True Women

Rating:
Summary: My favorite book!
Review: True Women is my favorite book. I especially love Sarah. She is so strong and fearless, it was amazing. The book deals with many issues you see today. It has lots of history, so you learn about Texas as well. I'm originally form Texas myself, and my mom had read it before, so I decided to read a book that talked about Texas history as well as the lives of people, which I like. I started to read it and became hooked. Janice Woods Windle gives such a vivid, well described, in-depth description of Euphemia, Georgia, Sarah, and Bettie. Any western and/or history buff will enjoy this book very much.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fantastic and very real.
Review: True Women is the story of Euphemia Texas Ashby King, as told by her great-great-granddaughter, Janice Windle Woods. This book is acurate as well as entertaining. I fell in love with it the minute I picked it up. I couldn't put it down, and would recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't like it.
Review: Well, it seems to me that this book had more of a focus on women than it had on the history of Texas. There weren't too many exciting parts, and frankly, it becomes kind of boring after you read it for a while. The words are very small and it is a huge book, so it takes so long to read, you get bored of it. In addition, it is broken up into parts, the stories of 3 women's lives. I just didn't like it!

Rating:
Summary: Very talented writer! Great story!
Review: What a wonderful novel! How delightful to look inside the cover and see these photos that you look at again and again as the story evolves. What a poignant story of these families. I thought it very exciting and well written. Lovely book!

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Story, Disappointing Prose
Review: While Janice Woods Windle's story of Texas pioneer women is engaging, the book overall is handicapped by Windle's shortcomings as a writer. First, Windle merely tells the story, rather than drawing the reader into it. Throughout the entire novel, the reader is constantly aware that she is an outsider looking in. This failing detracts from the otherwise compelling plot. In addition, Windle's characters are flat and one dimensional; each of the women she describes is a heroine, devoid of shortcomings. Hence--the story seems unbelievable, much like a fairytale. Windle's prose also leaves much to be desired--it is simplistic, overstated and frequently cliche. Finally, Windle skirts around serious social issues without actually confronting them--for example, True Women acknowledges the evils of slavery and spousal abuse--but avoids any substantive discussion of the effect each has on its victims. In sum, True Women is a frustrating reading experience: Its compelling plot leaves the reader wanting to know more about the characters and their world--but Windle's stilted writing style fails to provide such insight.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Story, Disappointing Prose
Review: While Janice Woods Windle's story of Texas pioneer women is engaging, the book overall is handicapped by Windle's shortcomings as a writer. First, Windle merely tells the story, rather than drawing the reader into it. Throughout the entire novel, the reader is constantly aware that she is an outsider looking in. This failing detracts from the otherwise compelling plot. In addition, Windle's characters are flat and one dimensional; each of the women she describes is a heroine, devoid of shortcomings. Hence--the story seems unbelievable, much like a fairytale. Windle's prose also leaves much to be desired--it is simplistic, overstated and frequently cliche. Finally, Windle skirts around serious social issues without actually confronting them--for example, True Women acknowledges the evils of slavery and spousal abuse--but avoids any substantive discussion of the effect each has on its victims. In sum, True Women is a frustrating reading experience: Its compelling plot leaves the reader wanting to know more about the characters and their world--but Windle's stilted writing style fails to provide such insight.