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Grist
“This is the story of how you were loved,” Penelope MacLaughlin whispers to her granddaughter.
Penelope MacLaughlin marries a miller and gradually discovers he is not as she imagined. Nonetheless she remains determined to make the best of life at the lonely mill up the Gunn Brook as she struggles to build a home around her husband’s eccentricities. His increasing absence leaves Penelope to run the mill herself, providing her with a living but also destroying the people she loves most. Penelope struggles with loss and isolation, and suffers the gradual erosion of her sense of self. A series of betrayals leaves her with nothing but the mill and her determination to save her grandchildren from their disturbed father. While she can prepare her grandsons for independence, her granddaughter is too young and so receives the greater gift: the story that made them all.
“An epic story by a gifted writer. There are moments in Linda Little's Grist that are breathtaking in both thought and lyricism.”
— Donna Morrissey, author of The Deception of Livvy Higgs
"Linda Little lays bare the hard joys, grit and heartache of women’s lives in the rural Maritimes before and during the Great War. Her writing is exquisite. Gripping, gorgeously imagined and positively haunting, Grist is a tour de force—a novel not just to like but to love. I couldn’t put it down."
— Carol Bruneau, author of Glass Voices and Purple for Sky
Penelope MacLaughlin marries a miller and gradually discovers he is not as she imagined. Nonetheless she remains determined to make the best of life at the lonely mill up the Gunn Brook as she struggles to build a home around her husband’s eccentricities. His increasing absence leaves Penelope to run the mill herself, providing her with a living but also destroying the people she loves most. Penelope struggles with loss and isolation, and suffers the gradual erosion of her sense of self. A series of betrayals leaves her with nothing but the mill and her determination to save her grandchildren from their disturbed father. While she can prepare her grandsons for independence, her granddaughter is too young and so receives the greater gift: the story that made them all.
“An epic story by a gifted writer. There are moments in Linda Little's Grist that are breathtaking in both thought and lyricism.”
— Donna Morrissey, author of The Deception of Livvy Higgs
"Linda Little lays bare the hard joys, grit and heartache of women’s lives in the rural Maritimes before and during the Great War. Her writing is exquisite. Gripping, gorgeously imagined and positively haunting, Grist is a tour de force—a novel not just to like but to love. I couldn’t put it down."
— Carol Bruneau, author of Glass Voices and Purple for Sky
234 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 20, 2014
The setting is the late 1800's in rural Nova Scotia. Miss Penelope McCabe, a great horse of a woman and plain, is comfortably ensconced in her life as a spinster school teacher. Ewan MacLaughlin is the respected miller of a grist house up the Gunn Brook and he is in the market for a wife. They are introduced, and after a four-week engagement, are duly married.
It would be fair to say that although Penelope is pleasantly surprised to find herself a new wife at her age, husband Ewan is not at all as she expected. A seemingly pious man, he prays aloud on his knees at night. He is a workhorse, toiling from before sunrise until well after dark, strong, silent, and unsmiling. He requires his wife to acquiesce without question to his way of life and to produce sons for him to bring up as helpers in his grist mill. She feels isolated, and Ewan is stark company - even at the dinner table he disdains conversation with her, answering first with noncommittal grunts and then finally with a stern 'Stop talking!'
The shopkeeper at the General Store has warm eyes and comes out from behind the counter to greet customers, feeling that each client carries needs that run deeper than the items on his or her list. The witchy-looking Nettle is an old woman who lives on the outskirts of town, her place smelling of 'stale bread and unwashed clothes and a privy too close'. She is the one to see if you want to buy or sell items not readily available at the General Store. Both characters know secrets and it is their discretion that keeps them in business.
The story tells the ups and downs of a hard life, with some small joys, and many bitter disappointments. I am keeping most of the happenings out of this review, they are what make the story sing, of course. I enjoyed the details shared of the time and area - Thursdays being the normal day for weddings, a mirror referred to as a preening glass, etc.
This was a first-reads giveaway, thank you. It goes straight into the bookcase to be read again. A story well told.
It would be fair to say that although Penelope is pleasantly surprised to find herself a new wife at her age, husband Ewan is not at all as she expected. A seemingly pious man, he prays aloud on his knees at night. He is a workhorse, toiling from before sunrise until well after dark, strong, silent, and unsmiling. He requires his wife to acquiesce without question to his way of life and to produce sons for him to bring up as helpers in his grist mill. She feels isolated, and Ewan is stark company - even at the dinner table he disdains conversation with her, answering first with noncommittal grunts and then finally with a stern 'Stop talking!'
The shopkeeper at the General Store has warm eyes and comes out from behind the counter to greet customers, feeling that each client carries needs that run deeper than the items on his or her list. The witchy-looking Nettle is an old woman who lives on the outskirts of town, her place smelling of 'stale bread and unwashed clothes and a privy too close'. She is the one to see if you want to buy or sell items not readily available at the General Store. Both characters know secrets and it is their discretion that keeps them in business.
The story tells the ups and downs of a hard life, with some small joys, and many bitter disappointments. I am keeping most of the happenings out of this review, they are what make the story sing, of course. I enjoyed the details shared of the time and area - Thursdays being the normal day for weddings, a mirror referred to as a preening glass, etc.
This was a first-reads giveaway, thank you. It goes straight into the bookcase to be read again. A story well told.
April 24, 2014
Grist made me cry...twice. One might be lead to believe that this is a negative thing, but in this case, it is evidence of the truly poignant nature of this book and the effect it had on me.
