Hidden View

by Brett Ann Stanciu

Rooted in the hillsides and fields of rural Vermont, Hidden View offers a decidedly realistic glimpse of the inner lives of the people on a multi-generational farm who live, work, and love the land. In this emotionally riveting, yet beautifully lyrical novel, Stanciu minutely chronicles the evolving struggles, both marital and economic, that risk irrevocably transforming both the farm and its inhabitants. Hidden View poignantly contrasts the struggle of two brothers over land (and over the young, idyllic Fern and her daughter), as each searches for ineffable truths and acceptance while toiling among the soil and stone of their everyday lives. Hidden View reveals a luminous portrait of individuals attempting to harmonize their inner natures with the stark, raw, detached beauty of the ancient farm.

278 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2015

About the author

A single mother of two daughters, Brett Ann Stanciu believes in stellar writing, using clotheslines, and eating fresh greens from the garden. Well-versed in the agricultural life, she writes from Vermont.

Reviews

[☕Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 5
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Emotional impact: 5
Overall rating: 4.5

[Sara Vanhof · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is charged with raw emotion. The story of Fern setting out on her own in life relates not only her personal journey but depicts the hardships of rural farm life. Everyone will find a situation and emotion they can relate to. This is not a “poor me” novel, but conveys more of the struggles and triumphs of the family, growth, and both good and bad decisions.

[Lory Hess · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my full review at The Emerald City Book Review. If you're tired of seeing the same books from the same big-name publishers hyped everywhere, and would like to discover some quality under-the-radar fiction that not everyone knows about, I have got something for you. Hidden View by Brett Ann Stanciu is a true hidden gem, a novel with a distinctive and haunting voice that taps into universal, archetypal themes while being grounded in a very particular place.

The voice belongs to Fern, a young woman who became pregnant and married at nineteen, and now finds herself and her young daughter trapped on a failing Vermont hill farm with an increasingly distant and brutal husband. When her husband's brother returns to claim his inheritance, love, fear, desire, and pain mingle explosively.

If this all sounds too depressing and maudlin for words, it isn't -- and that's in large part what impressed me so much about Stanciu's writing. Yes, she unflinchingly portrays the difficult realities of Fern's life, but most of all she makes us feel the presence of Fern herself, the strength of her essential being that endures in the face of hardship and finds joy, wisdom, grace in this most unlikely of places. Through the precious, painful gifts of motherhood, by the cultivation of growing things, in her awe and wonder at the natural world, she grows toward the light and we suffer and grow along with her.

Fern is no saint, and she doesn't always make smart choices, but her story is all the more riveting thereby. Stanciu has shown how modern people in an ancient landscape struggle to make their way against the forces of nature and their own demons, trying to find and save what is of value in themselves and the land. It's a story and a message that deserve to find many readers who will love this brave, piercingly honest novel as much as I do.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book mentioned once, randomly, on a homesteading blog that I check every once in a while. I requested that my library order it and they did! It was meant to be and I'm so glad I was able to find this book. The writing is lovely, describing the beauty and sorrow of life that is encapsulated so well, and often times so overwhelmingly, on a farm. As we follow Fern through the first few years of life at Hidden View time passes with that incessant drum beat of the seasons that dictates living in the natural world. I don't usually write reviews of books. I read them, rate them, and then am on to the next. But occasionally a book stands out and you know the images it painted will stick with you. This is one such book for me. And since it's from a smaller press and you might not hear about it otherwise, I wanted to pass on my recommendation.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut novel is beautifully rendered and I read it cover-to-cover in a few days. Stanciu has a poet's eye and it's remarkable how intricately she describes this landscape I am so familiar with.
I can't wait until her next novel is published!

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Goodreads review. Another book I did review that did not show up. Great book.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary debut novel. I hear she's working on a second book, but in the meantime, I would cheerfully read her shopping list.

[Samantha Gunning]

I won this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. I received a paperback copy.