Eyes At the Window

by Evie Yoder Miller

This historical novel, lilterary and engaging, examines a close-knit community of Amish pioneers over several decades.

Genres: Amish, Historical Fiction, Mystery, American History, Fiction

518 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

The following is taken from Evie Yoder Miller's webpage, http://evieyodermiller.com/?page_id=5 .

I grew up in a small town, Kalona, in southeastern Iowa in the 1940s and 1950s, immersed in a family unit of parents and three older siblings, a Mennonite church, and a rural community. In 1962 I graduated from Iowa Mennonite School, and four years later I earned a college degree from Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana, with a major in English and a minor in physical education. After living a rather conventional life, albeit nineteen years in Appalachia, I went back to grad school in mid-life and received an M.A. (1994) and a Ph.D. (1998) from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

I’ve published stories, poems, and essays in small presses, but the novel form is my writing preference. After working with historical material in Eyes at the Window, I enjoyed the shift to a contemporary setting in Everyday Mercies. For the past ten years plus, I’ve focused on a historical novel set during the Civil War in the U.S. Book I, Shadows, of my trilogy is now available. Book II, Loyalties, is coming this fall.

My interests in education continue, even though I’m now retired from teaching. I’ve worked in high school, community college, and university settings, most recently teaching composition and creative writing/fiction writing classes for ten years at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In addition, my two daughters and four grandchildren keep me young. Relaxation comes by reading, gardening, listening to music, watching movies and sports on TV, and traveling when there isn’t a pandemic.

Reviews

[Terry Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have come to love reading historical novels. This one was especially enjoyable to me as part of it takes place in my own state and county, and the surrounding counties which I am quite familiar with. It was like reading a history of my ancestors (although the charachters in this book are Amish). I feel like I have a better understanding of what took place when this part of the country was settled so many years ago.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF..... slow, bored waiting for it to pick up

[gaudeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb novel, fully imagined and beautifully written. It's a generational saga of Amish life in the 1800s, rich with detail and blessedly devoid of any romanticism or fetishizing of the Amish. The characters are fully human and struggle to maintain their way of life. A mystery lies at the novel's heart, yet what I will remember is the handful of central characters, their temperaments, and their outlooks on life. I couldn't recommend this book more enthusiastically.

[Danni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I have never studied the amish before and I really enjoyed learning about a new religion or culture. The book was written as if you were reading peoples thoughts instead of having conversations or interactions. I guess I learned not to judge someone until you know the whole and complete story.

[Tracy Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought this looked good but not a fan of Amish murder mysteries. Neither am I big on jumping between characters, read like a script more than a story, read a few chapters and couldn't go any further.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never finished it. It didn't hold my interest, I did read the ending to see what happened.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not awful but it's not great

[Jeri Stockdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Amish Mystery. A good read.

[Kristy Woodwyk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so long, and had so many characters to follow. Not worth the time to figure out how everyone fit together and who was the killer.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up in Lancaster, PA on a trip to Amish Country with my mother and grandmother. This looked very intriguing to me, so I bought it.

I read the book over the course of about a week and a half. It should have been a MUCH quicker read, given the fact that the writing is simplistic and the story itself is only borderline decent.

This book is over-long, given the subject matter. To make a long story short, this book is about infanticide in an Amish community, which happens to go unsolved for about 50 years.

The story is told in 1st person narrative by various members of the community, who each give their individual take on the crime. Chapter by chapter we hear from a different person recounting past and current "Amish Times", if you will.

This made the book difficult to read, in that it was next to impossible to keep track of all of the characters. I kept a running list, because not only did the narrative shift back and forth between characters, the time was constantly moving forward, which meant that new characters (mainly children of previous characters) would be introduced as they stepped up to tell their part of the story, but there is little to no explanation of who THEY are; you are left to keep track for yourself.

I think that nearly a 3rd of the book should never have made it past the cutting-room floor. I got the feeling that the author was subtly trying to defend the Amish religion a lot of the time, but not doing a very good job of it. It came across as a very harsh and unforgiving religion, although I am sure that is not always the case.

I had the "whodunnit" pegged long before the ending, despite all of the attempts to throw in a twist here and there. So the ending was very unsatisfying for me.

I ended up giving this a 2-star rating because it was an interesting look into the day-to-day Amish lifestyle in the early to mid-part of the 19th century, but the story itself certainly could have been better planned and better written.

[Dnicebear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms Yoder Miller steps into the freedom allowed in historical fiction and makes a complete and believable story around the documented murder of a baby in an Amish family in 1810. It takes 51 years before the real murderer confesses; meantime we feel the pain of the one who is falsely accused, and we get to live in the fields and cabins and with the decisions of the families involved. I felt right in there with the decisions the newer generation makes and the 'messiness' of the church leaders having to also deal with family stuff.

