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alisonlaw's review against another edition
Read my blog post about Tim Westover and his books, Auraria and The Old Weird South here: http://bit.ly/Wh11SV
booklovinalicia's review against another edition
3.0
To the right reader this book is a 5 star read. To me, however, this was a 3 star read. Entertaining, yes, but there was just something "off", which left me confused. Read my full review at www.booklovinalicia.blogspot.com
jennadactyl13's review against another edition
3.0
“Holtzclaw hadn’t heard of Auraria until his employer sent him to destroy it,” the novel begins. There are strange things that happen in Auraria, a town tucked away in the mountains of Georgia, a town obsessed with gold but too seldom finds it, a town where “the whispering walls make strangers nervous.” It begins a lot like Dracula, when Jonathan Harker first enters Transylvania and hears about strange phenomena unique to the area. However, Auraria is much less hostile. It is a place where you can catch a fish by throwing a line into the mist, listen to the ballads of a singing tree or the stories of a giant terrapin, or even catch a glimpse of the mysterious moon maidens, who leave behind colors of gold whenever they bathe.
This book has an enormous amount of potential, but it feels more like a draft than a completed novel. This feeling stretches beyond several grammatical errors to the characters and story itself. Holtzclaw, the main character, barely shows emotion or thoughts of his own until the last third of the novel. Up until then, he could be mistaken for a robot. He shows absolutely no surprise or shock when he witnesses the strange happenings of Auraria or meets Princess Tralyhta*, who claims she’s the princess of the rivers and springs. He never thinks he’s going crazy or that his mind is deceiving him. He just accepts everything. Because he is a robot. In fact, in the first part of the book, the only thing he cares about is a bottle of Claret. When someone drank a vintage Claret out of the bottle instead of a cup, Holtzclaw “felt an emotion that others would call anger begin to rise towards his face.”
He also never questions why his employer sent him to this old gold mining town that produces no gold. He just does what he’s told, and even when he notices his employer is investing money he doesn’t have, he doesn’t try hard to stop him. And though he’s a stranger in a strange land, there’s only one person who doesn’t sell him their land almost immediately with no questions asked. Most of the conflict is easily solved, whether it’s people handing over their land or digging for gold to replenish an empty treasury (one of the townspeople had a dream about where the gold was hidden, and sure enough it was there when they looked for it and the whole thing happened in the course of a few hours).
As for suspension of belief, I would be more inclined to believe a tree could sing than baronesses and other members of elite society would hike up their skirts and go digging for gold in the pouring rain or that someone would consider how indecorous it is to pull a lady up by the armpits when she’s drowning in a lake, all of which happens in this novel; that’s not how most people behave. So it’s a good start, but it’s not quite there.
*Seriously, there are some really weird/bad names in this novel. There’s a character named Mr. Fabricatorium and a Mother Fresh-Roasted to name a few.
Check out my movie reviews at goodflickas.wordpress.com
This book has an enormous amount of potential, but it feels more like a draft than a completed novel. This feeling stretches beyond several grammatical errors to the characters and story itself. Holtzclaw, the main character, barely shows emotion or thoughts of his own until the last third of the novel. Up until then, he could be mistaken for a robot. He shows absolutely no surprise or shock when he witnesses the strange happenings of Auraria or meets Princess Tralyhta*, who claims she’s the princess of the rivers and springs. He never thinks he’s going crazy or that his mind is deceiving him. He just accepts everything. Because he is a robot. In fact, in the first part of the book, the only thing he cares about is a bottle of Claret. When someone drank a vintage Claret out of the bottle instead of a cup, Holtzclaw “felt an emotion that others would call anger begin to rise towards his face.”
He also never questions why his employer sent him to this old gold mining town that produces no gold. He just does what he’s told, and even when he notices his employer is investing money he doesn’t have, he doesn’t try hard to stop him. And though he’s a stranger in a strange land, there’s only one person who doesn’t sell him their land almost immediately with no questions asked. Most of the conflict is easily solved, whether it’s people handing over their land or digging for gold to replenish an empty treasury (one of the townspeople had a dream about where the gold was hidden, and sure enough it was there when they looked for it and the whole thing happened in the course of a few hours).
