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shannonharty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emromc's review against another edition
3.0
Should be a book club book...it desperately needs to be discussed! This book tells a story from two ladies' points of view in the middle of the Great Depression. They are polar opposites except for their drive to survive and to be happy with their torn families. That's what brings them together in the beginning, but by the end a series of terrible events and hidden secrets tears apart their tentative friendship, and eventually even their families. It's kind of a depressing read if it weren't for the intense opportunities for discussion-the actions of both people and the way their backgrounds and past experiences influence the choices they make are worth pondering.
callieisreading's review against another edition
3.0
On audio!
Finally finished today. Definitely a book that will stick with me for awhile. Very dark- the story if 2 women living on farms next door to one another in the early 20th century, through the Great Depression, which is a good way of describing the overall mood of the story. One if my bigger issues w/ the story was the character of Mary. She was thoroughly unlikely, and just when she would start seeming sympathetic, she did something or said something initiating. Considering she narrates half the book, it can be a difficult read. I think this would be a good book for a group to go through, because there would be lots to talk about.
My only other issue was with the narration. While I enjoyed both actors, I found it confusing when the timeline jumped around. I am curious if there are visual cues (italics or something) to indicate flashbacks. That would have been useful.
Otherwise, it was a good read!
Finally finished today. Definitely a book that will stick with me for awhile. Very dark- the story if 2 women living on farms next door to one another in the early 20th century, through the Great Depression, which is a good way of describing the overall mood of the story. One if my bigger issues w/ the story was the character of Mary. She was thoroughly unlikely, and just when she would start seeming sympathetic, she did something or said something initiating. Considering she narrates half the book, it can be a difficult read. I think this would be a good book for a group to go through, because there would be lots to talk about.
My only other issue was with the narration. While I enjoyed both actors, I found it confusing when the timeline jumped around. I am curious if there are visual cues (italics or something) to indicate flashbacks. That would have been useful.
Otherwise, it was a good read!
mnboyer's review against another edition
5.0
Be prepared, there are spoilers throughout this review and I'm not hiding them.
This book has a lot of darkness and family drama, which I was not suspecting based on the cover and the inside blurb. My friend Deb Cook passed away and left several boxes of books behind for me, and I'm just now getting around to reading them. This book has a gorgeous cover and so I decided that it would be a nice light read about farming, friendship, and a hint of the Great Depression. Well, it is a lot darker than that so be prepared!
Enidina (Eddie) and Mary are two farm wives that live on nearby farms in the middle-of-nowhere, Midwest, USA. The work on the farms is hard and the two women handle it differently. Eddie is a woman that's always been used to work, and so she does a lot of labor on her farm, whereas Mary is more content in town and does seemingly little on her farm. At first, you would think that the two women are going to enter a friendship when Mary comes to introduce herself to Eddie but that really isn't the case. The two women tolerate each other (at best) and sometimes they cross into each other's lives to be helpful, but sometimes not so much.
Eddie is married to Frank, and the couple seems to get along fine, but I wouldn't classify them as a deep love connection. One thing Eddie wants to do is have children but she suffers through several miscarriages. Eventually, the couple does end up with a pair of twins (Donny and Adaline) but they aren't the healthiest of children, it would seem.
Mary and Jack, on the other hand, don't have trouble conceiving. The only real problem occurs when Mary ends up sleeping with the head of the church (oops) and gets pregnant. Of course, Jack knows, but for some reason stays with her. This child is their youngest, Kyle.
There are many dark tidings on the farms. During the Great Depression, the government decides to go to farmers and "ask" them to slaughter their pigs to drive the meat prices up. This makes absolutely no sense... the entire country is starving but slaughtering pigs seems like a great answer to things. Jack loses his mind and runs over to Frank's farm and cuts up several piglets and a sow. Frank has to put them down. Don't worry, Jack makes sure to involve his young children in the massacre (yes, I say massacre, because bashing pregnant sows with sticks doesn't seem humane at all) at his home. Disgusting. But the government hands them some cash.
Mary sleeps with the head of the church, yet continues to act godly and great. She thinks she is amazing and is constantly coming over to Eddie's house to stir up trouble. Once when Frank is sick, she feeds him chicken instead of broth, assures Eddie that's normal, but when a doctor comes he definitely blames Eddie for the chicken. Mary also tries to convince everyone they need to be baptized...not like it keeps you faithful to your husband, but whatever.
