Rating: 
Summary: Annihilating Guilt
Review: UNLIKE SOME OF THE REVIEWERS OF THIS BOOK, I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. SCHWARZ GIVES YOU THAT FEELING THAT YOU PERSONALLY KNOW THEESE CHARACTERS. AMANDA ESPECIALLY,BLESS HER HEART. I THOUGHT I HAD EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT. WRONG AGAIN! THE STORY DOES GO BACK AND FORTH, BUT NOT SO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON. IF YOU HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED GUILT, YOU WILL REALLY RELATE TO THIS READ. THE ENDING WAS A COMPLETE SURPRISE! ENJOY!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not really interesting
Review: The book is mostly cliche. Clearly the author has read Beloved too many times without coming up with many original ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: RUTH RISING
Review: Cold, windy, silent, hidden, wet and frozen--when I closed the book, that's what I took away with me. Ms. Schwartz does an admirable job of setting time and place. Life was hard work on a small farm in Wisconsin during the first part of the 20th century, and you never got away from it. I liked the evolving Ruth from the wild, outsider small girl to the competent young woman she became. The characters were well drawn, even the minor ones. I did have trouble with Amanda; I don't know if the author intended it or not, but she struck me as humorous. The more she tried to "fix" everything, the worse it got, yet basically she was a very efficient person. She is one of those people you know you *should* like for all her sterling qualities, but don't, and you feel guilty about it.This book is not intended as a mystery with a surprise ending. Most readers will have a good idea of the events surrounding the drowning by the time they have read 1/3 of the book. The switching of the narrative from Ruth to Amanda and back is a good device. My problem was their voices were too much alike, there was not enough contrast between them. The book does not have a good pace, it lags at times. The plot is a little creaky; the machinery shows. It's been a long time since I read a modern author who will write that a brief, one-time sexual encounter will result in pregnancy. Of course it is possible, but very unlikely. I look forward to Ms. Schwartz's next novel. I have the feeling she is growing all the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Am enjoying it so far...
Review: I usually stick with authors I know, but I thought I'd give this one a try. After all, Oprah liked it! Within the first few pages I was hooked. I just can't help but wonder what will happen next.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so Great
Review: This book started out pretty good and the exceptional detail really gave me an excellent mental image as I was reading. But in the middle it seemed to get bogged down with too much detail and skipping around which made it hard to follow. I found myself skipping whole chapters just to get to the end. If someone gave me the book it would be interesting reading but I wouldn't spend the money if I were doing it over.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I thought this was an excellent book, which was so interestingto me that I was finished with it about 48 hours after I got it. Justas soon as you felt you were realizing the secret, another twist comesin and thickens the plot. The descriptions were very visual, withoutbeing too wordy. The characters were interesting and odd. The storyitself, which jumped around the timeline and different speakers, wasstill easy to follow. I would highly recommend this book - I've loanedit to three people already.
Rating:
Summary: Draging on and on and on and on.
Review: This book drags on and on and never seems to end. When I finally finished it I felt as though it was a waste of my good time reading it!. I had just read "Sing Me A Bawdy Song" and it was one of the best book I have ever read...
Rating:
Summary: Borrow from the Library......
Review: I have bought all of Oprah's book club selections and I honestly have to say that this one was the worst so far. I was so upset that I spent good money on such a pitiful tale. I couldn't even finish it, which is rare for me because I want to get my money's worth out of what I purchase, but honestly, I became so apathetic toward the story that I just couldn't go on. I sure do wish I had borrowed it from my local library instead, then I could have returned it without losing anything but time.
Rating:
Summary: A good first effort
Review: The mystery of what happened the night Mathilda Neumann (known to her family as Mattie) drowns lies just under the surface - like Mattie herself - acting as a strange type of hair shirt, scratching the lives of those closest to her. Mattie's tragic, untimely death prompts her daughter, Ruth, to claim that she drowned too. Her Aunt Amanda Starkey, Mattie's sister, denies Ruth's memories, but there was more to that icy winter night than a simple drowning. The many secrets held by this small but afflicted family gradually emerge in tense novel set during the winter of 1919, following World War I. With Mattie dead, Amanda possessively looks after her small niece, Ruth. Ruth's father, Carl, a man whom Amanda regards as weak and essentially useless, returns home from the war to find his wife dead and his household presided over by his edgy, secretive and autocratic sister-in-law. Carl finds Amanda's assumption of the responsibilities of both the farm and his daughter unnerving - almost frightening - in its intensity. Meanwhile, the memory of his wife dims while his suspicions concerning the true circumstances of her death enlarge. Ruth, meanwhile, grows up under her shadowy memories of her mother's death and the events of that fateful, long-ago evening. Under the obsessive watch of her aunt, Ruth gradually begins to try to come to terms with her strange childhood, an attempt that will ultimately reveal all their secrets - particularly Amanda's. First-time novelist Christina Schwarz guides the reader through the bleakness of the old virtues of silence and stoicism, maintaining a razor-thin line of tension between all the characters at every turn. Her setting is a long-forgotten world where a decent young woman could ruin herself by association with the wrong kind of man and, while the use of various narrators is a bit off-putting, that is no reason to pass this novel by. Schwarz redeems what could be called a predictable plot by approaching events without excess melodrama, telling her story straight-on and showing the damage humans can cause when trying to protect both themselves and the ones they love.
Rating:
Summary: A thorough delight!
Review: I loved this book. I was completely intrigued from page one. I didn't want to put this book down and when I finished reading the last sentence I was somewhat saddened that it was over. This book has it all...suspense, love, murder, scandel...EVERYTHING! I highly recommend it. A forewarning though...the story jumps around a lot. It will read in the present day and suddenly shift to 13 years or so earlier. That is why I gave it just the four stars. Normally when I write a review I talk about aspects of the story. What I liked, didn't like and all the criticisms I had about the author's style. But not this time. You are gonna have to read it yourself. Enjoy!
|
