This is a good solid read from beginning to end. She employs this beautiful allegory/metaphor of planting a seed and watching it grow that runs throughout her story. The pacing is steady, quietly compelling you to continue reading, flowing smoothly to a tranquil end.
Set in the rural Tennessee mountains, we follow the lives of Jim and Ellis Hooper, the women they love and the land they work to grow tobacco. This is a story of struggle and relationships, how they handle life when things go wrong and experience joy when they go right as well as their internal struggles. Not to mention our strong heroine, Clairey, who is tender and fragile at the same time.
I felt well connected to the characters and she moves from one character's thoughts to another without jumping me out of the story. In fact, I was often awed by her ability in this regard and worked to analyze how she managed it so seamlessly to try and imitate it in my own work. Beautifully done.
I also appreciated the art/graphics. Simple but beautifully rendered.
I would certainly add this to your list of books to read. I am grateful it passed through my hands.
Do you have a 'down to earth' book to recommend?
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Ground-ebook/dp/B00E8GXQ76/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381090597&sr=1-1&keywords=good+ground+tracy+winegar
Devastated after the sudden death of his cherished wife
during childbirth in the fall of 1908, Jim Hooper loses the will to continue.
But God plants the seeds of hope, and a new life begins to take root following
the unconventional adoption of Ellis, an orphan baby. As a result of Jim's love,
nurturing, and care, Ellis grows into a fine man, the spitting
image--inwardly--of his daddy.
Decades later tragedy strikes again, this time for Ellis, and he finds his life turned completely upside-down after rescuing a young woman, Clairey, from a dangerous blizzard and an even more threatening existence. If their relationship ever stands a chance at thriving, it will have to survive ghosts from their respective pasts, endure the many hardships of running a tobacco farm in the rural Tennessee mountains, and Ellis will finally have to face the truth of his controversial origins.
Decades later tragedy strikes again, this time for Ellis, and he finds his life turned completely upside-down after rescuing a young woman, Clairey, from a dangerous blizzard and an even more threatening existence. If their relationship ever stands a chance at thriving, it will have to survive ghosts from their respective pasts, endure the many hardships of running a tobacco farm in the rural Tennessee mountains, and Ellis will finally have to face the truth of his controversial origins.
I'm anxious to read her work after your review. I want to be awed too!!!
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