As for suspension of belief, I would be more inclined to believe a tree could sing than baronesses and other members of elite society would hike up their skirts and go digging for gold in the pouring rain or that someone would consider how indecorous it is to pull a lady up by the armpits when she’s drowning in a lake, all of which happens in this novel; that’s not how most people behave. So it’s a good start, but it’s not quite there.
*Seriously, there are some really weird/bad names in this novel. There’s a character named Mr. Fabricatorium and a Mother Fresh-Roasted to name a few.
Check out my movie reviews at goodflickas.wordpress.com
elenajohansen's review against another edition
1.0
DNF @ 25 percent because I got bored. The entire first quarter of the book was a lather-rinse-repeat of the protagonist going to a person to buy their land, having basically the same conversation with each one until something weird happened, buying the land, and then going on his merry way while completely failing to be affected by the weird thing.
While I did like some of the weird things--the house that had more stories when you were in it than appeared from the outside, with each one getting smaller, until the top floor only had room for "thimble and thread", that was actually pretty neat--the story as presented felt like an excuse to have a mystical, cool setting more than an actual story. The emphasis was definitely placed on how strange the town and its inhabitants were, rather than any actual plot, which was plodding and dull.
While I did like some of the weird things--the house that had more stories when you were in it than appeared from the outside, with each one getting smaller, until the top floor only had room for "thimble and thread", that was actually pretty neat--the story as presented felt like an excuse to have a mystical, cool setting more than an actual story. The emphasis was definitely placed on how strange the town and its inhabitants were, rather than any actual plot, which was plodding and dull.
timbo001's review against another edition
3.0
A somewhat charming Appalachian fairy tale, but with something of a flat ending.
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
4.0
Auraria, Georgia was a real town. Today it is counted among the many "ghost towns" in the country. It rose to a population of around 1000 during the Georgia Gold Rush of 1832.
Tim Westover takes a real location and turns into a tale of fantasy and imagination. While there might have been gold at Auraria, there probably weren't spirits and moon maidens. There really was a resort hotel, known as "Queen of the Mountain," where people enjoyed bathing in and drinking mineral waters.
In this tale, a man named Holtzclaw travels to Auraria, under direction of his employer, H.E. Shadburn, to buy up all of the land in the town. It seems that Shadburn had some lofty ambitions for the area, which involved creating a lake and building his own "Queen of the Mountain."
The first thing Holtzclaw encounters upon his arrival to the area, is a boy fishing off of a cliff. This would not be unusual, but for the fact that there was no water below him, only mist. What made it even more unusual was that they boy caught a fish. Believing it was a trick, Holtzclaw brushed it off and continued on.
In Auraria, he encountered many strange things. There was a ghostly wife, who appeared to Holtzclaw to be very much alive. There was a springhouse that blew icy winds out of it. There was an invisible piano player named "Mr. Bad Thing" at one of the inns. In that same inn, the proprietor, Abigail Thompson, only served sweet potatoes. The inn was called Old Rock Falls. Then there was Princess Trahlyta. Trahlyta is thought to have been a true Cherokee maiden who lived on a nearby mountain. Her beauty was known around the area. When she refused to wed a Cherokee warrior named Wahsega, he kidnapped her and took her to his home. She begged for release, but he would not hear of it. As she grew weaker, she eventually asked to be buried near her mountain paradise. There is actually a pile of stones in Stonepile Gap, Georgia, that is alleged to be her grave. Legend has it that the highway department has tried to move the grave multiple times, each time resulting in the "accidental death" of a crew member.
Mr. Westover's tale of a real place, mixed in with some fantastical imagination, is quite enjoyable. Weaved into it is, in my opinion, a morality tale of what happens when greed drives your life. You see, to the people who live in this little mining town, gold means nothing. In fact, they, with the help of Princess Trahlyta, are trying to completely wash it away. But when Holtzclaw gets wind of all this gold, even seeing the "moon maidens" washing it off of their bodies, he gets greedy.
Things seem to be going very well, but then tragedy strikes, not entirely unexpected. No spoilers will be shared here, but I can say that the story has a happy ending, with which I was entirely satisfied. In fact, it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to.
Tim Westover takes a real location and turns into a tale of fantasy and imagination. While there might have been gold at Auraria, there probably weren't spirits and moon maidens. There really was a resort hotel, known as "Queen of the Mountain," where people enjoyed bathing in and drinking mineral waters.
