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moirastone's review against another edition
5.0
There's a term of art in computer programing - "close to the metal" - that describes code written in the least abstracted way, code that works closest to the hardware, code that speaks the language of the machine. It kept flitting through my mind while reading Feather Crowns. Staying so close to the mind and - especially, crucially - the body of Christie as she experiences courtship, sex, and the extraordinary life (and afterlife) of her children, felt like being in permanent close-up, like there was no writer at all, just a portal into another life.
That's magic, that's a writer speaking each moment into being as if it has just now happened for the first time, and I am in awe of Bobbie Ann Mason.
That's magic, that's a writer speaking each moment into being as if it has just now happened for the first time, and I am in awe of Bobbie Ann Mason.
lizzydennyreadsabook's review against another edition
3.0
While this book was definitely a unique story that gives a realistic depiction of grief, it was really depressing and made me somewhat avoidant of reading it instead of my other books I was reading concurrently. However, I made a resolution to start reading more Kentucky authors and Bobbie Ann Mason is KY literature royalty so I wanted to make sure I'd read something by her. Also, the time period and the setting of the story was that of early 20th century, rural Kentucky which, as I know from my family's stories, was wrought with loss and grief.
saraelm's review against another edition
5.0
I typically steer away from "historical fiction" but this is an easy read -- it's a huge book but I think I spent less than a week on it.
mccleark's review against another edition
3.0
Christie Wheeler is carrying quintuplets, only she doesn’t know it. It’s the turn of the last century and medical science isn’t exactly sophisticated enough for an ultrasound yet. All she knows is there’s something inside her – maybe a monster, or a demon, but definitely not a baby. But after she miraculously gives birth to five healthy, if tiny, babies inside her rural Kentucky home, she discovers that her pregnancy is just the beginning. She, the new babies, and the rest of her extended family soon get swept up in the country’s excitement over their extraordinary set of circumstances.
Feather Crowns is fiction, but it’s based on the true story of the first recorded birth of quintuplets in America. Even though the story nominally is centered around the babies, it’s really an examination of rural life in the early 1900s. Christie lives on a tobacco (‘tobaccer’, as she says) farm with her husband – and her husband’s extended family. While they have separate houses, it makes for a close living quarters indeed. So much family this close by can be a boon, though – Christie made having quintuplets plus three other children almost seem easy, since she had at least five other women to help her out! I found the most interesting part of the book to be learning about the customs and beliefs of people during this time period – that the men were served first at every meal, that women worked in the fields as well as the men, that finding a ‘feather crown’ inside a pillow was an omen of death.
The look back in time was definitely the most compelling part of the story for me. While the characters were interesting and developed, I myself had a hard time developing a connection with any of them. During parts of the story where the reader is supposed to be sad, I was just frustrated at the narrative. I also found the book to be longer than it needed to be – the plot meandered back and forth and felt stalled in several parts. There’s also something that happens halfway through the book which nearly made me put it down altogether – I won’t tell you what, for fear of spoilers, but suffice to say I was almost fed up. For the most part I ‘nothinged’ this book. While it was interesting to get a view of the early 1900s not set in urban New England, I found the storytelling too lacking to develop true feelings for the characters or their situations beyond frustration. I’m glad I finished it for the sake of finishing it, but I can’t truly recommend this book, even for historical fiction fans.
If you liked this review, check out my others on my blog!
Feather Crowns is fiction, but it’s based on the true story of the first recorded birth of quintuplets in America. Even though the story nominally is centered around the babies, it’s really an examination of rural life in the early 1900s. Christie lives on a tobacco (‘tobaccer’, as she says) farm with her husband – and her husband’s extended family. While they have separate houses, it makes for a close living quarters indeed. So much family this close by can be a boon, though – Christie made having quintuplets plus three other children almost seem easy, since she had at least five other women to help her out! I found the most interesting part of the book to be learning about the customs and beliefs of people during this time period – that the men were served first at every meal, that women worked in the fields as well as the men, that finding a ‘feather crown’ inside a pillow was an omen of death.
The look back in time was definitely the most compelling part of the story for me. While the characters were interesting and developed, I myself had a hard time developing a connection with any of them. During parts of the story where the reader is supposed to be sad, I was just frustrated at the narrative. I also found the book to be longer than it needed to be – the plot meandered back and forth and felt stalled in several parts. There’s also something that happens halfway through the book which nearly made me put it down altogether – I won’t tell you what, for fear of spoilers, but suffice to say I was almost fed up. For the most part I ‘nothinged’ this book. While it was interesting to get a view of the early 1900s not set in urban New England, I found the storytelling too lacking to develop true feelings for the characters or their situations beyond frustration. I’m glad I finished it for the sake of finishing it, but I can’t truly recommend this book, even for historical fiction fans.
If you liked this review, check out my others on my blog!
iamshadow's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book back in 1998 when I was sixteen, thinking based the catalogue entry at the university library I borrowed it from that it was about the Dionne quintuplets. While there is a reference to the Dionnes at the very end, most of the story is about a completely different fictional family and community, and as a result, I was left a bit baffled and disappointed. I don't know now, fifteen years later, if that was due to my false expectations, or if the story was lacking. I'd like to read it again, now that I'm older and know the premise ahead of time, and see if I connect with this book any better.
adamcarrico91's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating historical novel about a family in 1900 who happened to live about a half mile from the house where I grew up. The story was interesting and I loved all the small details of life over a hundred years ago. It’s a long, slow book, but kept me entertained throughout.
lindamoore's review against another edition
4.0
Bobbie Ann Mason charms me; the Iris Dement of literature.
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