The Laughing Place: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Story Almost Lost in the Words
Review: "The Laughing Place" is a wonderful story that at times gets lost in the author's over use of heavy prose. The story of Annie's journey to find herself after the death of her husband and father is timeless. However, I found myself unable to truly enjoy the journey and loose myself in Annie's character because of the unending wordiness.

Ms. Durban has done an excellent job of describing the region where the story is set. I could feel the heat and humidity, which seemed to add to the frustrations that Annie experienced. Her use of vivid imagery reminded me of that used in "Cold Mountain". However, one never got a break from the unending details, which seemed to drone on like the buzz of the insects Ms. Durban so vividly writes about.

Towards the end of the book I found myself skimming. Looking for the action, what happened next? I could no longer manage to sit through the seemingly endless descriptions. In addition, I felt that the story should have ended with Annie returning her husband's ashes to his parents. The continuation of the story to include the birth of Mel's child and her mother's born again experience were unnecessary bits, which distracted from more than they added to the main story line.

It was worth the read but it isn't a first novel along the lines of "Cold Mountain", "Delirium of the Brave", or "In My Father's Generation. Read those first then add this one to your reading list.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Story Almost Lost in the Words
Review: "The Laughing Place" is a wonderful story that at times gets lost in the author's over use of heavy prose. The story of Annie's journey to find herself after the death of her husband and father is timeless. However, I found myself unable to truly enjoy the journey and loose myself in Annie's character because of the unending wordiness.

Ms. Durban has done an excellent job of describing the region where the story is set. I could feel the heat and humidity, which seemed to add to the frustrations that Annie experienced. Her use of vivid imagery reminded me of that used in "Cold Mountain". However, one never got a break from the unending details, which seemed to drone on like the buzz of the insects Ms. Durban so vividly writes about.

Towards the end of the book I found myself skimming. Looking for the action, what happened next? I could no longer manage to sit through the seemingly endless descriptions. In addition, I felt that the story should have ended with Annie returning her husband's ashes to his parents. The continuation of the story to include the birth of Mel's child and her mother's born again experience were unnecessary bits, which distracted from more than they added to the main story line.

It was worth the read but it isn't a first novel along the lines of "Cold Mountain", "Delirium of the Brave", or "In My Father's Generation. Read those first then add this one to your reading list.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Story Almost Lost in the Words
Review: "The Laughing Place" is a wonderful story that at times gets lost in the author's over use of heavy prose. The story of Annie's journey to find herself after the death of her husband and father is timeless. However, I found myself unable to truly enjoy the journey and loose myself in Annie's character because of the unending wordiness.

Ms. Durban has done an excellent job of describing the region where the story is set. I could feel the heat and humidity, which seemed to add to the frustrations that Annie experienced. Her use of vivid imagery reminded me of that used in "Cold Mountain". However, one never got a break from the unending details, which seemed to drone on like the buzz of the insects Ms. Durban so vividly writes about.

Towards the end of the book I found myself skimming. Looking for the action, what happened next? I could no longer manage to sit through the seemingly endless descriptions. In addition, I felt that the story should have ended with Annie returning her husband's ashes to his parents. The continuation of the story to include the birth of Mel's child and her mother's born again experience were unnecessary bits, which distracted from more than they added to the main story line.

It was worth the read but it isn't a first novel along the lines of "Cold Mountain", "Delirium of the Brave", or "In My Father's Generation. Read those first then add this one to your reading list.

Rating:
Summary: Great story!
Review: After reading this book I went back and highlighted all of the deeply written paragraphs and read them over again. What great insight this author has to our inner thoughts and feelings that are never spoken to anyone. I have recommended this book to my friends and family.

Rating:
Summary: The Power of Language On Display!
Review: My sympathies go out to reviewers who, for whatever reasons, blame an author for their own inability (perhaps refusal) to work through complex language; it is simply an empty and wholly unfair criticism. The power of this novel is in the richness of the language. That it also tells a wonderful story is all that needs to be said about Ms. Durban's skill as a writer.

DO read this book, it is an excellent, spell-binding novel that will leave you amply rewarded for your efforts, even if you, now and then, need to pull together greater powers of concentration to fully grasp the finer details. For heaven's sake don't embarrass yourself, or ruin the experience, by skimming for action!

Here is something else you can do: Open the book to any page, pick any paragraph, and simply read for the love of language. You needn't have a clue about the characters, plot, or anything else, just a love of discovering language crafted in a way that will, very often, leave you breathless for its intricate beauty. It is similar, in effect, to reading poetry.

One final note to all you English and Writing teachers: Passages from this book are tailor-made to be read aloud and will serve as excellent examples of how rich and powerful words can be coming from the mind of a skilled craftsperson.

Rating:
Summary: Great story!
Review: Pam Durban captures what so many Oprah-authors have tried to do, and that's write honestly and beautifully about the South. I do not have the sneaking suspicion throughout the novel that the characters are actually yankee actors fervently working with a dialogue coach so they can sound like extras from DUKES OF HAZZARD.

Beyond that, I have to say that Durban's prose is breathtaking: at some points I had to stop and read passages aloud. It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a True Southern Novel
Review: Pam Durban captures what so many Oprah-authors have tried to do, and that's write honestly and beautifully about the South. I do not have the sneaking suspicion throughout the novel that the characters are actually yankee actors fervently working with a dialogue coach so they can sound like extras from DUKES OF HAZZARD.

Beyond that, I have to say that Durban's prose is breathtaking: at some points I had to stop and read passages aloud. It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: A very dense read
Review: This book has lovely poetic language at times, however, I found myself often dozing off, the book unable to hold my interest. Durban's language was so dense I often had to reread paragraphs in order to better understand them. The characters never came alive for me. Durban has several phrases that become cliche by book's end, as she uses them so often. I was born in the South, I find it embarassingly duplicated here, as the stereotype we never hoped to be. Stagnant.