First, let me share the passage that brought on the tears first:
He brought me home my children in the kindest, warmest way. As I worked with my hands in flour I felt them near me, held close in sweet domesticity. I could have spoken their names aloud except for my fear of breaking the spell. But my heart relayed the messages--lay the table, Daisy, and fetch us some fresh butter from the pantry. Then a little boy's voice, Momma's made a pie. As clear as though it had been spoken, Hughie to Alex, as they filled the wood box two sticks at a time, their little arms embracing the chore. They would be six years old now and dreaming of great strength. Perhaps I would have little trousers to mend that evening--I fingered the cotton of my apron--buttons on little blue trousers with a pocket for treasures. I sprinkled a pinch of cinnamon over the sweetened apples and folded pastry over the top. Baking in the oven next to supper, the aromas blended, transporting me.
This passage illustrates the author's wonderful writing along with her skill with imagery, placing the reader in the character's shoes. This passage would effect anyone emotionally, but especially those of us who are mothers.
As I was reading, I was reminded of just how few rights women had even in the 19th century. Sure, a woman was allowed more independence than in the past, as arranged marriages were almost a thing of the past and women were more free to pursue careers as teachers, etc. However, if a woman made a choice of a husband...accepted his proposal and married him...she was stuck. If she later found out that she made a poor match, it wasn't so simple to walk out and file for divorce. Such was the case with Penelope, the stalwart and memorable main character of Grist. She finds herself in an almost unbearable situation with a husband who, though not physically abusive, is emotionally bankrupt and mentally abusive. And yet, she survives through all the heartache and loss. I so admired Penelope. Her story captivated me and had me rooting for her to find the happiness she deserved.
Grist is a fairly short novel at 232 pages, but it's an historical novel that packs a lot of punch. I can honestly say that it will be one of my top favorites read this year. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Read this book!
http://www.truebookaddict.com
First, let me share the passage that brought on the tears first:
He brought me home my children in the kindest, warmest way. As I worked with my hands in flour I felt them near me, held close in sweet domesticity. I could have spoken their names aloud except for my fear of breaking the spell. But my heart relayed the messages--lay the table, Daisy, and fetch us some fresh butter from the pantry. Then a little boy's voice, Momma's made a pie. As clear as though it had been spoken, Hughie to Alex, as they filled the wood box two sticks at a time, their little arms embracing the chore. They would be six years old now and dreaming of great strength. Perhaps I would have little trousers to mend that evening--I fingered the cotton of my apron--buttons on little blue trousers with a pocket for treasures. I sprinkled a pinch of cinnamon over the sweetened apples and folded pastry over the top. Baking in the oven next to supper, the aromas blended, transporting me.
This passage illustrates the author's wonderful writing along with her skill with imagery, placing the reader in the character's shoes. This passage would effect anyone emotionally, but especially those of us who are mothers.
As I was reading, I was reminded of just how few rights women had even in the 19th century. Sure, a woman was allowed more independence than in the past, as arranged marriages were almost a thing of the past and women were more free to pursue careers as teachers, etc. However, if a woman made a choice of a husband...accepted his proposal and married him...she was stuck. If she later found out that she made a poor match, it wasn't so simple to walk out and file for divorce. Such was the case with Penelope, the stalwart and memorable main character of Grist. She finds herself in an almost unbearable situation with a husband who, though not physically abusive, is emotionally bankrupt and mentally abusive. And yet, she survives through all the heartache and loss. I so admired Penelope. Her story captivated me and had me rooting for her to find the happiness she deserved.
Grist is a fairly short novel at 232 pages, but it's an historical novel that packs a lot of punch. I can honestly say that it will be one of my top favorites read this year. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Read this book!
http://www.truebookaddict.com
September 12, 2014
Linda Little's "Grist" , a reality check
With an elaborate language, image rich and slow paced, "Grist" carries me into the circumstances in rural Nova Scotia during the 19th century.
There are exquisite moments of humor in this often tragic novel: A neighboring farmer brings his grain harvest to the water powered mill and finds Penelope, the miller's wife and main character of the novel, replacing her husband as the operator of this high tech landmark. The farmer expresses his bewilderment over a female intruder into a male domain with:" You grind wild oats, too?"
"Grist" allows access into a for me mysterious world barely 150 years past, however, before convenience stores, motorized transportation, child support and Sunday brunches.
"Grist" introduces me into the forgotten reality of a curious world where men's and women's spheres were strictly separated, where women were considered somewhat inadequate humans and where men seem to naturally rules over the household.
My semi-automated romantic version of a bygone world of healthy plain living, sustainable economics and fun large families got another crack.
With an elaborate language, image rich and slow paced, "Grist" carries me into the circumstances in rural Nova Scotia during the 19th century.
There are exquisite moments of humor in this often tragic novel: A neighboring farmer brings his grain harvest to the water powered mill and finds Penelope, the miller's wife and main character of the novel, replacing her husband as the operator of this high tech landmark. The farmer expresses his bewilderment over a female intruder into a male domain with:" You grind wild oats, too?"
"Grist" allows access into a for me mysterious world barely 150 years past, however, before convenience stores, motorized transportation, child support and Sunday brunches.
"Grist" introduces me into the forgotten reality of a curious world where men's and women's spheres were strictly separated, where women were considered somewhat inadequate humans and where men seem to naturally rules over the household.
My semi-automated romantic version of a bygone world of healthy plain living, sustainable economics and fun large families got another crack.
