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mellabella's review against another edition
2.0
This book is... Odd. For lack of a better word.
Like the author was observing a woman then her daughter from afar. Spying on them. Writing down their actions without actually ever speaking to them.
It started off with promise. I find the premise interesting and would like to find out more about real life "Roadwalkers" during the depression. If they existed.
There are two narratives. The first half belongs to "Baby". The second half to her daughter Nanda.
Baby and her six siblings start off with two parents. Living in a house. Their father disappears after killing his mistress. Their mother disappears. The number of siblings dwindles until it's down to two. Baby and her brother Joseph. Roaming the countryside.
When her brother starts making trouble, Baby is left alone. She's found and, eventually comes to lives with other orphaned children with nuns as her guardians. She is renamed Mary.
I had more questions after the book was done.
We learn Baby survived by selling herself. Her passion for drawing led to a lucrative career in design. But what happened post orphanage? Why was Charles introduced at all? He certainly didn't play a large role. It was pivotal. But, no need to learn his background for it.
I'm assuming her daughter lacked feelings because Baby did? Even though it seemed like Baby cared for her daughter when she was young. As she grew older it was different. Was it because she saw how readily her family left her growing up? Between the two women, they never displayed emotion. Detached.
That time period was very tumultuous in terms of race relations. Segregation ended in 1964. How did Nanda and Tom just hang out? Her being readily accepted to his family gatherings?
There's more. But I'll leave it at that.
Like the author was observing a woman then her daughter from afar. Spying on them. Writing down their actions without actually ever speaking to them.
It started off with promise. I find the premise interesting and would like to find out more about real life "Roadwalkers" during the depression. If they existed.
There are two narratives. The first half belongs to "Baby". The second half to her daughter Nanda.
Baby and her six siblings start off with two parents. Living in a house. Their father disappears after killing his mistress. Their mother disappears. The number of siblings dwindles until it's down to two. Baby and her brother Joseph. Roaming the countryside.
When her brother starts making trouble, Baby is left alone. She's found and, eventually comes to lives with other orphaned children with nuns as her guardians. She is renamed Mary.
I had more questions after the book was done.
We learn Baby survived by selling herself. Her passion for drawing led to a lucrative career in design. But what happened post orphanage? Why was Charles introduced at all? He certainly didn't play a large role. It was pivotal. But, no need to learn his background for it.
I'm assuming her daughter lacked feelings because Baby did? Even though it seemed like Baby cared for her daughter when she was young. As she grew older it was different. Was it because she saw how readily her family left her growing up? Between the two women, they never displayed emotion. Detached.
That time period was very tumultuous in terms of race relations. Segregation ended in 1964. How did Nanda and Tom just hang out? Her being readily accepted to his family gatherings?
There's more. But I'll leave it at that.
creaseinthespinebooks's review against another edition
2.0
This is the story of a mother (called Baby, later Mary) and then her daughter Nanda; and, unfortunately, it reads like two different books instead of one.
I was ready to give this 5 stars until I got to PART 2. Baby's story was so compelling and interesting that The second half was completely disconnected from the first half. It's almost as if it was written by a different author. The tone and style bear no relationship to the first story, which could stand alone as a novella.
And then we were thrown into Nanda's story.. I wanted to know more about Baby/Mary Woods.
Excellent writing, poor story telling. No discernible plot. Just a series of events shaped around characters who, when you finally feel like you are getting to know them, are pushed to the side
I was ready to give this 5 stars until I got to PART 2. Baby's story was so compelling and interesting that The second half was completely disconnected from the first half. It's almost as if it was written by a different author. The tone and style bear no relationship to the first story, which could stand alone as a novella.
And then we were thrown into Nanda's story.. I wanted to know more about Baby/Mary Woods.
Excellent writing, poor story telling. No discernible plot. Just a series of events shaped around characters who, when you finally feel like you are getting to know them, are pushed to the side
valchanelle's review against another edition
2.0
A very odd book. The first half is actually a decent read, but I think the second half should have been a separate book altogether. Grau has a knack for creating intriguing characters, but here, she lacks a coherent plot.
creaseinthespinebooks's review against another edition
2.0
This is the story of a mother (called Baby, later Mary) and then her daughter Nanda; and, unfortunately, it reads like two different books instead of one.
I was ready to give this 5 stars until I got to PART 2. Baby's story was so compelling and interesting that The second half was completely disconnected from the first half. It's almost as if it was written by a different author. The tone and style bear no relationship to the first story, which could stand alone as a novella.
And then we were thrown into Nanda's story.. I wanted to know more about Baby/Mary Woods.
Excellent writing, poor story telling. No discernible plot. Just a series of events shaped around characters who, when you finally feel like you are getting to know them, are pushed to the side
I was ready to give this 5 stars until I got to PART 2. Baby's story was so compelling and interesting that The second half was completely disconnected from the first half. It's almost as if it was written by a different author. The tone and style bear no relationship to the first story, which could stand alone as a novella.
And then we were thrown into Nanda's story.. I wanted to know more about Baby/Mary Woods.
Excellent writing, poor story telling. No discernible plot. Just a series of events shaped around characters who, when you finally feel like you are getting to know them, are pushed to the side
slimbay's review
4.0
This is a beautifully-written book, and for the first half of it I believed I was going to give it five stars, however the promise of a story just around-the-corner never was fulfilled. There is virtually no plot. It's just a cluster of character profiles that were put there for no obvious purpose. Actually quite maddening. Okay so I've got this guy down: I know all about his personality, background, motivations, daily routine, dreams—WOOoosh! There he goes! Never to be seen again. Here comes another character...
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