A White Bird Flying

Rating:
Summary: Good read, but not the same caliber as A Lantern in Her Hand
Review: I would consider White Bird flying a very good read if I hadn't read A Lantern in Her Hand first. White Bird Flying is a sequel to the Mackenzie - Deal saga begun in A Lantern in Her Hand and it is fun to learn what happened to Abbie's children, grand children and neighbors in the years follwing her death.

But in reading this sequel, I got the feeling that Bess Streeter Aldrich was in a hurry to get the book out and didn't put the depth of feeling into her characters that she does in her other stories. The first chapter is promising with her dialogue between the neighbors contrasting with her narrative of Laura's feelings about her grandmother's passing.

But she was lacking in other areas - she spent time on Christine Reinmueller but all we hear about Sarah Lutz is a brief mention of her funeral. Sarah was a significant character in the first book - always representing the material comforts that were just beyond Abbie's reach. It would have been interesting to know Sarah's thoughts on Abbie's death. Eloise is turned into a money grubber, which seems like a false note. Why did she marry John Deal then? This is never adequately explained in the book. Eloise's rich relatives seem to be a bit contrived - couldn't Laura have gone off into the world on her own steam, without being dependent on these relatives for her future? And cousin Kathie blows up into a caricature of herself - of course we all know she is spoiled from reading the first book but her plot lines could have maybe been drawn more subtly.

But there is no denying that Aldrich is skilled story teller and her observations are magical. Her observations about life - "No one can stop time" make you feel like she has read your mind and has stolen your thoughts. And even if this story isn't up to par with "Lantern" it is still a worth while read. It is just best to have a different set of expectations for White Bird Flying than you might have for her other books.

Rating:
Summary: Good read, but not the same caliber as A Lantern in Her Hand
Review: I would consider White Bird flying a very good read if I hadn't read A Lantern in Her Hand first. White Bird Flying is a sequel to the Mackenzie - Deal saga begun in A Lantern in Her Hand and it is fun to learn what happened to Abbie's children, grand children and neighbors in the years follwing her death.

But in reading this sequel, I got the feeling that Bess Streeter Aldrich was in a hurry to get the book out and didn't put the depth of feeling into her characters that she does in her other stories. The first chapter is promising with her dialogue between the neighbors contrasting with her narrative of Laura's feelings about her grandmother's passing.

But she was lacking in other areas - she spent time on Christine Reinmueller but all we hear about Sarah Lutz is a brief mention of her funeral. Sarah was a significant character in the first book - always representing the material comforts that were just beyond Abbie's reach. It would have been interesting to know Sarah's thoughts on Abbie's death. Eloise is turned into a money grubber, which seems like a false note. Why did she marry John Deal then? This is never adequately explained in the book. Eloise's rich relatives seem to be a bit contrived - couldn't Laura have gone off into the world on her own steam, without being dependent on these relatives for her future? And cousin Kathie blows up into a caricature of herself - of course we all know she is spoiled from reading the first book but her plot lines could have maybe been drawn more subtly.

But there is no denying that Aldrich is skilled story teller and her observations are magical. Her observations about life - "No one can stop time" make you feel like she has read your mind and has stolen your thoughts. And even if this story isn't up to par with "Lantern" it is still a worth while read. It is just best to have a different set of expectations for White Bird Flying than you might have for her other books.

Rating:
Summary: A rare jewel....this brought tears to my eyes!
Review: This is the sequel to the novel A Lantern in her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich. Once you read this book, White Bird Flying, you have a deeper understanding of the first novel. These books are simply wonderful! She is a powerful, but overlooked author! This was pure pleasure!

Rating:
Summary: Simply lovely
Review: While this book will appeal to fans of prairie or pioneer literature, it has depths that will actually appeal to almost anyone. Set in the early 1900s in small-town Nebraska, it follows the childhood and early womanhood of Laura Deal. Laura is the beloved granddaughter of Abby, the heroine of Aldrich's "A Lantern in Her Hand", and this book picks up right after Abby has died.

Laura is gentle and whimsical, and through her discerning eyes we get to view the other members of the family, many of whom are unintentionally humorous and certainly similar to those we know in real life. There is her practical, materialistic mother, about whom Laura one day thinks, "Mother has no poetry in her soul!" Her father John is quiet and hardworking, who carries some of the burdens of the town on his back but inside is afire with pioneer pride. Brother Wentworth dashes from one boyish pursuit to another. Her extended family, such as her flighty cousin Kathie, fussy Aunt Grace, and powerful Uncle Mack, are all interesting to read about. Outside of her family are several fascinating neighbors, including the attractive Alan and old Oscar, one of the town's founders, who lives in the past and can only find Laura to listen to tales of his glory days.

Although on the surface the story follows Laura's chronology in a fairly simple path, as she moves from school to college to a crisis of decision about how to proceed with her life, there are many other events, major and minor, occurring with everyone else in the story. There is her father's conflict with her uncle over bank monies lost, her cousin Kathie's gallivanting about rather than caring for her child, and old Christine's greediness for more land.

There are also lovely descriptions of the Nebraska countryside, and in the brief but beautiful details of life we get a sense of time and place. Having had a grandmother in Nebraska myself, it all felt so real to me when I read this wonderful book! I also felt breathless when it came time for Laura to decide if she would choose love or money, and the last sentence of the book is one of the best lines I've ever read. It should be quoted like Shakespeare. Quite simply, this is a book to cherish.

Rating:
Summary: Simply lovely
Review: While this book will appeal to fans of prairie or pioneer literature, it has depths that will actually appeal to almost anyone. Set in the early 1900s in small-town Nebraska, it follows the childhood and early womanhood of Laura Deal. Laura is the beloved granddaughter of Abby, the heroine of Aldrich's "A Lantern in Her Hand", and this book picks up right after Abby has died.

Laura is gentle and whimsical, and through her discerning eyes we get to view the other members of the family, many of whom are unintentionally humorous and certainly similar to those we know in real life. There is her practical, materialistic mother, about whom Laura one day thinks, "Mother has no poetry in her soul!" Her father John is quiet and hardworking, who carries some of the burdens of the town on his back but inside is afire with pioneer pride. Brother Wentworth dashes from one boyish pursuit to another. Her extended family, such as her flighty cousin Kathie, fussy Aunt Grace, and powerful Uncle Mack, are all interesting to read about. Outside of her family are several fascinating neighbors, including the attractive Alan and old Oscar, one of the town's founders, who lives in the past and can only find Laura to listen to tales of his glory days.

Although on the surface the story follows Laura's chronology in a fairly simple path, as she moves from school to college to a crisis of decision about how to proceed with her life, there are many other events, major and minor, occurring with everyone else in the story. There is her father's conflict with her uncle over bank monies lost, her cousin Kathie's gallivanting about rather than caring for her child, and old Christine's greediness for more land.

There are also lovely descriptions of the Nebraska countryside, and in the brief but beautiful details of life we get a sense of time and place. Having had a grandmother in Nebraska myself, it all felt so real to me when I read this wonderful book! I also felt breathless when it came time for Laura to decide if she would choose love or money, and the last sentence of the book is one of the best lines I've ever read. It should be quoted like Shakespeare. Quite simply, this is a book to cherish.