The Thing With Feathers

by Anne Sweazy-Kulju

As the inhabitants of Cloverdale, Oregon, welcomed in the twentieth century, they were not unaccustomed to hard times and thorny situations.

Small communities banded together for protection and hope. Heroes and villains were often difficult to decipher.

When an itinerate Baptist preacher arrived with his baby daughter and a wife lost on the trail, there was no one prepared to suspect what lurid secrets and heartbreak he might be concealing. As the preacher sets his sights against those who might oppose him, the names and the lives of the
good people of Cloverdale may not be spared.

Yet in the midst of the machinations of a mad man, virtue and valor can persist. The Thing with Feathers is known to fly through wars, depressions, and natural disasters. Will the Marshall clan and the good people of Cloverdale find it in time?

Genres: Fiction, Drama, Historical Fiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2012

About the author

Hi, I'm Anne Sweazy-Kulju. I am the daughter of a history teacher and granddaughter to an Irish yarn-spinner. I stir a few psychic abilities into my storytelling, to offer book lovers unique adventures in award-winning historical fiction.

AWARD UPDATE:

"Grog Wars, Dos" is a Finalist for the Chanticleer's International Book Awards, Dante Rosetti Award for YA (November 2018)

"Grog Wars, Dos", won the Silver Medal in Literary Classics International Book Awards for YA (November 2018) — my second silver!

"Grog Wars, Dos" is a Finalist in the 2018 Publishers Weekly Book Life Prize for Fiction.

“Reap” (unpublished creative short), co-authored by daughter Laura Kulju, is Quarter -Finalist in the 2017 Screencraft Cinematic Short Story Contest!

“Grog Wars” is a Finalist for “Best in Category” in Chanticleer's International Book Awards, Dante Rosetti Award for YA (December 2016)

"Grog Wars", is winner of Literary Classics International Book Awards' Silver Medal for YA [October 2015)

"Grog Wars" is a Finalist in the 2016 Publishers Weekly Book Life Prize for Fiction.

“Bodie” is winner of The Willa Awards silver medal (2014)







I am an award winning author of adventures in historical fiction for YA and Mature audiences, alike. My books have earned Book of the Moment, Book of the Week and What to Read Next reader polls, WritersType International's gold medal, the silver medal at the WILLA Literary Awards, 4 Readers Favorites 5-Star Review Medallions, and has earned endorsements/Seals of Approval from both Literary Classics International Book Review and the Historical Novels Society.

Check with me now and then because I give a lot of free stuff away (usually at book signings, but when the weather turns I tend to do more online giveaways). Try my website at: http://AnneSweazyKulju.net (or http://www.Historical-Horse-Feathers.com). I post some pretty cool historical trivia, chapters from my WIP, and some fun stories.

Reviews

[Tee loves Kyle Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Things With Feathers is not a light read and it has some serious issues discussed in it. When I first picked up the book for the tour I was excited because I said man I think I have read a poem with this title and when I looked back I saw that this is indeed a poem by Emily Dickinson called Hope is the things with Feathers. I read that poem again be fore reading the book and man was I totally blown away at how Anne has put everything together and has written a story that is both dark and disturbing.

In the small town of Cloverdale things are about to change and change for the worse not so much the good. The town needs a minister for their church and when a man with his infant daughter shows up they are glad they will have a minister for their town. But what the people once thought was for the good turns out to be something more sinister than they could have imagined. As the preachers daughter grows up the town will unearth an array of secrets that are far more damaging then anything they have every experienced.

Come along and read a dark and disturbing story where the only roses growing in this town are BLACK ROSES! Read about incest and rape that is covered up and never spoken about. Read about the violence that takes place and how some will stop at nothing to keep secrets hidden and buried where they belong. Learn how some will use the name of God to benefit them but in actuality they are the biggest devil!

[Miranda Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting from start to finish. I really found the way the charters interact with each other fascinating. I found that I could easily relate to them, and that they are refreshingly, real. I am looking forward to reading more of Anne's work.
Defiantly a 5 star read.

[Nica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction of the book was confusing at first. As the part of the book, it indeed introduced some history for the story. I found myself bombarded with descriptions and retelling for an introduction. It wasn’t actually bad though it wasn’t that good either. I think if some parts were cut, it could help maintaining the attention of the readers. Honestly, I was tempted to put the book down because I felt a bit dizzy reading those in my e-reader. However, I also understand that as intro, some stories need to be told so as to be foundation of what are to come in the later part of the story.

