Another Good Book Weekend

Exercise Sitrep: Don't make me laugh. ;)

Read another good book last weekend. Picked it up on Friday, but didn't really get a chance to start on it until Saturday. Little Sis and her cousin ended up staying overnight Saturday, and I pretty much read through their visit. Only surfaced to separate them when the computer squabling managed to get through to me. :) Share and share alike when it comes to computer time. After 3 hours I kicked them off it. Enough is enough. Then they played the Wii for a bit.

I took the book to my bedroom intending to read, but decided it was better to sleep as I'd already stopped to get ready for bed. Stayed up to 12:30am, which is rare for me! When I woke up (early, thanks to the dogs who must eat by 7am), instead of going back to sleep (my usual tendency) I started reading again. Read the rest of the day after stopping for a shower and breakfast. Kicked the girls out - made them take Leia to the park. Didn't even turn the tv on.

So what's the book? The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. Very well written for her first novel. It's general fiction, I guess you'd say. Or historical fiction? I enjoyed it though, and will keep an eye out for her future books. Normally I don't like first person viewpoint, but the last two books have been that way, and I've enjoyed them immensely. The writing styles couldn't be more different. This one wasn't as lyrical, but still captivating. She very skillfully wove historical fact about the place with fiction and folklore.

I really liked how the first person view really was first person. You don't get into the heads of the other characters at all, unless it's through the observations of Bess, the narrator/main character. It makes it more narrow, but as an outsider, you observe beyond her narrow interpretations. If that makes any sense. I like how the book dealt with the issues of war/grief/depression/shell shock/faith. Not what I was expecting, but I liked it. Don't read on if you don't like spoilers.


And the way she contrasted scenes was wonderful. Two examples that come to mind right off are the opening and closing scenes with Bess, as well as the two funerals. Circumstances in each case couldn't be more different, what people are doing couldn't be more different, yet they have this similarity. And irony.

There was at least one surprise for me; how the sister dealt with her secret. I'd figured out what it was, but wasn't expecting the outcome. It's nice to be able to say that for a change. And the subtle impact this has on Bess throughout the book is interesting.

Just a few things did bother me throughout the book. I guess the main one was how Bess dealt with her family's changed circumstances. When she first left school and went home, it seemed to me she was going to be blind to what was really going on. More selfish, petulant or something before changing. Instead, she accepted the loss of social standing and money and her father's drinking and jumped right in cooking and sewing with her mother. I get it later, when she talks about her sister and her sister's personality. I think the author was contrasting the two sisters with the two parents. How each was more like the other parent.

But it just seemed like it was too easy. Then again, the whole story was told through Bess' eyes, and more as if she was recalling and telling the story to someone else. Glossing over things would fit with that, I suppose. All in all, it didn't pull me from the story. I think it actually contributed to my wanting to read on, to see if there was more.

I think it was very realistic how the author portrayed the differences Bess and Tom felt about the river and the industrialization taking place. And how torn Tom was between his love for Bess and his love for his river.

The book ends on an extremely sad yet somehow hopeful note. Halfway through I was suspecting how it would turn out, yet still not quite sure. Three-fourths of the way through, I knew how it would end. Yet still hoped.

I like the ending. I actually went back and re-read the last part again. Unusual for me. Did that about three times. Each time, I had more of a sense of hope. Because out of the sorrow/tragedy, Bess was able to find a glimmer of hope, a bit of her faith. Oh, not everything, not total belief, but as if she was coming out of a dark shadow and could go on. It was a nice light touch. Anything more would have been over the top, for me. Hard to believe.

Anyway. I recommend the book. ;) As it's the author's first, I'm seriously considering buying it to help boost sales so they'll publish more by her. I just might do that, even if it is hard back!