Minister and Bishop John M says, "Sometimes I think Henry Stutzman (another minister)is not capable of drawing fine distinctions. All is right or all is wrong; there is no in-between for him. If only he were not Katharina's (his wife) brother. I cannot say to her, 'Your brother has a narrow mind,' but that is how he sounds when he insists that there must be uniformity of practice. 'So there is not envying and division,' his voice whines. If someone else said the same, I could let it pass. But Henry is my brother-in-law. This enmity is a hangnail that I want to rip off. Yes, we must honor tradition. But we must also test the faith under the light of Scripture, so that what we pass on to our progeny has substance." (p. 430)

The ability to see from many different viewpoints over the years of 1810-1861 is a real gift. It helps me put flesh on some of my ancestors who lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio during these same years.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I am currently searching my family tree on the Brubaker side. They came from this same area of Pennsylvania and later moved to the same county in Ohio. The descriptions of the pioneer life were very interesting also. The whole concept of shuning the accused killer just on suspicion was disturbing to me. 50 years is a long time and his poor wife had to suffer with him. The reasons for staying in the Amish life are clear to me but they must be conflicted too. The lack of freedom is hard for me to imagine and the unswerving obedience to the bishop is extremely difficult for me. He is only a man too.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not willing to finish reading this book. After reading the first 100 pages I realized that I was not in love with any of the characters and I did not look forward to reading nearly 400 remaining pages. Each chaper is written by the different characters and it has not yet engaged me into the story. I'm sorry, there are too many good books to read to spend time reading one that isn't enjoyable.

[Genna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generational saga beginning in the 1800's that revolves around the murder of an infant and documents the lives and hardships of various members of the pioneering Pennsylvania and Ohio Amish communities. While lengthy and at times tedious, Miller offers a complex narrative spanning 50 years of loss and guilt, judgment and forgiveness, and finally of love. A rewarding and rich historic portrait of an often idealized group of people.

[Dark Star · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible story of a murdered Amish baby and the sometimes terrible, sometimes heart-warming, and ever-challenging events that occur for 50 years in the lives of all those affected. Many characters, families, trials, tribulations, wonders; and at times, frightening experiences of living on the frontier and forging new homes, new towns, new relationships. Crisply written. Enjoyable from beginning to end.

[Kelly Broadwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very hard to stay in tuned with and keep all of the characters straight. It is set in the 1800's in an Amish community and all the characters have simple names that they then in turn pass onto their children and there are sooo many characters in this book that half way thru the book you are so confused as to who they are talking about.

[Kathyhillard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a very strange reaction to this book. At times I was so annoyed at the back and forth way that it was written, that I wanted to give up. The family trees were so confusing that I found myself constantly looking back to see who was who. The story line was a bit intriguing, though, and this kept me reading. Not a book I would highly recommend, but I'm not sorry that I read it.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Held my interest @ over 500 pages. Lots of details about Amish life in the 1800's. Their community is affected by a tragic crime for generations. Written in the first-person by several main characters, making it more informing of the time & the people of that time. Harsh but simple times. Fate: Donated to the Book Store 2018

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is based on a true incident of an Amish baby that was murdered in the early 1800's in the western Pennsylvania frontier. This story is told with an "Amish voice" and certainly conveys their beautiful simplicity and the strength of their faith. There is mystery in this story as well.

[Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned how easy our lives are here in the 20th century and the real hardships at immagrating to a new country and creating a home from scratch and plowing lands by horse.It tells of tragedy and dispare, but it also tells of there faith in God.

[Robin Cianciola · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was possibly the worst book I ever finished reading and I finish all books I start as a rule. It took me SO long to read because it was ridiculous! In the end, every one died after the main character's life had already been ruined! Uuuggggghhhhhhhh!

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a somewhat different Amish read it is based on a true story and I thought it was written quite well. It's full of detail and if you have the time to sit and savor you might enjoy. It's quite long and a bit tedious.

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting fictional, based on a true story of a group of Pennsylvania Amish people, "told" in their own words. The story starts in 1810 with an unexpected death. Very interesting characters.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of a murder that happened among the Amish. Intersting

[Angee Barbe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love books with an Amish setting. This being in the 1800's and a true story give it even more of a boost. The real kicker is that it's based in an area of PA that I live very near to.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the characters are slow, but very interesting to read about how such a strong religion molds the events. I've always had a thing for the Amish, so i liked it!

[Vikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story a baby is killed in his crib. Reuben is thought to have done it and shunned by the Amish church. This is based on a true story. I really enjoyed this book.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I liked some of the themes, I felt like each narrator sounded like the same voice, and so it was hard to enjoy and feel the characters. Everyone sort of ran together.

[Rebecca Berinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long winded, but a fascinating look at the Amish movement in the 1800s.

[Marilyn Vanderlaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of characters to keep track of but interesting look into the Amish