One Fell Swoop: A Novel in Stories

by Virginia Boyd

Book by Boyd, Virginia

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

307 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2007

Reviews

[Merrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the device of telling the story (or perhaps more accurately telling about life in Riley) from different, not always related perspectives. I would have liked to get to know some of the characters more and found several of the chapters especially poignant and effective.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disjointed novel in stories about a town affected by a murder-suicide. No Christian content although it is from a Christian publisher.

[Margaret Hermes · Rating 5 out of 5]

In One Fell Swoop a murder/suicide is reflected upon by a variety of townspeople from different vantage points in time, including that of the murdered philanderer and his killer wife and their orphaned son. The portraits of the Claytons are sensitive and tender. We follow all three victims of this crime as they reach back into their childhoods to make sense of their lives.
Each voice (each chapter) is distinctive. Local journalist Casey reflects on her breaking marriage. Her husband's failures to show up for dinner at first are accompanied by apologies but, after a while, he is "angry and sullen as if each night I was intentionally setting him up to fail."
All the children in this novel of voices are stunningly eloquent yet authentic. Suzanne has "quit walking on sidewalks" for fear of the harm caused by stepping on cracks in pavement. She says of the Claytons, "Maybe they never even noticed all the cracks in their sidewalk, a river of bad luck running right up to their front door."
The novel is peppered throughout with great images, wisdom, and wry humor. One of my favorite lines come near the end when bride-to-be Dawn, not known for self-reflection, muses, "It was even possible to live outside of the South. Other people did."
When I closed the book, I wanted to hear from more of Riley's residents.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A murder-suicide comes to the sleepy, little southern town of Riley, North Carolina. Now, in this town, adultery is anything but uncommon, but this poor husband got caught red-handed, so to speak, and paid the ultimate price for his philandering. One Fell Swoop: A Novel in Stories is the supposed reaction told by various members of the community to this dastardly deed(s).

Regina Clayton shot her husband, Michael after she walked in on Michael with his secretary, Cindy Worthington, doing it on his desk, no less. Regina had enough. She shot him...dead. She shot herself...dead. Everyone has something to say.

A promising format, but this story falls short. The first story of Randy Fox was intriguing...now, he really changed his life because of this murder-suicide, but I wanted to hear how his actions affected his wife and children. Another thing that really bothered me, was that all the voices were the same...even the children sounded like adults. Nothing is new...gossip is gossip. We've all heard it before and we don't hear about the things that really matter...or is that the point of this story? Leprechauns and nightingales....really?

I give this book 2 1/2 stars.

[~mad · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me awhile to finish this book - stuff, like Gustav and doctors, got in my way.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading (and finishing) it - do I say that about most every book I review? Good writing, kept me "engaged" - trying out a new word here.

It started with a startling event - you don't know the characters tho. And then each chapter is a a commentary of the event by members of the small town - some poignant, some funny - all lively).

They all tie together over the course of the book -

"Try it, you'll like it!"

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting a traditional murder mystery but this is something entirely different. Yes, there is a murder, but it happens "offstage" and there is no mystery. What there is, is a collection of stories of individuals affected by the murder in a small Southern town. The voices and characters are so well-drawn, and so varied, that I was immediately entranced by the whole environment. It's a wonderful book, with a true Southern voice.

[Marjanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, though I am not quite sure what exactly the author was trying to get across. It's a story told from several perspectives. The individual stories were interesting though did not really shed any light on the 'main' story, and I'm not sure if the last chapter was just to show that the story would repeat its self. Not a bad read, though it didn't really do a lot for me.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like the premise of writing about a town's major event through the eyes of various community members. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with the numerous characters, however, and I didn't think that many of their stories added anything new. Still, it does make you stop and think about how each person experiences and perceives an event differently.

[Vikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a novel in stories. The author took a fact: there is a prominent couple in town and the wife shot the husband. Each chapter was someone in town talking about that and how that event affected them. It was a great book. I can't wait to read more by this author. This was a first novel by this author.

[Lori Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled through this book. The stories within a story are not usually hard for me to deal with but there were sooo many characters to keep up with, along with jumping between decades. Not to mention the fact that you never get the real story. Not hilarious as I had been told either. I'm lucky I made it through.

[Debdanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had such potential but fizzled out at about page 200 when the perspective changed to the main characters. It was better and more interesting when told from the outside in. Usually I like for "the mystery" to be solved and those 2 chapters explained a lot. But I enjoyed the book more when it was all about other's perspectives rather than 'first person.'

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea a lot, but the execution had its ups and downs. I'd like to see what her third or fourth book looks like. I may be rating it slightly higher just because I find this style of book fascinating, with a kalidescope view of the story.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh, it was okay. the conceit was okay for the most part, but by the end i was really tired of hearing about the claytons. it was a novel told in short story form, which i like the idea of. and it wasn't terribly written, i just got sick of the "hook" after a while.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My boss's wife wrote this book. I am very curious to read it!

[Meredith DeBrunner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, but I thought it dragged in some parts. Intersting perspectives on how one event can changes so many lives from those on the outside to those right in the thick of the event.

[Lydia M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a struggle to finish. It was jarring and difficult to follow. I didn't like the characters.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a people person. I loved the way the book showed how one event affected so many different people in so many different ways.

[Michele Cacano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable! Nice batch of characters, in a good story, well developed.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well-written book but the story line is disjointed.