In this tale, a man named Holtzclaw travels to Auraria, under direction of his employer, H.E. Shadburn, to buy up all of the land in the town. It seems that Shadburn had some lofty ambitions for the area, which involved creating a lake and building his own "Queen of the Mountain."
The first thing Holtzclaw encounters upon his arrival to the area, is a boy fishing off of a cliff. This would not be unusual, but for the fact that there was no water below him, only mist. What made it even more unusual was that they boy caught a fish. Believing it was a trick, Holtzclaw brushed it off and continued on.
In Auraria, he encountered many strange things. There was a ghostly wife, who appeared to Holtzclaw to be very much alive. There was a springhouse that blew icy winds out of it. There was an invisible piano player named "Mr. Bad Thing" at one of the inns. In that same inn, the proprietor, Abigail Thompson, only served sweet potatoes. The inn was called Old Rock Falls. Then there was Princess Trahlyta. Trahlyta is thought to have been a true Cherokee maiden who lived on a nearby mountain. Her beauty was known around the area. When she refused to wed a Cherokee warrior named Wahsega, he kidnapped her and took her to his home. She begged for release, but he would not hear of it. As she grew weaker, she eventually asked to be buried near her mountain paradise. There is actually a pile of stones in Stonepile Gap, Georgia, that is alleged to be her grave. Legend has it that the highway department has tried to move the grave multiple times, each time resulting in the "accidental death" of a crew member.
Mr. Westover's tale of a real place, mixed in with some fantastical imagination, is quite enjoyable. Weaved into it is, in my opinion, a morality tale of what happens when greed drives your life. You see, to the people who live in this little mining town, gold means nothing. In fact, they, with the help of Princess Trahlyta, are trying to completely wash it away. But when Holtzclaw gets wind of all this gold, even seeing the "moon maidens" washing it off of their bodies, he gets greedy.
Things seem to be going very well, but then tragedy strikes, not entirely unexpected. No spoilers will be shared here, but I can say that the story has a happy ending, with which I was entirely satisfied. In fact, it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to.
craftybooknerd's review against another edition
4.0
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This historical story about Auraria was a delight to read. The story pulls you in right away and doesn't let go until the end. I found the story line interesting, which includes some ghosts and fantasy, but not overly so. It has just the perfect touch of wonder and imagination. I found myself wishing there really was such a place because it would be so fun to see with my own two eyes.
There were just a few areas that could have used a little something more. It just seemed dull compared to the rest of the story. But overall, it was definitely a fun, entertaining read.
This historical story about Auraria was a delight to read. The story pulls you in right away and doesn't let go until the end. I found the story line interesting, which includes some ghosts and fantasy, but not overly so. It has just the perfect touch of wonder and imagination. I found myself wishing there really was such a place because it would be so fun to see with my own two eyes.
There were just a few areas that could have used a little something more. It just seemed dull compared to the rest of the story. But overall, it was definitely a fun, entertaining read.
tarynwanderer's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a Northeastern girl through and through. I was born in Manhattan, raised on Long Island, and lived in Queens post-undergrad; I went to college and grad school in Rhode Island; the majority of my friends and family are spread between Boston, Providence, and New York City. The furthest south I’ve been in the U.S is South Carolina. So it was with slight trepidation that I approached Tim Westover’s Auraria, a novel centered on a small Southern gold mining town and steeped in rural Georgian history, culture, and myth. With very little background knowledge of the area, I was still able to understand and connect with Westover’s cast of mysterious, quirky, and downright magical characters.
Those characters were one of Auraria‘s biggest strengths. The residents of the town range from a piano-playing ghost to a Great and Invincible Tortoise to fish spirits to the assorted humans who happen to be just as odd as the non-humans. Out of our large cast, I liked Princess Tralyhta and Abigail the best. Both were presented as strong, fearless, and competent, and both were able to take Holtzclaw under their protection from some of the more dangerous elements of the town. The Princess managed to be mysterious, childlike, and threatening by turns, and I enjoyed her random interactions with Holtzclaw, as well as her explanation of how gold forms and why Auraria needs to be rid of it. Abigail, a tough young lady who sees visions of gold, was just excellent, and I would have gladly read an entire novel from her perspective. These unusual small-town folks helped to give Auraria the charming, dusty feel of a sepia-toned photograph–the story of a time that has come and gone.
