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The Wheel of Earth
The story of Ellen Gaddy whose courage fortified by innocence make her one of the most appealing and refreshing heroines of current fiction. it is also the story of two men who loved her; of her tyrannical father, Anton Gaddy, whose twisted loves and implacable hates devoured those around him; of the warm and generous Wasilewski family who gave Ellen her first glimpse of a freer, happier way of life.
First published January 1, 1958
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 6, 2026
I had just opened up Gutenberg Project to find something to read while I did a mindless but time consuming task at work. The Wheel of Earth was featured at the top of the page and I was immediately intrigued even though I had no idea what it was about.
Well, this book pulled me in. I read it for hours at a time, totally engrossed in the story, which is the tale of a woman named Ellen who lives on a farm in Kentucky with her sister and parents.
At the start of the book Ellen is a teenager, by the end she is thirty. What happens in between is a lifetime of sorrow. Ellen is raised by a violent, super religious father and a mentally absent mother, and I am positive that the father is one of the most odious characters I’ve come across in many years.
As a teen, Ellen is raped and becomes pregnant. Later, she is attacked a second time and violently fights back. The lack of love in her life is palpable. Ellen suffers through many difficulties, and she is an example of how women who are so abused and oppressed can still find strength and can still find things to hold onto. For Ellen, her love of farm life and nature is what keeps her hanging on.
Throughout the book are these young women who suffer at the hands of men. The writing of these experiences is honest and realistic.
But here’s what is so disappointing about this book. After all her travels and travails, she meets up with the rapist and father of her son in a convoluted subplot involving her father and his sister, and incredibly, she marries him and lives happily ever after.
If the author had ended the book several chapters before this, it could have ended on more solid ground, as there is so much to love about it. Would I recommend this book? Definitely, but with a caveat.
It’s worth noting that the book was published in 1958, and Ellen’s sister moves to Chicago, eventually finds a job and has a long relationship with another woman-both living fulfilling lives not dependent on men. And yet, the author chose such an unfortunate ending for the main character.
And about the author-I looked up Helga Sandburg to learn about her. Not a whole lot of information exists; she wrote 17 books and lived for years in Cleveland, and interestingly was the daughter of poet Carl Sandburg.
Well, this book pulled me in. I read it for hours at a time, totally engrossed in the story, which is the tale of a woman named Ellen who lives on a farm in Kentucky with her sister and parents.
At the start of the book Ellen is a teenager, by the end she is thirty. What happens in between is a lifetime of sorrow. Ellen is raised by a violent, super religious father and a mentally absent mother, and I am positive that the father is one of the most odious characters I’ve come across in many years.
As a teen, Ellen is raped and becomes pregnant. Later, she is attacked a second time and violently fights back. The lack of love in her life is palpable. Ellen suffers through many difficulties, and she is an example of how women who are so abused and oppressed can still find strength and can still find things to hold onto. For Ellen, her love of farm life and nature is what keeps her hanging on.
Throughout the book are these young women who suffer at the hands of men. The writing of these experiences is honest and realistic.
But here’s what is so disappointing about this book. After all her travels and travails, she meets up with the rapist and father of her son in a convoluted subplot involving her father and his sister, and incredibly, she marries him and lives happily ever after.
If the author had ended the book several chapters before this, it could have ended on more solid ground, as there is so much to love about it. Would I recommend this book? Definitely, but with a caveat.
It’s worth noting that the book was published in 1958, and Ellen’s sister moves to Chicago, eventually finds a job and has a long relationship with another woman-both living fulfilling lives not dependent on men. And yet, the author chose such an unfortunate ending for the main character.
And about the author-I looked up Helga Sandburg to learn about her. Not a whole lot of information exists; she wrote 17 books and lived for years in Cleveland, and interestingly was the daughter of poet Carl Sandburg.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2011
I read this novel when I was fourteen and have thought about it at least once a month since. The characters in this book are so very life like in their complexities that they have stayed with me forever. It is the story of a young girl and her struggles there within. Trapped by her circumstances and moreover by her own womanhood, she cannot escape those who wish to take from her-whether it be her freedom, her spirit, or her happiness. This is a book that moves within the realms of disillusionment and exposes the darker side of female-male relationship.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews