The Crying Out: A Novel

by Diane Keating

The Witherspoon family, descendants of New England Puritans involved in the 17th-century witchcraft trials, have inherited an unspoken secret that binds them to each other and to their ancient hilltop house in <!--? prefix = st1 ns = "" /-->Madawaska Valley where the lives of four generations of women named Sibyl have unfolded. The story centers on the youngest Sibyl who, vowing to change her fate, flees to the city. Three years later she is forced to return to look for her missing grandmother. Alone in her birthplace, history superimposes itself on reality as she is pulled into the darkness of her ancestral past. But with the resilience of her Puritan forefathers, Sibyl confronts her family secrets, emerging with a clarity that culminates in the novel’s startling climax. The Crying Out is a daring first novel that draws the reader into its haunted world through the power of language and imagery. The highly charged, voice-driven narrative weaves back and forth between the 17th and 20th centuries, integrating past and present, love and betrayal, madness and sanity. By exploring the history of one family, Diane Keating speaks to the eternal question of what makes us who we are.

296 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

Reviews

[Angel]

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this one. The setting, characters, and story were there, but something about the perspective and delayed reactions of the narrator slowed things down for me, and I'm a reader who loves introspection.
The plot jumped around a bit, opening interesting storylines, but then I felt cut short as we returned to the narrator's current thoughts. I also lost connection with her about three-fourths of the way in, but the ending brought things back together, and overall I'm glad I read it. Definitely my kind of story, and worth reading, just felt it could have been tightened up in places. I will watch for her next book.

[Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book - the timeline was a little erratic and there was a lot of unnecessary/excessive wordiness that made the whole book feel forced. The story had potential, but it fell flat for me.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first it reminded me of "Practical Magic" but it ended up being darker than that.Very interesting storyline but I was left hanging a little by the ending.I like my stories "tied"a bit more.