I am a Roman Catholic, but I respect other religions. No matter how devoted, I am aware of some negative acts made by others who are actively linked in religion. In this book, one of the main characters was portrayed as a man of church. However, it was ironic that this character is also the antagonist of the story. He was described as a fake missionary – someone who was a self-proclaimed man of God. He took it upon himself to understand and interpret the words of God and apply it according to his understanding and liking. It was too much.
Living in a Catholic country in Asia, I don’t doubt this would be a controversial topic in my place. Even there was no association of Catholicism in the book it was still based on a Christian belief. I have read some news where leaders of the Church (pastors, ministers, and even priests) were guilty of violating the Canon law. Some got involved in very nasty situation, but I feel there could be nothing compared to pastor featured in this book named Julius Bowman. He was portrayed as a living nightmare for those believers of the religion. I won’t be explicit about what he did, but I consider them the worst things a man of God can do.

More of the physical and spiritual brutality? I am not sure if it was the author’s intention, but I found some similarity between the main characters’ family and the Holy family. The husband, upon receiving the divine “message” decided to take the woman as his wife even though she’s carrying a child whose father is not him. However, it was tinged with evil stories that I found too harsh to be real. In fact, I was surprised and unable to believe that a person could turn out to be evil personified in his lifetime.

I also notice that there were a lot of deaths in the story. A novel can be tragic without getting everyone killed in the process. Almost all of the characters introduced in the earlier parts of the story died. It may be to gain sympathy and some form of emotional attachment to the readers, but it worked for me. I might be a bit disgusted with the brutality of how some characters died, but it sure made me feel vengeful, too. I got carried away in the story that I almost didn’t mind the abrupt cutting of scenes in the story.

In spite of the things I didn’t like, there were some points which made the author and her writing commendable. For one, I like the way she inserted facts, digits, and history in the scenes. She connected the years and events to actual phenomenon like the Great Depression. The scenes felt real and true to the time it happened. Even the accent and personality of the locals during that time were also beautifully exposed in the story.

The characters, when they were still alive, were also depicted as real humans – with flaws. I hate to read books which made the heroes and heroines a paragon of sweet, beautiful and everything nice. Instead of doing just that, the author gave her characters strong flaws which were also one of the driving forces of the story.

Even though there were lots of deaths and evil-doings in the novel, the title itself stood out. The thing with feathers. For those of you who are fan of Emily Dickinson, this might sound familiar to you. The title was derived from one of Dickinson’s poems. In fact, the poem itself was present in the story. It was hope – the thing that made everything still alive even if everything seems stained with darkness. It was something mentioned and displayed in the novel which affected me much. It’s like the light is seeping out of the story and going to my heart. It made me feel hopeful, too.

Overall, the story is okay with things to be liked and others to be improved upon. I share this to people to give them hope:

Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

[Michael Dally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won this through a goodreads giveaway and though it was very well written, in the end I can't say I actually enjoyed reading it. The characters were all very well crafted, as was the world they inhabited. The pacing of the story was also very good and kept me coming back to see what would happen next. The author makes you genuinely care about the main characters and the repeated tragedies they suffer. This is why in the end I can't say that I actually enjoyed this book as for many of the characters the suffering they experience was so great, that it really felt that they didn't get the resolution they deserved, much like happens in real life.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy raw, real life type stories. Those, who like me, prefer their happy sunshine stories where every wrong is righted, might choose to stay away.

[Malka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sign of a good book is if it has the ability to remove you from your current place and time and transport you into someone else’s world. Anne Sweazy-Kulju’s ability to transport the reader into a different era and place has the potential to transform you. Her characters are not your average beings with common place traits and thoughts. They are dark, they are broken, but most of all they are unapologetically human.

“The Thing with Feathers” is a dark and seething tale of love, and the daring spirit. The characters are very well drawn out and jump out at you from the page. Their voices so distinct, you can hear them whisper their darkest secrets into your ear. The descriptions are simplistically effective, which is very beneficial since the subject matter of the story is very dense.