December 4, 2016
Linda Little's latest novel, Grist, is a gorgeously written tale set in rural Nova Scotia in the late 19th century. The story focuses on the life of Penelope MacLauglin, a one-time school teacher who seems destined to remain unmarried until she meets Ewan, a miller. While Ewan is short on words, he nevertheless manages to successfully woo Penelope and convince her to become his wife. While Penelope is optimistic that she'll provide Ewan with a happy home full of children, she soon learns that her husband is not the man she thought he was. Ever hopeful, Penelope constantly struggles to connect with her husband and be the wife he expects her to be. Ewan, however, shows little interest in his wife, and as the years pass Penelope is increasingly left alone to run both the mill and the household as Ewan heads out of town to conduct business. Penelope's life is not an easy or a happy one, but she is able to find solace in her grandchildren, especially the granddaughter for whom this tale has been written.
It is evident from the very first page of Grist that Linda Little has a beautiful way with words. Her descriptions of everyday life, as well as of the thoughts and feelings of her characters, make the reader feel as if they are an active part of the story rather than just observing events through the pages of a book. Readers can sense Penelope's isolation and loneliness, and experience her loss of hope and rising sorrow as the events of her life turn increasingly tragic. The reader can't help but feel sorry for Penelope, and yearn for her to experience the happiness that she desperately seeks yet that continually eludes her. Although the story is told primarily from Penelope's perspective, a few chapters are told from Ewan's point of view. While these chapters initially had me feeling some sympathy for Ewan, it wasn't long before his actions turned me against him completely.
The narrative of Grist moves along at a slow but steady pace. This pace helps to evoke a strong sense of time and place. While daily life in 19th century rural communities could be slow, it was also characterized by regular routine. Little effectively illustrates these routines, giving the reader an appreciation for what daily life must have been like for a woman such as Penelope. The MacLauglin's mill is a important element of Grist, and it is clear that Little undertook a good deal of research in order to convey to the reader some of the finer points of building and running a mill.
Recommended to fans of literary historical fiction, novels that feature unique heroines, and/or readers interested in rural life in the 19th century.
Source: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher as part of Linda Little's Virtual Book Tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This review first appeared on my blog, Confessions of an Avid Reader, in April 2014.
It is evident from the very first page of Grist that Linda Little has a beautiful way with words. Her descriptions of everyday life, as well as of the thoughts and feelings of her characters, make the reader feel as if they are an active part of the story rather than just observing events through the pages of a book. Readers can sense Penelope's isolation and loneliness, and experience her loss of hope and rising sorrow as the events of her life turn increasingly tragic. The reader can't help but feel sorry for Penelope, and yearn for her to experience the happiness that she desperately seeks yet that continually eludes her. Although the story is told primarily from Penelope's perspective, a few chapters are told from Ewan's point of view. While these chapters initially had me feeling some sympathy for Ewan, it wasn't long before his actions turned me against him completely.
The narrative of Grist moves along at a slow but steady pace. This pace helps to evoke a strong sense of time and place. While daily life in 19th century rural communities could be slow, it was also characterized by regular routine. Little effectively illustrates these routines, giving the reader an appreciation for what daily life must have been like for a woman such as Penelope. The MacLauglin's mill is a important element of Grist, and it is clear that Little undertook a good deal of research in order to convey to the reader some of the finer points of building and running a mill.
Recommended to fans of literary historical fiction, novels that feature unique heroines, and/or readers interested in rural life in the 19th century.
Source: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher as part of Linda Little's Virtual Book Tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This review first appeared on my blog, Confessions of an Avid Reader, in April 2014.
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July 30, 2015http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2014/0...
Review by Joan Baxter
There are a couple of things to consider before you venture into the pages of Grist, the gripping and powerful new novel by award-winning author, Linda Little.
First is to make sure you have several uninterruptible hours ahead of you because after just a few lines of the book, I had slipped into the engaging rhythm and exquisite precision and eloquence of Little's prose. I was lured by the deft and tender touch of her story-telling into the trap that had been set for the "great horse of a girl," Penelope McCabe, one winter's night in 1875, and I had no interest in putting Grist down until I'd turned the very last page.
And, even then, I found it difficult to accept that it was time to close the book, re-enter the 21st century and take my leave of the cast of complex and colourful characters that populate the pages of this remarkable historical novel.
And a second note of caution: you may also wish to brace yourself for a rough emotional journey as you step into the world Little so masterfully recreates of the Maritimes at the end of the 19th century and into the first quarter of the 20th.
Although this story is the one that Penelope is telling her granddaughter Rachel ("this is the story of how your were loved"), throughout much of the book any love and pleasure in Penelope's life are painfully overshadowed and diminished by dreadful loss, grief, immense physical and psychological hardship and her husband Ewan MacLaughlin's dour, puritanical interpretation of Christian faith, God's will and life itself.
This is also the story of the burden of being a woman at a time when there were few options besides being a wife beholden and obedient to a husband. And in this case, that husband is a humourless, bullying and unfeeling man, whose first and only love is geometry and figures, engineering and gears of the grist mills he designs, builds and repairs.
Read more here: http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2014/0...
Review by Joan Baxter
There are a couple of things to consider before you venture into the pages of Grist, the gripping and powerful new novel by award-winning author, Linda Little.
First is to make sure you have several uninterruptible hours ahead of you because after just a few lines of the book, I had slipped into the engaging rhythm and exquisite precision and eloquence of Little's prose. I was lured by the deft and tender touch of her story-telling into the trap that had been set for the "great horse of a girl," Penelope McCabe, one winter's night in 1875, and I had no interest in putting Grist down until I'd turned the very last page.
And, even then, I found it difficult to accept that it was time to close the book, re-enter the 21st century and take my leave of the cast of complex and colourful characters that populate the pages of this remarkable historical novel.
And a second note of caution: you may also wish to brace yourself for a rough emotional journey as you step into the world Little so masterfully recreates of the Maritimes at the end of the 19th century and into the first quarter of the 20th.
