Helpful Score: 12
Wow - this is one everyone should read just to understand how easy we have it today! This is a deeply moving novel, and although it is set in the depths of poverty and difficulty, it offers a glimmer of hope, as well. The characters are intensely drawn.
Helpful Score: 9
I loved this book! So different from most of today's fiction. The author notes at the end: "I tell my students that you do not write living fiction by attempting to transcribe actual events onto the page. You create a sense of real characters and a real story by putting down one vivid detail, one exact phrase, at a time. The fiction is imagined, but if it is done well, it seems absolutely true, as real as the world around us." I say he is a master, if this book is any indication.
Helpful Score: 9
i read this, because my mother in law loves Oprah, so whatever Oprah raves about, she buys and passes it on to me, for the most part these books do not float my boat, but this one sat in my night stand for a year, and i finally picked it up and tried it... i'm glad I did, as the story was gripping, not a light fun happy book, which is what I like in something I read before i fall asleep each night.. this is a great story of a time when things were hard, and life was full of challenges that required more strength than I would ever have! It was a good book that I found myself thinking about after I read it. I passed it on to my mom and she loved it.
Helpful Score: 6
Wonderful story of a young married couple. I actually had tears in my eyes at times. Also a rather quick read.
Helpful Score: 5
This is the second time I've read this book. There are parts and chapters that have stayed in my mind for a few years - it's that good and that memorable. Remarkable story-telling.