Eventually, both families have children and they all play together. Kyle has a crazy horse that he and Donny decide to try and ride. Once Donny is on the horse, Kyle whips the horse, which goes crazy and then ends up essentially trampling and killing Donny. Kyle runs home. Eddie holds her dead son, has a temporary mental snap, and sets some fire to their dried corn crops. Adaline sees this from her bedroom. Kyle, at home, says what happened and his father walks outside and shoots the horse. Later, Frank says that this wasn't necessary, and perhaps it isn't. The moral of the story is this was an ACCIDENT and kids shouldn't be left alone with horses (broke or otherwise, because things happen!).
The town, like most small towns, starts talking. Kyle is to blame and everyone knows it. Yet Mary, the ass that she is, goes to the church and plays the ace in her sleeve. If the pastor doesn't tell everyone that Kyle isn't to blame, and that perhaps Eddie scared the horse, she's going to tell everyone that he impregnated her. And in a crazy turn of events--which you cannot believe happened/happens to people but the church does this--the church members get together and tell Eddie and her family they're not welcome in town anymore! They suggest they leave. Crazy!
This is all over an accident that, of course, was an accident. With some explanation and heart-to-heart conversation this could have been fixed throughout the town. Sure, it was terrible. But again...accident.
Instead Adaline and Kyle run off together, with Adaline heavily pregnant. So the joke is really on Mary because she ends up alone. She's pissed that no one has 'thanked her' for everything that she's done but she's absolutely insane (maybe even certifiable if you ask me) because she's just ruined things for so many people.
Sigh. This was dark, but it was well-written and straightforward. I needed this book in my life! It is one that is going to give me nightmares (pig murder) but it is one that I'll cherish and not soon forget. Thank you Deb, this was a good one!
This book has a lot of darkness and family drama, which I was not suspecting based on the cover and the inside blurb. My friend Deb Cook passed away and left several boxes of books behind for me, and I'm just now getting around to reading them. This book has a gorgeous cover and so I decided that it would be a nice light read about farming, friendship, and a hint of the Great Depression. Well, it is a lot darker than that so be prepared!
Enidina (Eddie) and Mary are two farm wives that live on nearby farms in the middle-of-nowhere, Midwest, USA. The work on the farms is hard and the two women handle it differently. Eddie is a woman that's always been used to work, and so she does a lot of labor on her farm, whereas Mary is more content in town and does seemingly little on her farm. At first, you would think that the two women are going to enter a friendship when Mary comes to introduce herself to Eddie but that really isn't the case. The two women tolerate each other (at best) and sometimes they cross into each other's lives to be helpful, but sometimes not so much.
Eddie is married to Frank, and the couple seems to get along fine, but I wouldn't classify them as a deep love connection. One thing Eddie wants to do is have children but she suffers through several miscarriages. Eventually, the couple does end up with a pair of twins (Donny and Adaline) but they aren't the healthiest of children, it would seem.
Mary and Jack, on the other hand, don't have trouble conceiving. The only real problem occurs when Mary ends up sleeping with the head of the church (oops) and gets pregnant. Of course, Jack knows, but for some reason stays with her. This child is their youngest, Kyle.
There are many dark tidings on the farms. During the Great Depression, the government decides to go to farmers and "ask" them to slaughter their pigs to drive the meat prices up. This makes absolutely no sense... the entire country is starving but slaughtering pigs seems like a great answer to things. Jack loses his mind and runs over to Frank's farm and cuts up several piglets and a sow. Frank has to put them down. Don't worry, Jack makes sure to involve his young children in the massacre (yes, I say massacre, because bashing pregnant sows with sticks doesn't seem humane at all) at his home. Disgusting. But the government hands them some cash.
Mary sleeps with the head of the church, yet continues to act godly and great. She thinks she is amazing and is constantly coming over to Eddie's house to stir up trouble. Once when Frank is sick, she feeds him chicken instead of broth, assures Eddie that's normal, but when a doctor comes he definitely blames Eddie for the chicken. Mary also tries to convince everyone they need to be baptized...not like it keeps you faithful to your husband, but whatever.
Eventually, both families have children and they all play together. Kyle has a crazy horse that he and Donny decide to try and ride. Once Donny is on the horse, Kyle whips the horse, which goes crazy and then ends up essentially trampling and killing Donny. Kyle runs home. Eddie holds her dead son, has a temporary mental snap, and sets some fire to their dried corn crops. Adaline sees this from her bedroom. Kyle, at home, says what happened and his father walks outside and shoots the horse. Later, Frank says that this wasn't necessary, and perhaps it isn't. The moral of the story is this was an ACCIDENT and kids shouldn't be left alone with horses (broke or otherwise, because things happen!).
