dot bohill

The heroine/ main character Elfrida is described in the earlierchapters as mildly eccentric, and a free spirit. This contrasts strongly with the later part of the book, where she spends all her time cooking everyone's meals, and making beds, seemingly whilst on speed, because what she does is simply too much for one woman. This gender stereotyping aspect, along with the "everyone finds a partner" added to the very dated feel of the book. I've rated it a 2, only because the vocabulary was very rich.

Couldn't put this book down, read it over a day. The storyline is told through narrative, usually 1 character per chapter, and although this is a fairly usual technique, somehow it comes across as unusual, possibly because not all the characters are "alive" as we know it. The story is haunting, tender, brutal, poignant, and reveres nature, all at once. There is a huge twist to it, and as I say a touch of supernatural. First time I have read Jesmyn Ward, will look for more.