The main character Blair, is a broken spirited girl. There are moments that the reader can catch glimpses of the spark of fire within her, and when it does happen, it’s glorious. For a character like Blair, who is abused at the hands of her father–a religious zealot and bigot–it’s so easy for her character to be defined purely by the hardships and cruelty she faces. But instead, those moments of hardship allow for Blair to reveal the true nature of her character–a brave and resilient soul. She is not passive to the difficulties that arise around her, and for that reason many readers may find her to be a very admirable character. Blair’s love interest, Sean, is a likable character. In every story there is the quintessential good guy, and Sean is definitely the one. Sean could have easily slipped into one-dimensional blandness but instead, he emerges as a good guy with the qualities of a hero. He is the story’s brave individual, untouched by what others think of him and doesn’t weaver from what he’s fighting for. He is the lone trailblazer in small town Cloverdale, Oregon.

As the saying goes, every character is the hero of his or her own story, and so for even the minor characters in this book, each and every character is well rounded and granted their individual place in Blair and Sean’s story. The dynamics between Sean’s parents is delightful and offers levity against the dark subject matter. With a small town like Cloverdale, the setting isn’t just a base for the story to unfold, it is an important catalyst to the tale and a character in its own right. When a reader finds themselves in the middle of a dialogue exchange between the characters, it’s hard not to imagine the dusty and hand-crafted abodes of the local townsfolk that surround them.

However, the character that I found to be problematic was the Reverend Bowman. His evil and sadistic ways may haunt you. He is the reason for Blair’s and the townsfolk of Cloverdale’s suffering. As an evil character, he plays the part perfectly. However, it is hard to believe that someone could be so purely evil without a touch of humanity within him. No one is born evil, they are made evil. The question of what made the Reverend that way may leave one puzzled and short changed. He is after all the driving force of all things bad in the main character’s stories, but without a deeply embedded motive one can only question why he even resigns himself to be the villain.

Despite this shortcoming in “The Thing with Feathers,” it is still a very well written saga. The subject matter is very dark, and not for someone who prefers fairy tales and hallow love stories. The love between Sean and Blair is the very humanistic kind. It is very raw, and flawed. But that is what makes it memorable.

[Gaele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intertwining a poem from Emily Dickenson, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” the author has taken difficult subjects and tackled them directly and without apology. Deeply dark and disturbing, with recurrent themes of brutalization in both physical and spiritual planes, these successive acts all are focused within a small isolated town. The never-ending litany of deaths and the endless barrage of difficulties were a direct juxtaposition to the underlying poem at the center of the story, yet provided the necessary reason for the residents to continue on.

Characters were beautifully depicted and defined, truly human with faults and foibles; a credit to the author’s thoughtful story development. The inclusion of purely evil people, a revolutionary thought for those who believe that no human is truly all good or all evil, Sweazy-Kulju dropped this evil in the mix and did not apologize or pretty it up.

Clever insertion of facts and figures clearly help to connect the story and the timeline to actual events in history, fleshing out the story in the background and making it feel more familiar to readers. Especially in the midst of the destruction and devastation being wrought on the residents of this little town, an event or place in time that is familiar, both grounds the place and provides a solid background for the events of the story.

This was a highly emotionally charged book that isn’t for every reader. Themes of incest, rape and the overtones of a less than admirable “man of God” and his spiritual teachings, beliefs and misuse of position are all directly dealt with in the story: to the author’s credit she draws readers in with an emotional and near tactile experience. Readers will alternate from horror to silence to a sort of vengeful “gotcha” as the story progresses, until the point at which it does feel like there are no more bad things to befall this little town. Funnily enough, they still have their hope for better things to come, the hope for the end of the “tough times”.

Personally, this was a very difficult read for me in terms of subject matter and the directness with which it is dealt. While I must say that the author did, in no way, apologize for or ‘pretty up’ the bad and violent acts, the emotional impact of the repeated battering with dark imagery is a tough one to continue to read through. While I do believe that there is an audience for this sort of dark fiction, and the author does a stellar job with interweaving the multiple threads into a coherent whole, it was not one of my more pleasurable reading experiences solely based on that emotional toll.

I received an eBook from the author for purpose of honest review as part of the blog tour with Full Moon Bites. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[TAMMY CUEVAS · Rating 4 out of 5]

The good people of Cloverdale needed a minister, so when the recently widowed Preacher Bowman arrived with his infant daughter, they gladly took him in without question. But as his daughter Blair grew older, the preacher's efforts to hide his secrets would entangle the Marshall family and the entire community, leaving a trail of heartache and pain. But Blair would not completely give into the madness in her head, repeating the words of Emily Dickinson:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all....



The Thing with Feathers is the most unsettling novel I have read in some time. With its themes of incest and violence, my instinctive reaction was to stop reading. But the story is so compelling that it was impossible to walk away. The characters of Blair and Sean are such sympathetic characters that the reader cannot help but care about their outcome. They, along with Victor, are the ultimate victims in this story. I found myself wondering about the author's choice of Victor's name, as it must be symbolic; it was, at times, the one ray of hope in the storyline.

At times, I found myself questioning, "How much can possibly go wrong for these people?". In the last quarter of the novel the dialogue became maudlin and melodramatic, but again, the plot was so gripping that I had to finish. This novel may not be for everyone, but some will look past the gritty surface and see the message that I believe the author is trying to convey: that there is hope for those who do not give up.

Themes of incest and violence; recommended for 18+.

4 stars

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of The Virtual Book Tour Cafe' and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by The Virtual Book Tour Cafe', no payment was received by me in exchange for this review nor was there an obligation to write a positive one. All opinions expressed here are entirely of my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

[Based Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Thing With Feathers is an unnerving journey through an Oregon town's history, or better yet, the people that inhabit the town. Evil lurks, it has a face, and it is known.

What the author does very well in The Thing With Feathers is likely to go unnoticed by many. The history is rich and detailed and she has an interesting way of weaving a little poetry subtlety into the mix. (I appreciate that.)

I rarely give 5 stars, but I wholeheartedly offer all five for The Thing With Feathers. I understand the topics of incest and rape and harsh violence intertwined with biblical themes and religious overtones is unsettling for some. We are so often bombarded with the idea that everyone has good in them , no one is pure evil. The author rips that veil right down and exposes it like a nerve. She kills off characters, unreservedly so, and it is wonderfully uncomfortable. Pure evil does exist, some families are drawn to harm and pain, and sometimes they don't deserve it.

Well done.

I received a free digital copy of this book through a blog tour for my honest, unbiased opinion. I do not know the author, and I am not affiliated with her in any way.

[Trish Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark but Expertly Crafted
Ironically, although the title comes from an Emily Dickenson poem about hope, this is a story about thwarted hopes and dreams.
The book is extremely well-written, and the author artfully sets the scene by weaving this dark tale around real historical happenings in Oregon in the 1930's and '40's.
Rape, incest, murder, brutalization, betrayal, physical and mental disease, and violent death all play their part in the lives of the very well-defined characters, who are so real, the reader suffers with them.
Sean Marshall represents all that is good and honest, and I so wanted him to be rewarded just once; Blair Marshall epitomizes the emotionally damaged adult who suffered abuse as a child, and I was desperate for her to recover; and I longed for the terrifyingly horrendous pastor to get what he deserved.
I couldn't put it down. The only reason I've given it four stars rather than five is that it left me feeling sad and empty, and being a romantic suspense writer, I am accustomed to happy endings.

[Miranda A. Uyeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly heartrending story that inspires hope, The Thing With Feathers was written with a softness that is incredulously impressive, but with a strength that jumps off the pages, it’s almost tangible. Every character was designed with the intent to explore the topic of faith preciously intertwined with the kind of hope that patiently waits for God’s justice and reward. Heartbreaking with almost every penned letter, it eventually doesn’t leave the reader with a sense of loss, but with the deeper understanding of what it means to be righteous in a fallen world where injustice tends to rule the day.

The Thing With Feathers is a brilliant prose that will leave you breathless, and in tears—not for the faint of heart!—but will also incline you towards a God that rewards either in the life or the next.

[Carol Wise]

This book was ugly!.. Should have been classified as porn. I couldn't finish reading it.Too much sexual violence.

[Pavarti Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thing With Feathers by Anne Sweazy Kulju is an old fashioned multi-generational drama. Gritty and disturbing, Kulju looks at humanities darkest corners and finds the spark of beauty in even the worst situations. It’s hard to believe, but the bitter sweat ending of this book was neither surprising nor unsatisfying. In fact, you close feeling like yes, this is how this story ends. The title didn’t quite jive with me. I get where it’s coming from and the reference and reading the book it’s a lovely theme, but as the title of the book, it’s a little misleading. But it’s not bad, just didn’t quite do it for me. I’d love to hear what others expect from the cover and title and see if it lines up with the content of the book.