The town, like most small towns, starts talking. Kyle is to blame and everyone knows it. Yet Mary, the ass that she is, goes to the church and plays the ace in her sleeve. If the pastor doesn't tell everyone that Kyle isn't to blame, and that perhaps Eddie scared the horse, she's going to tell everyone that he impregnated her. And in a crazy turn of events--which you cannot believe happened/happens to people but the church does this--the church members get together and tell Eddie and her family they're not welcome in town anymore! They suggest they leave. Crazy!
This is all over an accident that, of course, was an accident. With some explanation and heart-to-heart conversation this could have been fixed throughout the town. Sure, it was terrible. But again...accident.
Instead Adaline and Kyle run off together, with Adaline heavily pregnant. So the joke is really on Mary because she ends up alone. She's pissed that no one has 'thanked her' for everything that she's done but she's absolutely insane (maybe even certifiable if you ask me) because she's just ruined things for so many people.
Sigh. This was dark, but it was well-written and straightforward. I needed this book in my life! It is one that is going to give me nightmares (pig murder) but it is one that I'll cherish and not soon forget. Thank you Deb, this was a good one!
alyscriv17's review against another edition
4.0
I had a lot of emotions, mostly anger and sadness, while I listened to this book on audio. The two readers truly animated the two main characters. I thought it was wonderful, in a literary sense, the story line is however, heartbreaking.
water_and_shade's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Prose was nice, but was missing something I can't put my finger on. Characters fell flat for me, I never really empathised with any of them. I did appreciate the claustrophobic feeling of the flat farmland Hoover creates. Overall, promising as a debut but not something I'll reach for again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Miscarriage
Minor: Rape, Child abuse, and Child death
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended by staffer Ellen. Read her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/185255831
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Squickening%20hoover__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Squickening%20hoover__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
lisa_mc's review against another edition
3.0
In our air-conditioned houses, with plumbing and electricity, in our cities with next-door neighbors and supermarkets and doctors, we tend to wax romantic about little houses on the prairie and life on the farm. “The Quickening” presents a much more realistic picture.
Inspired by her great-grandmother’s short written recollection of her life on an Iowa farm, Michelle Hoover has written a novel of the prairie, of farm life and the connection, for better or for worse, between two women.
The narration alternates between the two acquaintances, neighbors on the stark, unforgiving prairie. Neither is particularly sympathetic, though readers will likely empathize more with Enidina.
Big, strong, stoic Enidina has a suspicious nature, but often has reason to withhold trust. She and her husband, Frank, work hard, sometimes to no avail, and endure several miscarriages until they finally have twins. Artless and reactive, Enidina accepts her lot in life and does what she can.
The closest thing Enidina has to a friend is Mary, simply by virtue of proximity. Dramatic, self-centered Mary insinuates herself into Frank and Enidina’s lives, more so than they probably would like. Her hot-tempered husband and house full of sons also stand in contrast to Enidina and Frank’s calmer lives. Unpleasantness in her past is hinted at, which helps explain her deceptive nature — deceptive even to the point of deceiving herself.
“The Quickening” isn’t really plot-driven, as most of the events are described in chunks spread out over about 25 years. But in spare, cutting prose, it paints a bleak picture of accidents and death, sickness and struggle, greed and betrayal, one that will banish any romantic notions of prairie life.
Inspired by her great-grandmother’s short written recollection of her life on an Iowa farm, Michelle Hoover has written a novel of the prairie, of farm life and the connection, for better or for worse, between two women.
The narration alternates between the two acquaintances, neighbors on the stark, unforgiving prairie. Neither is particularly sympathetic, though readers will likely empathize more with Enidina.
Big, strong, stoic Enidina has a suspicious nature, but often has reason to withhold trust. She and her husband, Frank, work hard, sometimes to no avail, and endure several miscarriages until they finally have twins. Artless and reactive, Enidina accepts her lot in life and does what she can.
The closest thing Enidina has to a friend is Mary, simply by virtue of proximity. Dramatic, self-centered Mary insinuates herself into Frank and Enidina’s lives, more so than they probably would like. Her hot-tempered husband and house full of sons also stand in contrast to Enidina and Frank’s calmer lives. Unpleasantness in her past is hinted at, which helps explain her deceptive nature — deceptive even to the point of deceiving herself.
“The Quickening” isn’t really plot-driven, as most of the events are described in chunks spread out over about 25 years. But in spare, cutting prose, it paints a bleak picture of accidents and death, sickness and struggle, greed and betrayal, one that will banish any romantic notions of prairie life.
catladylover94's review against another edition
5.0
really good, would like to have known more about the main characters.