The Evidence Against Her: A Novel

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Summary: The Intricacies of Existence
Review: In her latest novel, National Book Award-winning author Robb Forman Dew delineates how, at the remove of time and space, the intricacies of existence assume the aura of truth.
Dew begins this first volume of a trilogy by discussing the births of three central characters, born hours apart, in late- nineteenth-century smalltown Ohio. These children, two of whom are cousins, grow up as friends until two of them marry each other, causing their childhood alliances to shift and shatter and seek resolution by means that may resolve their sense of loss and soothe their insecurities but that also, in so doing, cause their loved ones to suffer. Indeed, the dilemma presented both by and to Dew's distinct, equisitely drawn characters is that of the human condition. Over time, feelings translated into actions assume the aura of the truth by which people judge themselves and each other. However, the truth that translates as history is as tenuous and unreliable as are relationships themselves.
But Dew is not a pessimist; her vision, like her language, is transcendent. The last sentence of The Evidence Against Her reads, "And always there was a moment when it seemed to Agnes that it wasn't the case that darkness fell; it was really the light, all the voices, and complaints--the doings of any particular day--slowly evaporated, leaching upward into the wide, absorbent sky." Such masterful command of the language combined with the profundity of Dew's themes causes The Evidence Against Her to be among the best books of the year.

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Summary: Such a plain story!!!
Review: Most books that I've read have grabbed my attention early on and then by the middle you can pretty much determine where the book will take you. It was no different with this book. Good beginning, but what the book seemed about in the beginning changed alot by the middle of it and really changed by the end.
The characters were ok. But the story was dry and predictable.
I was happy to close it when I finished, if you like a important stories, vivid characters, and something you can't put down, then don't read this book.
It was way too dull.

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.