For me, the weak link was actually our main character, Holtzclaw. As an outsider to Auraria, sent on behalf of his employer Shadburn to buy up property, Holtzclaw is a logical choice to serve as our point-of-view character; we can meet the rest of the cast through his eyes. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, and for good reason (hello, Great Gatsby!). However: Holtzclaw is presented as competent from the start–there is no real arc for him to go from surprised and frightened of the living local legends to deftly negotiating with them. Even when he fails in some of his early business deals, it’s not because he is freaked out by the ghost or the moon maiden or whoever–it’s just because his arguments fail to sway them. He is rarely surprised or impressed by any of the bizarre sights he is confronted with, which was honestly difficult to believe. Despite following him around for most of the novel, he remained a cipher to me (albeit a cipher who liked squirrel brains and a good claret).
I want to call this Red Power Ranger syndrome. When there is one character that is designated as the leader, it tends to obliterate his flaws, making him technically perfect, but also boring. His one defining character trait becomes “leader.” Like the original Red Power Ranger. While you maybe liked him, he was never your favorite–it was the bad-boy White Ranger or the awesome Yellow Ranger. Holtzclaw is Auraria‘s Red Power Ranger, and I don’t think he necessarily had to fill that role.
Please read the rest of my review over at Bookwanderer!
Those characters were one of Auraria‘s biggest strengths. The residents of the town range from a piano-playing ghost to a Great and Invincible Tortoise to fish spirits to the assorted humans who happen to be just as odd as the non-humans. Out of our large cast, I liked Princess Tralyhta and Abigail the best. Both were presented as strong, fearless, and competent, and both were able to take Holtzclaw under their protection from some of the more dangerous elements of the town. The Princess managed to be mysterious, childlike, and threatening by turns, and I enjoyed her random interactions with Holtzclaw, as well as her explanation of how gold forms and why Auraria needs to be rid of it. Abigail, a tough young lady who sees visions of gold, was just excellent, and I would have gladly read an entire novel from her perspective. These unusual small-town folks helped to give Auraria the charming, dusty feel of a sepia-toned photograph–the story of a time that has come and gone.
For me, the weak link was actually our main character, Holtzclaw. As an outsider to Auraria, sent on behalf of his employer Shadburn to buy up property, Holtzclaw is a logical choice to serve as our point-of-view character; we can meet the rest of the cast through his eyes. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, and for good reason (hello, Great Gatsby!). However: Holtzclaw is presented as competent from the start–there is no real arc for him to go from surprised and frightened of the living local legends to deftly negotiating with them. Even when he fails in some of his early business deals, it’s not because he is freaked out by the ghost or the moon maiden or whoever–it’s just because his arguments fail to sway them. He is rarely surprised or impressed by any of the bizarre sights he is confronted with, which was honestly difficult to believe. Despite following him around for most of the novel, he remained a cipher to me (albeit a cipher who liked squirrel brains and a good claret).
I want to call this Red Power Ranger syndrome. When there is one character that is designated as the leader, it tends to obliterate his flaws, making him technically perfect, but also boring. His one defining character trait becomes “leader.” Like the original Red Power Ranger. While you maybe liked him, he was never your favorite–it was the bad-boy White Ranger or the awesome Yellow Ranger. Holtzclaw is Auraria‘s Red Power Ranger, and I don’t think he necessarily had to fill that role.
Please read the rest of my review over at Bookwanderer!
reinadelhelado's review against another edition
3.0
I completely forgot to update my currently reading, but I am here to do it now.
This book was pretty good. It most definitely held mystery, but I just couldn't focus. Could be me; I can't read some books right now unless they completely captivate my attention.
This book was pretty good. It most definitely held mystery, but I just couldn't focus. Could be me; I can't read some books right now unless they completely captivate my attention.
curiousneuron's review against another edition
4.0
Intriguing characters and fascinating sense of imagination
I highly enjoyed this novel. The conflicting goals that each of the characters had within themselves kept me guessing at alliances and motives to the end. Prose sometimes gets tedious, but the excitement of what curiosities Auraria will produce next guides you safely through these parts.
I highly enjoyed this novel. The conflicting goals that each of the characters had within themselves kept me guessing at alliances and motives to the end. Prose sometimes gets tedious, but the excitement of what curiosities Auraria will produce next guides you safely through these parts.