Helpful Score: 2
I've read all of Ms Banning's books, each with increasing pleasure, and this story of two honorable people, one torn by guilt and the other by a promise taken to extremes, is vivid, compelling, funny, and exceptionally moving.
Constance Weldon and her younger sister, Nettie, a spoiled brat if ever there was one, are part of a wagon train bound for Oregon when Major John Montgomery and his long-time companion, Billy West, are assigned escort duty. John and Constance are soul mates, but thanks to Nettie, seem destined to live apart - and frustrated. The tale of these four characters is deftly interwoven, adding to the vibrancy and complexity of the novel.
Ms Banning has a gift for writing that appears simple on the surface, but resonates deeply with true human emotions, frailties and virtues. Her characters are richly drawn, not merely with words, but with dialogue and action. The difficulties of the Oregon Trail are a background to human endurance and the aching need to love and be loved.
Constance Weldon and her younger sister, Nettie, a spoiled brat if ever there was one, are part of a wagon train bound for Oregon when Major John Montgomery and his long-time companion, Billy West, are assigned escort duty. John and Constance are soul mates, but thanks to Nettie, seem destined to live apart - and frustrated. The tale of these four characters is deftly interwoven, adding to the vibrancy and complexity of the novel.
Ms Banning has a gift for writing that appears simple on the surface, but resonates deeply with true human emotions, frailties and virtues. Her characters are richly drawn, not merely with words, but with dialogue and action. The difficulties of the Oregon Trail are a background to human endurance and the aching need to love and be loved.