Although this story is the one that Penelope is telling her granddaughter Rachel ("this is the story of how your were loved"), throughout much of the book any love and pleasure in Penelope's life are painfully overshadowed and diminished by dreadful loss, grief, immense physical and psychological hardship and her husband Ewan MacLaughlin's dour, puritanical interpretation of Christian faith, God's will and life itself.
This is also the story of the burden of being a woman at a time when there were few options besides being a wife beholden and obedient to a husband. And in this case, that husband is a humourless, bullying and unfeeling man, whose first and only love is geometry and figures, engineering and gears of the grist mills he designs, builds and repairs.
Read more here: http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2014/0...
January 10, 2015
This is a terrific book, though a bit hard to read because of the emotions it generates. The language and word-craft are first rate. I loved some of the imagery and found myself making mental notes of the words and phrases Little uses. The characters are marvelously well-drawn, even when they are unlikeable, or when Penelope (the protagonist) is describing them from a distance. There are tons of well-researched bits of trivia detailing how everyday life was for a rural woman in the last part of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th. (Hint: Not easy) I highly recommend this book.
October 3, 2018
Penelope McCabe is a thirty year old spinster who teaches school in a small rural community in Nova Scotia. She boards at the home of the local minister where she meets forty year old Ewan MacLaughlin during one of his infrequent visits to his brother’s home. Ewan owns a farm and a logging mill up on Gunn Brook, three hours from town. He is shy, socially inept and has little sense of the niceties of polite conversation, but he wants a wife and family and overcomes his social awkwardness to negotiate a short courtship with Penelope. He offers her marriage, the possibility of a prosperous future and a newly built home. Penelope is a practical woman. She knows she is neither beautiful nor young and this may be her only opportunity for the home and family she longs to have. After four brief outings and a four week engagement during which she does not see him, the two marry.
Penelope looks forward to a life with her new husband but finds him sullen and obsessed with his work. He is a man of few words who neither wants nor needs conversation. He tells her not to waste her time socializing with her neighbours, she has a garden and a house to look after. Ewan hates wasting daylight hours and works hard, rising at dawn to head to the fields or the mill. Penelope appreciates his focus and determination but is distressed to find him so overbearing, ill mannered, controlling and neglectful of her needs. Ewan conforms to a puritanical interpretation of the Christian faith, believing that misfortune is God’s punishment for sin and laziness. He dutifully kneels by his bed for nightly prayers but never attends church which he says is all about gossip and vanity. Instead he spends the Sabbath with his bible.
This is not the life Penelope had imagined for herself.
Ewan’s life is focused on the mill. He is an expert at designing, building, repairing and operating machinery and his skills are often in demand by other owners willing to pay for his help. But he does not have a single friend, nor is it likely he ever will. He speaks to other men only in terms of their short comings, a poor foundation for mutual friendship.
Despite her unhappiness, Penelope struggles to make a life for herself, passing her days in the unending grind of a life that gradually erodes her sense of self. When Ewan is called away to help men with their mills, he insists she run his mill in his absence. She resists, entirely without confidence in her abilities and embarrassed to take on the hard, heavy work traditionally done by men. She endures their masculine disdain as she struggles with the physical labor, their sexist taunts and her growing determination to overcome her fears. But she soon learns to manage and is proud of her ability to grasp the mechanics of the cogs, wheels, belts and pulleys as well as the business accounts. Her sense of competence quickly disappears however when Ewan returns home, dismisses her and sends her back to the house.
As his travelling increases, Ewan is more often away than at home. Penelope tastes a sense of freedom in his absence, a feeling that helps sustain her during the times when he is home.
As Ewan becomes more abusive, Penelope’s marriage deteriorates and she lives a life marked by loneliness and tragedy. By the time she is forty-four years old she has been married fourteen years, conceived four times, birthed three babies but has no living children. When she finally has a child, it is a daughter, not the son that Ewan longs for.
After one of his long absences, Ewan brings home Laughlin Wainright, an apprentice he says will live with them in the house. It is to this lazy young man that Ewan has pinned his future.
Little has crafted an unforgettable character in Penelope, an educated woman forced into silence by a man who will not talk to her or listen to her. Yet she remains hopeful, finds happiness wherever and whenever she can and creates a life for her child and her grandchild. She is a woman who is easy to get close to and care about, a woman who is forced to respond to the rough emotional journey of loneliness and loss in a loveless marriage.
Penelope tells her own story which is interrupted twice when Ewan takes over the narrative. These are important chapters which allow Little to build some understanding and sympathy for the man readers have grown to hate. Bullied as a boy both inside and outside his family, Ewan found solace in the mystery of geometry. Intrigued by the exact science of engineering, he found a sense of peace in the precision and predictability of numbers. Astute readers will easily pick up the many signs that Ewan, a man with a combination of mechanical gifts and social deficiencies, probably suffered from some form of autism.
The author fills the narrative with endless details on the building and operation of mills during this time period, a knowledge she picked up when she was younger and acted as a tour guide for several summers at a grist mill. The knowledge that she gained serves as a realistic backdrop for this haunting but beautiful story.
This book is not long but Penelope covers many years in the history of her family as she tells her story to her granddaughter Rachel. Although at times that story is sad and dark, it is also a story filled with courage and hope, a story that shows the strength and resilience of a determined woman who endured difficult times.
Penelope looks forward to a life with her new husband but finds him sullen and obsessed with his work. He is a man of few words who neither wants nor needs conversation. He tells her not to waste her time socializing with her neighbours, she has a garden and a house to look after. Ewan hates wasting daylight hours and works hard, rising at dawn to head to the fields or the mill. Penelope appreciates his focus and determination but is distressed to find him so overbearing, ill mannered, controlling and neglectful of her needs. Ewan conforms to a puritanical interpretation of the Christian faith, believing that misfortune is God’s punishment for sin and laziness. He dutifully kneels by his bed for nightly prayers but never attends church which he says is all about gossip and vanity. Instead he spends the Sabbath with his bible.
