http://bumpercrop.blogspot.com/
I was Country before Country was COOL |
| Kim |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 8:15:48 PM
Ok, I haven't gotten the book yet and anyone who has a copy to share I will take you up on it!
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
| lareyna |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 8:00:03 PM
Connie, I almost put the book down and didn't pick it back up but after you get used to the unfinished sentences and unfinished thoughts, it's like you really CAN "feel" what the characters are feeling I don't know how else to explain it but hang in there, it really is a good story
http://bumpercrop.blogspot.com/
I was Country before Country was COOL |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 7:17:54 PM
Welcome back JP!!! I missed you!! Please tell us about your stay in your cabin in N.C. It sounds so peaceful and serene!
If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come. |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 6:14:14 PM
In the mountains this past week, I read almost all of A Sudden Country. I really look forward to finishing it and I tell you gals.....there were nights when I went to bed exhausted after reading it before sleep! I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be a pioneer in those times, but this book certainly makes it real. My admiration for those women has grown evermore huge!!!
jpbluesky |
| quilt8305 |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 6:10:00 PM
Connie,
I agree with you about the writing style. It's kind of like brainstorming or stream of consciousness. I can tell you it does get a bit easier as you go along. Hang in there. It is a great story.
Mary
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Wm. James |
| connio |
Posted - Oct 08 2005 : 2:18:31 PM
Hey Farm Girls!!!!!!!
I have started Sudden Country, and while I am liking it, I am also having some difficulty with the writing style.
More later.
Connie
cozycottage |
| quilt8305 |
Posted - Oct 06 2005 : 3:09:15 PM
I'm so excited........I came home today and A Sudden Country was on my doorstep. My husband will be gone duck hunting this weekend so you can guess what I am going to be doing!!!
Mary
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Wm. James |
| BlueApple |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 1:12:39 PM
Thank you Clare and Arlene! I spoke too soon as my library called me yesterday to say my book was in. I'll go get it tonight and start reading to catch up!
Julia
BlueApple Farm |