Written in 3rd person distant omniscient with an occasional touch of deeper insight, The Thing With Feathers has a vintage feel appropriate for the historical setting of the story. Spanning generations and decades, I was pulled along through the story with not the need to know more, but the need to stay with the characters a little longer. The characterization was exquisite, clear and consistent and the many voices used throughout the narrative engaging. Never once did I forget who someone was, even the most minor characters were fully fleshed out.

Unfortunately, the writing is riddled with clichés (“hell in a hand basket” appears in the first line and it’s not cute or tone setting, it’s eye-roll worthy) and passive verbs: “was standing” should be “stood”. This is not a stylistic choice, it’s just wrong. I know how hard it is to get rid of these because I struggle with it as well but that is what editors are for and while I found no errors in the book, the wordsmything could be improved. Kulju has the talent and some amazing turns of phrase appear in the book. I’d love to see her publisher take another pass and improve these issues so it can be even better. After a little work I would easily give this 4.5 stars. Right now I have to come down at 3.5.

None-the-less, I would recommend The Thing With Feathers to anyone interested in historical fiction, turn of the century America or just a good character driven drama.

Now for the thing I wish I didn’t have to say. In the Acknowledgements, Kulju thanks Glenn Beck for his Challenge to America which drove her to finish this book. While I know nothing of her politics, I will say that this reference immediately turned me off. I went into the book with a bad taste in my mouth. It’s fine for authors to believe what they believe and talk about it-I certainly do-but I’d rather in not be cited in the book. Mostly because it’s sets a tone. The Thing With Feathers has nothing to do with any of the issues I associate Glenn Beck with and is neither Christian, conservative nor political in any way. And yet by listing someone with such a high profile stance on some seriously controversial issues I found myself expecting that to come. Better to let this great story stand on it’s own.

[Anna's Herding Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light easy read this is not. This was my first time reading Sweazy-Kulju and she's an excellent writer. She can weave together a story that will hold you captive but at the same time it's a story that will break your heart.

The story focuses on the life of Sean Marshall as he grows up, marries and falls in love during the 1930s and 40s in Oregon. He's a good, honorable man that does what he believes is right even if it hurts him. The journey he and his family go through over the years is just devastating. Their tale broke my heart and by the time I reached the final page I was just sobbing.

This one really did leave my heart heavy. I spent the entire book wanting Sean and his family to just catch a break already. To have a good life and for things to be easy for them for a change. But nothing ever was. They suffer tragedy after tragedy with murder, rape, incest, a broken court system handing a child over to an abusive "grandparent", horrific child abuse, mental illnesses and unavoidable life threatening injuries. The part that made this read so hard from me, other than the obvious--it was just a dark read, was that the good times in their lives, which they did have years of, were completely skipped over. We got a brief mention of them before more of their life tragedies and the horrors of their life were delved into. I would have really liked actually hearing about the happy times when things were good for them. It was such a heavy read and I needed to have some lightness added in to it.

I do love history and have long read historical romances but that's not what this is. If you haven't read historical fiction it's a much different genre. Happily ever afters don't have to exist and the look into life is more based on fact and isn't prettied up. I really did find the time period the book was written in fascinating since it's a time I just haven't read much about in fiction. I think Sweazy-Kulju did an amazing job getting the feel for the time and including the history that was being made. Seeing the family go through the Great Depression, the beginnings of wars, devastating forest fires that really did ravish the region was gripping. It was shockingly real and poignant. The things the world was going through, the difficulties of life and just the changes and inventions set loose on the world were amazing and Sweazy-Kulju brought that to life in vivid detail.


While The Thing with Feathers was well written and incredibly moving it's not the tale I'd for everyone. It doesn't have the perfect happily ever after or even a pretty ending. It is an interesting read that I think will grab the attention of history lovers but be prepared for tears and have some chocolate on hand. You'll need it.

[LAWonder10 · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for calming, reflective novel, this is not it! It is a disturbing story of a sadistic man who was made a preacher in a small Oregon community. The people were very friendly and accepting of the new preacher and his daughter. The time period begins about 1928 and spans through to about 1945. The country went through some very trying times during those years and small farming communities were not exempt.

The story primarily centers around Preacher Bowman and his daughter, the Marshalls, Rebecca, and the Tjaden family, Other characters are introduced and some fill a major role in the plot. The characters describe become very real and the landscape, plus background scenes are well portrayed. The title is taken from a poem by Emily Dickinson which discloses the story connection to the title. It is an acceptable title but not one to draw a reader's attention. The book cover reflects the same observation. It is too dark and slightly deceptive to "catch" the reader's eye.