This is not the life Penelope had imagined for herself.
Ewan’s life is focused on the mill. He is an expert at designing, building, repairing and operating machinery and his skills are often in demand by other owners willing to pay for his help. But he does not have a single friend, nor is it likely he ever will. He speaks to other men only in terms of their short comings, a poor foundation for mutual friendship.
Despite her unhappiness, Penelope struggles to make a life for herself, passing her days in the unending grind of a life that gradually erodes her sense of self. When Ewan is called away to help men with their mills, he insists she run his mill in his absence. She resists, entirely without confidence in her abilities and embarrassed to take on the hard, heavy work traditionally done by men. She endures their masculine disdain as she struggles with the physical labor, their sexist taunts and her growing determination to overcome her fears. But she soon learns to manage and is proud of her ability to grasp the mechanics of the cogs, wheels, belts and pulleys as well as the business accounts. Her sense of competence quickly disappears however when Ewan returns home, dismisses her and sends her back to the house.
As his travelling increases, Ewan is more often away than at home. Penelope tastes a sense of freedom in his absence, a feeling that helps sustain her during the times when he is home.
As Ewan becomes more abusive, Penelope’s marriage deteriorates and she lives a life marked by loneliness and tragedy. By the time she is forty-four years old she has been married fourteen years, conceived four times, birthed three babies but has no living children. When she finally has a child, it is a daughter, not the son that Ewan longs for.
After one of his long absences, Ewan brings home Laughlin Wainright, an apprentice he says will live with them in the house. It is to this lazy young man that Ewan has pinned his future.
Little has crafted an unforgettable character in Penelope, an educated woman forced into silence by a man who will not talk to her or listen to her. Yet she remains hopeful, finds happiness wherever and whenever she can and creates a life for her child and her grandchild. She is a woman who is easy to get close to and care about, a woman who is forced to respond to the rough emotional journey of loneliness and loss in a loveless marriage.
Penelope tells her own story which is interrupted twice when Ewan takes over the narrative. These are important chapters which allow Little to build some understanding and sympathy for the man readers have grown to hate. Bullied as a boy both inside and outside his family, Ewan found solace in the mystery of geometry. Intrigued by the exact science of engineering, he found a sense of peace in the precision and predictability of numbers. Astute readers will easily pick up the many signs that Ewan, a man with a combination of mechanical gifts and social deficiencies, probably suffered from some form of autism.
The author fills the narrative with endless details on the building and operation of mills during this time period, a knowledge she picked up when she was younger and acted as a tour guide for several summers at a grist mill. The knowledge that she gained serves as a realistic backdrop for this haunting but beautiful story.
This book is not long but Penelope covers many years in the history of her family as she tells her story to her granddaughter Rachel. Although at times that story is sad and dark, it is also a story filled with courage and hope, a story that shows the strength and resilience of a determined woman who endured difficult times.
May 18, 2018
The story is about a pathologically, driven, ultra-Christian (supposedly) man in the 1800's who has a keen interest in engineering and milling. His life was severely hemmed in and directed by his parents so he wasn't able to live life as he desired. He was also rather anti-social but had an overpowering need to have a son to inherit his mill so he married a woman who was flattered to be chosen. However, it was not a marriage made in heaven! The story describes in great detail the type of lives this couple and their neighbours lived, thier hardships, their children and grist mill - which is really like a character also!! I was pleasantly surprised that I found it the story interested me at the start; however, I found the middle of the book somewhat tedious but then it became more interesting again. Overall, I find this hard to rate because I believe the characters were well developed in a slow, subtle way so, in hindsight, the amount of detail was necessary but, overall, I found myself more times pushing to get it finished rather than really being 'caught up' in the story... none of the characters really spoke to me. There are some interesting plot developments & twists but overall, I found it interesting in parts but a bit too slow for me.
January 22, 2016
I really enjoyed reading this book; more than I thought I would in fact. There are several reasons for saying this: first, the historical setting of a small town backwater in Nova Scotia (although it could be set in any place in Canada with a grain mill), secondly for the way the story is told. It jumps right into the brief courtship of Ewan and Penelope, then gets right into the marriage, so we are swept along with Penelope as she experiences all the changes in her life. As well, we get to see Ewan's side of things, so much so that we do not totally dislike him (as Penelope herself does not) but neither do we side with him 100% as we are compelled to do with Penelope.
Full review can be found here: http://wp.me/p60sTD-9T
Full review can be found here: http://wp.me/p60sTD-9T
June 30, 2014
This book will take you through a range of emotions - for me 2 stood out strongly
Horrified & Heartbroken!!!! The author has a way of writing that leaves you feeling every bit of the story as if you are living it yourself...I cried through many parts of the book but could not put it down..
I would recommend for all historical fiction fans - but I would not suggest for friend looking for the HEA.
Reviewed for Goodreads - First Reads
Horrified & Heartbroken!!!! The author has a way of writing that leaves you feeling every bit of the story as if you are living it yourself...I cried through many parts of the book but could not put it down..
I would recommend for all historical fiction fans - but I would not suggest for friend looking for the HEA.
Reviewed for Goodreads - First Reads
February 8, 2018
(Fiction, Historical, Atlantic Canadian)
I always enjoy reading Nova Scotia author Linda Little’s books, not least because the settings are very local to me and familiar.
