Becki reviewed on
I found this book engaging and it captivated me early on. The technique of having two story lines of two time periods going through the voices of two women from two generations was an interesting way of handling the themes in this book. You felt like you were on the road trip with these women - a welcome audience to both their tales.
The characters were believable and the story lines (while likely a stretch for most of us) are undoubtedly true to life for some. While one woman's story is utterly heartbreaking, it is that very story that puts the other's in perspective and informs the other of its solutions. This is subtle throughout, but by the end, it is obvious that this is the value of the book. That one story that appears completely unredeemable, is the very thing, in the end, that redeems the other. And in doing so, redeems itself.
The themes in the book (inter-racial relationships, forbidden love, racial inequities and abuses, failed marriage, broken people) are told honestly and with rawness, but without crudity - or worse inappropriate responses to the time periods depicted.
I'm glad I read it and I look forward to future books this author may write. And don't pass on reading the short author interview at the back of the book. I almost did, but it was insightful and worth reading.
The characters were believable and the story lines (while likely a stretch for most of us) are undoubtedly true to life for some. While one woman's story is utterly heartbreaking, it is that very story that puts the other's in perspective and informs the other of its solutions. This is subtle throughout, but by the end, it is obvious that this is the value of the book. That one story that appears completely unredeemable, is the very thing, in the end, that redeems the other. And in doing so, redeems itself.
The themes in the book (inter-racial relationships, forbidden love, racial inequities and abuses, failed marriage, broken people) are told honestly and with rawness, but without crudity - or worse inappropriate responses to the time periods depicted.
I'm glad I read it and I look forward to future books this author may write. And don't pass on reading the short author interview at the back of the book. I almost did, but it was insightful and worth reading.