This is a unique tale of the roller coaster of life - the good times and the bad. It is a time where sacrifices were great and honor was revered. Just as in our present day, some people were selfish and cruel, while others are unselfish and trusting... Then, of course, others were neither. Sometimes justice is not served in this life leaving one with the hope that in the next life it will all be made right.

In this story of peace then turmoil, the readers experience conflicting emotions. Part of the time one applauds the characters then other times despises them. It is reasonably clean except for some sexual situations and some profanity...definitely a PG-13 rating.

This novel is a mixture of genres...Historical Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, an Psychological Thriller.

I felt a portion of this story was dragged out but otherwise well-written. My review of this book offers a Four Stars rating.

This was generously sent to me by the author for an honest review of which I have given.

[Anne Sweazy-Kulju · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Little Girl Has A Big Problem: Her Father Is A Monster

In 1927, on the desolate landscape of the Oregon coast, a young girl is pregnant. Her father, the town’s fire & brimstone preacher, is the brutal rapist. She needs a hero; she’ll get a house full—but can they save her, or must she save herself?

No good deed goes unpunished has never rung more true. Blair needs a hero, just as one providentially happens by. Sean Marshall is the youngest son of a wealthy dairy farmer. He stumbles upon and witnesses Blair’s ugly secret—with a new Sears box camera in hand. Realizing the photo would ruin Blair’s life too, if made public, Sean marries the girl and removes her from her father’s house.

The preacher, knowing not what his daughter has told her new family, rains hell down upon the Marshalls, shredding good names, piercing reputations, and even cutting down the very lives of some of the Marshall clan. In the spirit of “Chinatown,” it is tactile and edgy, as real life can be; and real life isn’t always pretty. You will probably cry for Sean and Blair—but you will also cheer! Theirs is a beautiful love story that, sadly, leads them down a garden path littered with broken hearts and broken lives. The couple weathers the loss of one battle after another with the preacher; they do win the most important fight, but at what cost?

Here is a noir saga, a disturbing story of love and evil, with tangible characters who grip you to the very last page--and then stay with you a while.
http://smile.amazon.com/Thing-Feather...

[Jessyca Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading The Thing with Feathers by Anne Sweazy-Kulju. This story starts off in the 1920’s and is about the lives of Blair Bowman and Sean Marshall. Blair has been abused by her father since she was a little girl. Sean decides to sacrifice his own happiness in order to rescue Blair from him. The story then follows them through the years and the hardships that they both suffer.
The Thing with Feathers is made up of all the good stuff that keeps the reader from putting it down. I like that Sweazy-Kulju did not write a fairytale. In this story there is incest, secrets and never ending drama. This is what makes the story believable, because it is eerily similar to real life. The story did not end like I expected, but I rather like not being able to guess what happens in a book. The character of Sean is a hero in my eyes and I cannot imagine anyone these days ever sacrificing their own happiness to save a stranger. I honestly felt Sean’s pain throughout the book. Although Will did end up helping Blair, the story makes the saying “No good deed goes unpunished” stand out.
The main message that I got from this story was that if you care for someone, then let them know today. Tomorrow may be too late. This book made me appreciate my family more. I think Anne Sweazy-Kulju did a great job on this book. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

*I reviewed this book for Readers’ Favorite

[T.R. Heinan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Sweazy-Kulju proves that she knows her craft in this dark but intriguing story about the dark secrets of Cloverdale and the challenges faced by one man after his arrival in this Oregon town. I found the book a bit hard to get into at first, but am glad that I got past the first few pages. From that point on, I knew the story was being told by a truly talented writer in a well-constructed plot. The book tackles some dark topics, including rape, violence and incest, but Swazy-Kulju handles it well and I found it to be an excellent read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne pens "The Thing with Feathers" in an interesting but difficult plot for some, dealing with incest, rape and harsh violence in biblical times. Her characters were relate-able and were shown as actual human beings which interacted well with each other. I gripping story line that kept me reading.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author which was provided for an honest review.

[Pamela Sweazy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought it was fantastic. A realistic but tragic story told as boldly as one could, with taste. And ZI also enjoyed the historic tidbits that the author so cleverly "lets you in on".

[Carina Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional journey through triumph & tragedy that grips you & doesn't ever let you set it down. She beautifully illuminates the struggles of tormented souls at a visceral level that will linger.