Rating: 
Summary: A great read !
Review: The descriptions that Robb Dew uses in this book gave me more of a sense of the time and place than I could have imagined when I first started reading it. I was taken back into a time when women's voices were kept to themselves and the roles were so defined there was not much room to live your own life, regardless of gender. Robb Dew, in a quiet way that is really poetic, exemplifies the time, the social position of the families and the geographic location and families' heritage. This book lays out what life was like in a small midwestern town.Even in those days there were people from away who had to learn to find a place in the society they lived in, and Robb Dew takes the reader into those complex family situations. Early on in the book Lily's experiences shape the rest of her life, and in a strong subtle way Dew takes us to the parts of Lily that plague her and influence her. I thought this was a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Burner!
Review: This book developed the small Ohio town of Washburn and that pretty much says it all. The character development was so poor that my interest level fizzled very quickly. The story lacked any sizzle and went from boring to snoozing. I did finish and was angry that I wasted my time. There were truly no redeeming features that were worthwhile in this book.
Rating:
Summary: What a Burner!
Review: This book developed the small Ohio town of Washburn and that pretty much says it all. The character development was so poor that my interest level fizzled very quickly. The story lacked any sizzle and went from boring to snoozing. I did finish and was angry that I wasted my time. There were truly no redeeming features that were worthwhile in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent! A "Corrections" Antidote
Review: This is a magnificent novel: gorgeously written, heartbraking, funny at times...it's the work of a laureled American novelist at the height of her powers.I began reading The Evidence Against Her yesterday around 10 a.m. and could not put it down. It is the story of two families living in late 19th- and early 20th- century Ohio, but it could just as easily be set in Chekhov's Russia or Lawrence's England, for its appeal and its message are universal. The story focuses on luminously-drawn Agnes, the unwitting anchor and scapegoat of a troubled family. I have no doubt that Agnes will eventually take her place beside Hardy's Tess, Austen's Emma, Tolstoy's Natasha, and the other great female protagonists of Western literature. This is a literary novel, but it is also deeply entertaining. Dew is one of a handful of writers currently working who manages to be both at once. This is a novel to be read at least twice, I think: first for the thrilling story and second to savor the richly textured prose and exquisitely observed scenes. I plan to start it again soon. Don't miss this book!
Rating:
Summary: Savor every word.
Review: This is not a book to be read in a hurry. The world moved more slowly at the turn of the century, when The Evidence Against Her takes place, and reading this book gives one the opportunity to slow down too. Robb Forman Dew's style is subtle -- she has an eye for significant detail matched by very few contemporary writers -- and this book has a sensibility that must be savored sentence by sentence. I am looking forward to returning to Agnes Claytor Scofield's in the next book in this proposed trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: This novel, while perceptive at times, is disjointed and altogether disappointing. I finished it because I had nothing else to read at the time. None of the characters grabbed me. I simply didn't care what happened to them.
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