Helpful Score: 1
Review from Library Journal: "In her second novel (after Firdbird), Graham tells the story of Sarah Bryden, a creative young woman who lives with her grandparents in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Sarah put her dreams of college and travel on hold after her grandfather had an accident. Now working as a waitress, she paints whenever she can and affects the lives of those in her circle more than she realizes. There's Billy Moon, Sarah's former teacher and would-be lover; John and Susan Wilde and their adopted baby, Will; and Joy, Sarah's friend and employer. When the Wildes first move to the area, Sarah and John are attracted to each other a problem that is exacerbated by Sarah's relating better to John's new son than his wife, Susan, does. Slowly, pretenses are stripped away, new emotional ties develop, and static relationships seem doomed. After a flood causes multiple tragedies, Sarah takes control of her life, which blossoms unexpectedly. Women readers especially will enjoy this poignant, beautifully written story."
I enjoyed this book. I don't like to reveal plots in my reviews; but I will say that the author keeps you very involved. There are twists in the plot you don't expect. When a book keeps me wanting to read all night it's a good one!
A story of a friendship that threatens a man's marriage and a woman's sense of right and wrong. Set in the Flint hills of Kansas.
If you like love stories you will enjoy this one.
I enjoyed this book. It doesn't necessarily stand out as exceptional, but it flowed and I enjoyed the characters. A good story about small town Kansas.
A beautiful, touching love story
This is an interesting love story set in Kansas and in France.
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Janice Graham is a great author and is able to tell a story that holds your interest until the very end. Sadly, I think she has only written two books - at least that is all I can find.
Janice Graham's unforgettable second novel is a love story from the heartland: a classic romantic triangle, driven by the forces of providence, played out against the wild natural beauty of the Flint Hills.
Raised by her grandparents in the Flint Hills of Kansas, Sarah Bryden puts aside her dreams of higher learning and world travel when her grandfather suffers a devastating accident. She leaves college and returns to the tiny town of Bazaar, waiting tables at a local cafe and passionately nourishing in secret her creative spirit. Sarah is a loner, but there is a magic about her, apparent to all who meet her.
Also returning to small-town life are John and Susan Wilde. John has taken a leave of absence from Berkeley to settle in the heart of the Flint Hills with his wife and their newly adopted son, hoping that the quiet and wide open spaces will ease them into their new roles as parents and fortify their frail little boy.
When Sarah encounters the child, however, there is an instant connection, a feeling of old souls meeting, and John can't help but notice how naturally she takes to the boy-in stark contrast to his wife, who has grappled with motherhood from the very start. Sarah awakens John and she in turn is captivated by him-his energy, his will, his brilliance. Around the structure of the classic romantic triangle, the conflict unfolds. And amid a series of disasters, both natural and man-made, John, Sarah, and Susan learn to honor the forces of the universe that compel lives together-and just as forcefully tear them apart.
Raised by her grandparents in the Flint Hills of Kansas, Sarah Bryden puts aside her dreams of higher learning and world travel when her grandfather suffers a devastating accident. She leaves college and returns to the tiny town of Bazaar, waiting tables at a local cafe and passionately nourishing in secret her creative spirit. Sarah is a loner, but there is a magic about her, apparent to all who meet her.
Also returning to small-town life are John and Susan Wilde. John has taken a leave of absence from Berkeley to settle in the heart of the Flint Hills with his wife and their newly adopted son, hoping that the quiet and wide open spaces will ease them into their new roles as parents and fortify their frail little boy.
When Sarah encounters the child, however, there is an instant connection, a feeling of old souls meeting, and John can't help but notice how naturally she takes to the boy-in stark contrast to his wife, who has grappled with motherhood from the very start. Sarah awakens John and she in turn is captivated by him-his energy, his will, his brilliance. Around the structure of the classic romantic triangle, the conflict unfolds. And amid a series of disasters, both natural and man-made, John, Sarah, and Susan learn to honor the forces of the universe that compel lives together-and just as forcefully tear them apart.
This is a very touching and heartwarming story.
pretty good.
