This is the story of an American family that lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and it takes place mainly during the time of the 1930 in the depression years through the outbreak and hardship of World War II. So I really think this could be called modern American history but it is not a dull history book. Far from it. it is full of interesting happenings.
The author has previously written another book called Gap Creek and this book continues from that one so probably I should have read that one first so I would have a better idea of the characters in the book. This really didn't worry me as the characters are well drawn and past history of the family is noted in passing.
The main character is called Annie Richards Powell and at the start, she is a young teenager and one who certainly knows what she wants out of life. She has two brothers and a sister, and a very hard-working mother and father. Life is hard in the mountains and the writing shows their hard life during the depression.Life has always been hard and so they manage as best they can. Troy, the younger brother, is the golden boy of the family, the mother's baby and a few years younger than Annie. Much of the book also deals with his life during the war and his subsequent death and the effect it has on his family especially his mother.
This is a well-written book and easy to read. The author keeps the reader's attention and by the end of the book you know these people well. I enjoyed reading it and it taught me a lot about that time in History.
No comments:
Post a Comment