A Little More than Kin

Darby Chronicles #2

by Ernest Hebert

Evicted from the New Hampshire shack he proudly called home, Ollie Jordan--ignorant, ingenious, angry, bedevilled, and doomed--pursues his independence, though bound to an idiot son he both dotes on and despises

Genres: Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Alcina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is incredible, devastating writing. It could easily be seen as classest, presumptuous attempts to get in the head of uneducated impoverished hill people - and I think there is an element of that - but for me, the mental machinations, the family and social relationships and how far Hebert goes with it - are riveting and heart wrenching. Yeah, that is a long sentence.

Ollie with Willow chained to him, the descent from plain ole ignorance to paranoid madness and the harshness of their lives is just stunning. Having walked with many types of people, I know all of the characters encountered in this book. And I found it all quite depressing and joyless. Although at the end, there is a kind of peace and beauty, I still was left feeling kind of nihilistic.

I still have to give a lot of stars because of the diligence of Hebert in his detailed mental wanderings of Ollie, an ignorant and lazy man, with casual and thoughtless violence who nonetheless has deep philosophies, fears and joys - and for whom I could not help but feel sympathy and some tenderness.

[Charles Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Darby books are great. Really great. I wish they weren't so hard to track down.

[Carinne · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of dumb people droning on and on, this was a real chore to get through. If the first book in the series was this bad I never would have read onward.

Seems like the entire book is a metaphor for some larger meaning. However it is completely lost on the reader as it’s so difficult to get through. Not a fan.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woahhhhhhh
My second book set in New Hampshire this year!
This book was all set up for the last two chapters; which POPPED OFF!
It lets you watch the downfall of Ollie and his "son" Willow.
I was not expecting such a twist at the end!

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So strange.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Dogs of Spring, but this book wasn't nearly as good. And I'm not a big fan of surprise endings that change the significance of what happened, so that didn't help.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book and The Passion of Estelle Jordan best of the five in the Darby series. The book is tragic - how families hurt each other despite the love they have for one another.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

tragic but so good. wonderful characters.