This, her third novel, is Little’s first foray into historical fiction, but it is a setting with which she is very familiar, having served as a guide at the historical Balmoral Grist Mill on Nova Scotia’s beautiful north shore for several years.
From Amazon:
“Penelope MacLaughlin marries a miller and gradually discovers he is not as she imagined. Nonetheless she remains determined to make the best of life at the lonely mill up the Gunn Brook as she struggles to build a home around her husband’s eccentricities.”
There’s a strong female protagonist, and the setting and time details ring true.
4 stars
I always enjoy reading Nova Scotia author Linda Little’s books, not least because the settings are very local to me and familiar.
This, her third novel, is Little’s first foray into historical fiction, but it is a setting with which she is very familiar, having served as a guide at the historical Balmoral Grist Mill on Nova Scotia’s beautiful north shore for several years.
From Amazon:
“Penelope MacLaughlin marries a miller and gradually discovers he is not as she imagined. Nonetheless she remains determined to make the best of life at the lonely mill up the Gunn Brook as she struggles to build a home around her husband’s eccentricities.”
There’s a strong female protagonist, and the setting and time details ring true.
4 stars
February 18, 2023
I love Linda Little. This book tells the story of the resilience, determination, and strength of a woman in the late 1880’s, left for months at a time by her husband to run a mill. Set in Nova Scotia, it is a wonderful pioneering story.
July 23, 2017
Excellent book! I have loved all of Linda's books. She has a unique writing style and an interesting plot and characters.
September 10, 2025
Wonderful!
October 22, 2014
In Grist by Linda Little we journey back to rural Nova Scotia in the late 1800’s. The novel vividly describes life as it would have been at this time in history with all the struggles and triumphs and it is so beautifully written.
Penelope McCabe is a schoolteacher in the 1800’s and is quite settled with being on her own until she meets her landlord’s brother Ewan MacLauglin. He sincerely seems interested in what she thinks and he is different from any man she’s been courted by before and she finds herself welcoming his attentions. Penelope is a plain girl having been described by her father once as ‘one horse of a girl’ so she’s a bit suspicious as to why he’d be interested in her as he’s a successful miller. When she questions him on this he makes it clear that he isn’t interested in flighty girls – he wants sensible and hard working. When he asks Penelope to marry him she agrees.
Upon arriving at Ewan’s home Penelope is touched by all he has done to make her comfortable and despite some misgivings she convinces herself that all will be well. As the days pass though Penelope becomes increasingly worried that she may have made a mistake. Ewan is not fond of communicating at all and prefers her to just be quiet. He wants nothing to do with the neighbors and would rather Penelope do the same. What he does want though is children, more to the point boys and heirs. Penelope would love a family and feels quite sure this is one area she is sure to please her husband. However it isn’t to be that easy and it isn’t long before their marriage is suffering. As more time passes Penelope realizes with a sinking feeling that she really never knew the man she up and married. Ewan is a domineering and often cruel man but still Penelope is determined to make the best of things. When Ewan begins leaving her to run the mill on her own though as he travels to help others build mills tragedy strikes and Penelope knows she will never be able to forgive Ewan.
I really felt sorry for Penelope. She existed at a time when women didn’t have a lot of options and her whole life hinged on her husband. Without his support she would have nothing and so that also meant that she couldn’t just walk away from his cruelty. I could feel her loneliness and uncertainty and her pain when things began to go horribly wrong in her life. Ewan rubbed me wrong from the very beginning and he proved over and over again that he couldn’t be trusted. Parts of the story were from his point of view but even with that I couldn’t warm to him. It was Penelope I connected with and I admired her resilience and strength in a situation that could not have been easy for her.
Another aspect of this novel I found fascinating was all the information on building and running a mill. It’s obvious that the author did a lot of research in that area and this reader appreciated it. I would absolutely recommend Grist to historical fiction readers! I’m looking forward to getting my hands on more of Linda Little’s work and as always I’m happy to promote a Canadian author whenever I can!
May 23, 2014
This book is aptly titled. It's about a grist mill. It also tells a hard, gritty story -- but it has a heartwarming end. I really admire Little's books, but my favourite remains Scotch River. Grist tells the story of the very difficult life of a woman who hastily marries a mechanically and spatially brilliant but cold and obsessive man. Not only is Little a fine writer in terms of language, detail and the crafting of story but she draws her characters in great depth. Nevertheless, I found her protagonist, Penelope, a hard one to completely believe. She, too, is very intelligent -- in far more ways than her husband is. She is a very successful and beloved school teacher at the time of her marriage and then, throughout her marriage, proves extremely competent in everything involved in running a rural home in the 1800's. She also fully understands the complicated mechanisms of the mill as well as the many intricacies of grinding various grains. What I can't understand is why she married him to begin with, and then, once she did, why she didn't use her intelligence, her sense of her own worth, to be more rebellious and demanding. The author wants us to believe it's because she was a product of her times and of her realistic understanding of what any rebelliousness would mean. At 30 she was an old maid. Here was a man who admired her brains and her apparent strength, and could provide for her. Later, she believed that divorce would have thrust her, penniless, out on the street. But Ewan did not want to draw attention to himself or show signs of weakness and there were clues to his difficult character before they married. Why didn't she take heed? I find it hard to buy and it made me less than sympathetic towards her.
On the other hand, Ewan, though a terrible man in many ways, was far easier to understand. Little draws his character exquisitely and completely. We see why he is so obsessively religious, so obsessively hardworking, so unforgiving, so demanding, so able to rationalize his own behaviour, so clear in his motives and his business dealings.