I'm in the minority on this one, I guess. I didn't really like it. Too wordy. The ending was good, but I found myself skimming and really not getting much out of the characters. I agree with the other reviewer, hard to like the characters. Story okay, lots of sadness and dreary but better at the end. I'm a bit disappointed because it came highly recommended by a friend.
very enjoyable
From a distance the Flint Hills of Kansas appear an immense and barren landscape, quickly crossed and easily forgotten. A closer look, however, shows them to be a place of wild natural beauty--a perfect backdrop to the story of an encounter between a young woman bound to a place by ghosts of a tragic past and an exceptional man who settles there for a short while.
Sarah Bryden. a talented painter with her dreams on hold, spends her days waiting tables at a local cafe and her nights alone in her room, capturing with brush and ink the subtle beauty of prairie wildflowers. She is uncommonly beautiful, with a fierce independent spirit beneath her quiet manner. When John Wilde, a physicist on leave from a California university, moves to the area with his wife, Susan, and their newly adopted son, he hopes the simple life and wide-open spaces will ease them into their new roles as parents.
Sarah is drawn into their world when she becomes a caretaker for the child, who is difficult and frail, and before long, John finds himself captivated by Sarah's warmth, her grace, and her intuitive gifts. Between Sarah and the child there is an instant and profound connection--a contrast keenly felt by Susan, who has grappled with motherhood from the start.
Unlike others in this close-knit community of ranchers and farmers, Sarah is drawn to John's eccentric and ill-behaved genius. As she allows him to enter the most intimate parts of her life and to see into her heart, she experiences an awakening so powerful it shatters her deeply rooted complacency. Their passion unfolds with the seasons and changes irrevocably their lives and the lives of those around them.
Sarah Bryden. a talented painter with her dreams on hold, spends her days waiting tables at a local cafe and her nights alone in her room, capturing with brush and ink the subtle beauty of prairie wildflowers. She is uncommonly beautiful, with a fierce independent spirit beneath her quiet manner. When John Wilde, a physicist on leave from a California university, moves to the area with his wife, Susan, and their newly adopted son, he hopes the simple life and wide-open spaces will ease them into their new roles as parents.
Sarah is drawn into their world when she becomes a caretaker for the child, who is difficult and frail, and before long, John finds himself captivated by Sarah's warmth, her grace, and her intuitive gifts. Between Sarah and the child there is an instant and profound connection--a contrast keenly felt by Susan, who has grappled with motherhood from the start.
Unlike others in this close-knit community of ranchers and farmers, Sarah is drawn to John's eccentric and ill-behaved genius. As she allows him to enter the most intimate parts of her life and to see into her heart, she experiences an awakening so powerful it shatters her deeply rooted complacency. Their passion unfolds with the seasons and changes irrevocably their lives and the lives of those around them.
Sarah Bryden, a talented painter with her deams on hold, spends her days waiting tables at a local cafe and her nights alone in her room, capturing with brush and ink the subtle beauty of prairie wildflowers. She is uncommeonly beautiful, with a fiercely inpendent spirit beneath her quiet manner. When Joh Wilde, a physicist on leave from a california university, moves to the area with his wife, Susan, and their newly adopted sone, he hopes the simpler life and wide open spoaces iwll ease them into their new roles as parents.
Sarah is drawn into their world when she becomes a caretaker for the child, who is difficut and frail, and before long, John finds himself cativated by Sarah's warmeth, her grace and her intuitive gifts. Between Sarah and the child there is an instant and prfound connection a contrast keenly felt by Susan who has grappled with motherhood from the start.
Sarah is drawn into their world when she becomes a caretaker for the child, who is difficut and frail, and before long, John finds himself cativated by Sarah's warmeth, her grace and her intuitive gifts. Between Sarah and the child there is an instant and prfound connection a contrast keenly felt by Susan who has grappled with motherhood from the start.
Interesting story of a love triangle set in Kansas, primarily. The rich and poor, childless and aching.
Not a bad read, but it was hard to like these characters.
