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libkatem's review
5.0
I should not be allowed to wonder through the stacks at work, because I always seem to find obscure little gems, like this one. I was familiar with the author's work (she wrote Illuminations), but hadn't known that she was from Minneapolis, and this book is set in the Twin Cities! Hurray!
Young Kathrin immigrates to Minneapolis after the death of her mother, and after two years of mind-numbing work in the flour mills, she finds work with a woman writing about fairy tales.
It's a multi-layered story about love, loss, and betrayal, and through much of it, I was left stunned by the story. It's quite fabulous and, like all good books, I want to know what happens next!!!!!
Young Kathrin immigrates to Minneapolis after the death of her mother, and after two years of mind-numbing work in the flour mills, she finds work with a woman writing about fairy tales.
It's a multi-layered story about love, loss, and betrayal, and through much of it, I was left stunned by the story. It's quite fabulous and, like all good books, I want to know what happens next!!!!!
nanettels's review
5.0
I loved this book - partially because it was set in my neighborhood in St. Paul, MN. It was fascinating on a variety of levels and I really enjoyed it. The historical background on the city, the details of the different cultures involved (and different classes) made for a deep and interesting book.
srenee213's review
2.0
Okay book, but very dark. About an immigrant girl from Germany named Kattrin who comes to St. Paul, Minnesota a few years before WWI. She works for awhile in a factory but then, with a little help from a friend, she finds a job translating German fairy tales for a professor's widow named Violet with a scandalous past.
Sharratt's a wonderful author, but Kattrin's life was just so depressing! At the beginning she was so full of hope- learning English, working her way out of the factory, falling in love with a poor bookkeeper's nephew. And then all at once, everything starts to go downhill. I felt so bad for her! And even though she seems content in the end, and her future is left open for the reader to imagine, I still had a very bitter taste in my mouth from all the horrible things that had already happened to her.
And I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that this book features homosexuality. Let me say first that I'm not at all homophobic and one of my favorite books happens to be about two lesbians, in fact. But this story just didn't sit well for me. It didn't click. They seemed to have such a mother/daughter relationship that when Kattrin realized she was in love, it sort of disgusted me. I couldn't even root for the main character to end up with the one she loved.
The book wasn't bad, but it was terribly dark and depressing and I didn't like any of the romance stories. I'd recommend Mary Sharratt's other book, "The Vanishing Point," way before "Summit Avenue."
Find more book reviews at A Quick Red Fox.
Sharratt's a wonderful author, but Kattrin's life was just so depressing! At the beginning she was so full of hope- learning English, working her way out of the factory, falling in love with a poor bookkeeper's nephew. And then all at once, everything starts to go downhill. I felt so bad for her! And even though she seems content in the end, and her future is left open for the reader to imagine, I still had a very bitter taste in my mouth from all the horrible things that had already happened to her.
And I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that this book features homosexuality. Let me say first that I'm not at all homophobic and one of my favorite books happens to be about two lesbians, in fact. But this story just didn't sit well for me. It didn't click. They seemed to have such a mother/daughter relationship that when Kattrin realized she was in love, it sort of disgusted me. I couldn't even root for the main character to end up with the one she loved.
The book wasn't bad, but it was terribly dark and depressing and I didn't like any of the romance stories. I'd recommend Mary Sharratt's other book, "The Vanishing Point," way before "Summit Avenue."
Find more book reviews at A Quick Red Fox.
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