I like the way Little has crafted her book, switching between the story of Penelope and the story of Ewan. They are each given several chapters at a time so that we have plenty of opportunity to get to know them, and we don't feel shifted around too frequently. I like the tenderness of Penelope telling this story to her granddaughter. I like the emersion of new details and actions which move the story along in unexpected but believable ways and kept my attention from languishing. The writing is exquisite and I was driven to read it. As for Penelope, perhaps as George Elliott says about Dorothea: "there is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it." (Middlemarch)
I've attended some of Little's readings and she's full of animation and wit. She makes one laugh out loud. And yet she writes these wrenching stories of Northern Nova Scotia. Go figure.
I'll continue to read her.
On the other hand, Ewan, though a terrible man in many ways, was far easier to understand. Little draws his character exquisitely and completely. We see why he is so obsessively religious, so obsessively hardworking, so unforgiving, so demanding, so able to rationalize his own behaviour, so clear in his motives and his business dealings.
I like the way Little has crafted her book, switching between the story of Penelope and the story of Ewan. They are each given several chapters at a time so that we have plenty of opportunity to get to know them, and we don't feel shifted around too frequently. I like the tenderness of Penelope telling this story to her granddaughter. I like the emersion of new details and actions which move the story along in unexpected but believable ways and kept my attention from languishing. The writing is exquisite and I was driven to read it. As for Penelope, perhaps as George Elliott says about Dorothea: "there is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it." (Middlemarch)
I've attended some of Little's readings and she's full of animation and wit. She makes one laugh out loud. And yet she writes these wrenching stories of Northern Nova Scotia. Go figure.
I'll continue to read her.
April 22, 2014
"Grist" is a really interesting historical fiction tale that will be perfect for those looking for strong and memorable characters and great historical detail. Penelope believes that she is going to be alone as a spinster schoolteacher until Ewan comes to town. Ewan fascinates Penelope and intrigues her. They fall quickly for each other and there is no question that Penelope will leave what she knows and go to live with Ewan. Things with him are not at all what they seem though.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and a big part of that was how much I enjoyed the characters. Penelope was such an interesting character to me and I really loved reading about her in this book. She felt really real to me. I liked that the author gave her a lot of uniqueness. She isn't perfect but she is honest (at least with the reader). I liked reading about how she changes throughout the book. I also really liked that the story was told from her perspective, which really helped me to dive into the story. Ewan is also an interesting character. At first I thought that he was just a super pious man but it turns out that he is hiding a lot of secrets that make up some of the huge twists in the book.
There were a lot of twists and turns in this book, which I definitely liked. I love when a book can keep me on my toes. Both Penelope and Ewan are hiding a lot from each other and it was really great to see how their secrets unfolded in the book.
I also really liked the setting and the description of the setting. Penelope leads a relatively lonely life at the Mill but the setting really sounded pretty. This book definitely made for some good armchair traveling!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and a big part of that was how much I enjoyed the characters. Penelope was such an interesting character to me and I really loved reading about her in this book. She felt really real to me. I liked that the author gave her a lot of uniqueness. She isn't perfect but she is honest (at least with the reader). I liked reading about how she changes throughout the book. I also really liked that the story was told from her perspective, which really helped me to dive into the story. Ewan is also an interesting character. At first I thought that he was just a super pious man but it turns out that he is hiding a lot of secrets that make up some of the huge twists in the book.
There were a lot of twists and turns in this book, which I definitely liked. I love when a book can keep me on my toes. Both Penelope and Ewan are hiding a lot from each other and it was really great to see how their secrets unfolded in the book.
I also really liked the setting and the description of the setting. Penelope leads a relatively lonely life at the Mill but the setting really sounded pretty. This book definitely made for some good armchair traveling!
April 23, 2014
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Much like Anna Hope's Wake, I found Linda Little's Grist difficult to get into. Harshly emotional and more than a little sobering, I felt like I'd run a marathon by the time I finished the book and was, quite frankly, happy to done with it. I drafted my review soon after, but it languished in my pending folder for weeks before I returned to polish it.
Usually, this is where I reword the entry, format the coding for my blog post, add an image if applicable and check my grammar, but that didn't happen with Grist. Somewhere along the line the themes had settled in and while I still feel it a challenging piece, I found I truly appreciated the ideas and motifs Little worked into the narrative.
Penelope is dealt a rough hand, but manages it with an atypical sort of strength. She's different, but her subtleties are uniquely attractive. Her husband, when one really considers him, is equally complex despite his dark and ugly nature. Interesting if not admirable, he is as unconventional as his spouse. An antagonist one can despise, but almost understand in his insanity.
The shifting point of view, especially when focused on the supporting cast, was distracting and the pacing left much to be desired, but under that exists something truly special. An enduring message of perseverance, courage and hope in the face of overwhelming heartache and oppression that haunts the reader long after the final page.
Much like Anna Hope's Wake, I found Linda Little's Grist difficult to get into. Harshly emotional and more than a little sobering, I felt like I'd run a marathon by the time I finished the book and was, quite frankly, happy to done with it. I drafted my review soon after, but it languished in my pending folder for weeks before I returned to polish it.
Usually, this is where I reword the entry, format the coding for my blog post, add an image if applicable and check my grammar, but that didn't happen with Grist. Somewhere along the line the themes had settled in and while I still feel it a challenging piece, I found I truly appreciated the ideas and motifs Little worked into the narrative.
Penelope is dealt a rough hand, but manages it with an atypical sort of strength. She's different, but her subtleties are uniquely attractive. Her husband, when one really considers him, is equally complex despite his dark and ugly nature. Interesting if not admirable, he is as unconventional as his spouse. An antagonist one can despise, but almost understand in his insanity.
The shifting point of view, especially when focused on the supporting cast, was distracting and the pacing left much to be desired, but under that exists something truly special. An enduring message of perseverance, courage and hope in the face of overwhelming heartache and oppression that haunts the reader long after the final page.
August 20, 2016
"Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding."
Thus the title as it refers to the life of Penelope McCabe in Nova Scotia in the late 1800's. Penelope meets and marries Ewan MacLaughlin, a miller. Ewan is a no nonsense controlling sort of a man and Penelope soon realizes that life is not going to be easy for her. Ewan wants a son to eventually take over the running of the mill but Penelope produces daughters. Dealing with a man like Ewan is not easy for Penelope but she perseveres and also learns the running of the mill at Ewan's insistence. She grows to be a very strong woman in certain ways but I feel maybe she should have stood up to her husband more but that was not a normal thing for women to do then. As a result of his cruelty, Penelope suffers heartbreak after heartbreak but in the end she knows that she needs to do what is necessary to protect her grandchildren from the menace that is their father.
This novel is short but packed with emotion and lets us know how life was for women of this time. I found the milling process interesting and things that we may take for granted now, was the lifeblood of the times. "This is how you were loved...." describes the life of Penelope McLaughlin to her granddaughter Rachel and a fitting end to a unique story. A wonderful historical novel that will be appreciated by fans of this genre.
Thus the title as it refers to the life of Penelope McCabe in Nova Scotia in the late 1800's. Penelope meets and marries Ewan MacLaughlin, a miller. Ewan is a no nonsense controlling sort of a man and Penelope soon realizes that life is not going to be easy for her. Ewan wants a son to eventually take over the running of the mill but Penelope produces daughters. Dealing with a man like Ewan is not easy for Penelope but she perseveres and also learns the running of the mill at Ewan's insistence. She grows to be a very strong woman in certain ways but I feel maybe she should have stood up to her husband more but that was not a normal thing for women to do then. As a result of his cruelty, Penelope suffers heartbreak after heartbreak but in the end she knows that she needs to do what is necessary to protect her grandchildren from the menace that is their father.
This novel is short but packed with emotion and lets us know how life was for women of this time. I found the milling process interesting and things that we may take for granted now, was the lifeblood of the times. "This is how you were loved...." describes the life of Penelope McLaughlin to her granddaughter Rachel and a fitting end to a unique story. A wonderful historical novel that will be appreciated by fans of this genre.
September 22, 2014
I love a character driven story and this one delivered with beautifully painted portraits of the cast of characters who made up the main character's circle throughout her life. The book begins in Penelope's late 20s and ends in her 70s and watching her and the people around her evolve and change was a beautiful and moving experience. The everyday-ness of her existence is brought to life with colourful description and enough tension to keep things interesting.
The one thing I found jarring was the couple of chapters from Ewan's point of view. It seemed to be there to give a less biased view of the character, perhaps give you some sense of understanding, but it is a story from Penelope's point of view and trying to have it both ways seemed uncomfortable and a bit odd.
Historical fiction, with a bit of the earthiness I often expect out of Can-lit, developed through the eyes of a really likable main character. A lovely story!
The one thing I found jarring was the couple of chapters from Ewan's point of view. It seemed to be there to give a less biased view of the character, perhaps give you some sense of understanding, but it is a story from Penelope's point of view and trying to have it both ways seemed uncomfortable and a bit odd.
Historical fiction, with a bit of the earthiness I often expect out of Can-lit, developed through the eyes of a really likable main character. A lovely story!
January 11, 2017
Although,by the end of this book, I was feeling overwhelmed by the negativity piled upon the main female characters....it made it clear that we have come a long way as women since the turn of the century. The main character was married after several chaperoned visits in the mid 1800s. It was the time of hell-fire and religious judgement, which the dominant male used to demean and chip away at his strong, balanced school teacher wife. By the time her daughter was tricked into a marriage to suit the dominant male, her dad, it was WWI and the 2nd generation, returning, diminished husband created more havoc upon his wife and family. The point is made quite clear that loving moms could try to find ways to set futures for their sons, but females remained at the mercy of husbands or communities. An interesting look at the hard work and struggle of our ancestors in order to survive as well as the thought-provoking message on women rights in our country 100 years ago.
October 5, 2015
I loved this book. The complexity of Ewan's character puzzled me to the degree that I had to read it a second time in an attempt to understand how he was put together. I marveled at Penelope's patience in dealing with her husband. My being throbbed with her indignation toward him. To work so hard, to endure such wrath and still have hope speaks to Penelope's great character. A visit to the Balmoral Grist Mill and Sutherland's Steam Mill, both part of the Nova Scotia Museum, topped off my journey through this story and painted a picture of lives filled with extremely hard work with little reward.
July 1, 2014
the storytelling and the word crafting in Grist was memorable and a joy to read. I found myself lingering on groupings of words much like you savour a piece of chocolate. At the same time it was also tough on the heart to read of her hardships and heartache. Not sure if its a summer read, winter with a storm outside and curled up on the couch by an open fire might have been more suited to the novel but it was worth it to discover a new author in Linda Little that I love. I will definately read more by her ie Scotch River.
February 5, 2015
This is the best book I've read in a long time. It was an absolute surprise, in every way. I couldn't get enough of it. Little's writing style is smart, informal, and draws you in. Her characters have such depth and come to life. I am so sad that it's over. Now what? Definitely going to check out her other work.
September 12, 2015
Such a pleasure to read! I particularly enjoyed the fact that, apart from the place names, this story could have been set almost anywhere. The plot is fairly straightforward and Ms Little never loses that thread. I'll admit it made me cry, usually a sign the book is worthy of 5 stars.
October 11, 2014
Real rating 3.5/5
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