A Still Small Voice

by John Reed

Written with a storyteller's grace and a poet's touch, John Reed's powerful first novel is a true adventure of the heart -- at once a passionate love story and a sweeping historical saga set against a vivid backdrop of the Civil War ...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adult Fiction, War, Novels, Literary Fiction, American History

351 pages, Paperback/Hardback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it hard to know how to react to this story. I loved the simple straight forward voice of Alma and it got me in from the beginning. And I was interested in the story of Alma's relationship as she comes to live with her aunt in Cotterpin Creek. There she meets the Cleveland family and in particular their youngest son John Warren.The two form an immediate and unshakable bond. As they grow up the civil war comes. What will happen to Alma and John Warren?
This contains a great deal of history which for a non American was interesting.Some of the writing is quite poetic and beautiful but at times the detailing of so much desciption pulled me out of the story. I got sick of reading about every item on the shelf in the store or every plant in the garden and its healing uses etc. I ended up skipping over pages because I wanted to get back to the story, which for me centred around Alma and John Warren. So while I liked it I didn't love it as much as I expected I might. The funny thing was my husband was the one who borrowed it from the library. In the end I read it and he didn't.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a huge amount about writing from this book. In terms of the U.S. history—more things than I could discuss. Perhaps one of the stranger things I discovered was the ability to tune into another time: to discuss things with a high level of detail—detail I thought I didn't know until I fact-checked and saw that I had it right.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Still Small Voice was a long. slow. read. This is a journal of the life of a young woman who grew up during the Civil War, orphaned in early life and raised by her widowed aunt in Cotterpin Creek, Kentucky. The story is beautifully told, but progresses very slowly because of the minute, often excruciating details. I could have done without reading about every detail of the horse fence, for example. Still, I soldiered on through. All in all, a well- researched first novel by the author.

[Mona Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. First novel for John Reed. I look forward to additional books.

[Skate Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this novel years ago and as I was rummaging through my books, I'v found this and opened it to the last page, and suddenly, the memories of this book came flashing back to me. It was a great great poetry novel. Oh how I loved John Reed's narration. It is a simple war love story that we have always read of, but its humour and wordings are natural and homey. I felt like I was being carried through a carriage to somewhere behind the city walls while I was reading this. Really heart-clenching.

[Tamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book in that it was classified as a historical romance and there was not any romance in it except puppy love/friendship of the characters when they were children. The author spent way too much time detailing stuff that was really not that important. I skiped over some of the details of things and did not miss it. Historically it was good to read about how people lived. I always like to learn that stuff.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kept me interested in the beginning but the more I read the more I realized that the romance would not emerge and then I just got bored altogether. 1.5 stars for good effort but in the end, I merely scanned through the rest of the book.

[Holos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Whole and Snowball's Chance, which were way far out, man. Is this really the same author? Is this a joke?

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm on page 12 and completely love this book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever book. Well developed characters.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little slow at times but I really enjoyed it. It's really just the story of a girl growing up during the civil war time- but it has a lot more to it. I thought it was well written.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Robin's favorite books. I loved all the small drawings by the author's mom. The perfect compliment to Jane Smiley's book about Bloody Kansas.

[Anna Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history part was good, but it was really slow, I would skip pages at a time, because it really had nothing to do with the story.

[Mel Tis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am always a little wary when a man writes a story with a woman's voice. Alma's perspective at times feels void of emotion and detached. I have a hard time buying into her (a 7 year old) and John Warren's (a 10 year old) immediate attachment as life long partners. The author does do a good job growing that attachment, but throughout it seems as if they should be older.

The book gets bogged down in a lot of unnecessary details and descriptions. They do not further the story, sometimes even becoming a distraction. The chapters are long and ruin on and on. It would be helpful to have a better timeline than just years at the beginning of chapters. At some point the Civil War ended, but I'm not sure where that was in the novel. When the soldiers come is the war over? When the lawyer comes is it during reconstruction? Thus it lacks helpful details.

This is a life story an old woman is telling to her daughter and granddaughters. At times she wonders off and adds details for a further point in the story. Knowing that helps the reader understand the storyteller's voice, but the author doesn't tell us that until the end.

The ending was a disappointment and anti climatic for me. Alma finally experiences strong emotions, but then we're back to the emotionless trudging through her life. She learned a lot and was good with plants and horses, but what was she passionate about? How did her disappointments effect her? What did she think about the war and how it tore her community apart? How did that shape her thinking, decisions, and life? Why wasn't the 7-year old attachment to John Warren just a childhood fancy? Why couldn't she let him go?

The story line was interesting and moved along. The characters were likable and there is a feeling of community and care among them. I would wonder if the setting was in the grasslands of Kentucky where horses are raised and trained or closer to the mountains with a totally different cultural aspect.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alma is an orphan sent to live with her aunt. The year is 1859, which I absolutely loved. How simple life seemed to be then! There are plenty of lush country scenes in A Still Small Voice. It is a book about horses and home cures, as much as it is a romance.
We grow up with Alma, as she makes friends, meets the Cleveland’s and begins school.
I think my slight issue would be with The Civil War, as it is only referred to as a time of change and after Alma is not allowed to see the Cleveland’s again.
The Civil War plays a large part of the book. John Reed details the effects of this on daily life and the evidence of death that blights war.
I also enjoyed the parts of make do and mend, the changes one village goes through over a period of time and that there is very much a bartering system, instead of money being exchanged for goods.
I do think A Still Small Voice could have gone on. The end feels as if it is only the beginning for a now grown up Alma and her family.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review )

[Karen Klink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but this is an excellent example of an author whose story became bogged down by too much detail and too much research. For example, nearly an entire chapter was devoted to the main character's garden—an excellent treatise on how plants were grown organically in the mid-19th century—a rather long diversion from the plot. The author often wandered from the story this way, and I found myself wandering from it as well, skimming several paragraphs and sometimes pages, in order to get back to the story. I generally read literary novels and do not need the constant conflict and excitement found in genre fiction, but this was too much for me.

Still, there is much worth reading here, and nothing a good editor couldn't help with next time around.

[Christine Matha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really had high expectations...I loved the time period of the Civil War and the setting. Alma was a sweet likeable character from the very beginning. Highly descriptive and attention to small historical details, it started out very charming. Midway it became very slow and there was little to look forward to with what seemed this "puppy love" relationship Alma finds herself in. I would have loved more about the Cleveland estate or perhaps it jumping forward a bit faster to a more mature Alma and her relationships. The small sketches are so delightful and I had to smile when I scanned through the book when I first picked it up.

[Lucy Meeker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never received my copy of this book that I won in a goodreads giveaway back in Dec 2016. I've tried contacting the author on numerous occasions and he will not contact me back so I am left with no choice but to give the book a 1 star rating. It is sad because I was really looking forward to reading this book. If the author decides to finally give me my copy than I will definitely read and review the book again.

[Tara ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a story told by a seven year old girl, whose voice you can hear clearly throughout. It's a story told with all the wonder and mystery and beauty that only childhood can tell, and it's done beautifully. This is a story that takes it's time, meandering slowly through the world it portrays. It takes time and patience, but the reader is richly rewarded and left to think about what it means to them at the end. 3 1/2 stars out of five.

[Alicia Klenk · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good at first. He then seemed to get stuck in a loop of descriptives that just went on forever…. Making me actually scan forward until I could find the actual story line again…. The ending was weird….. I didn’t feel he tied up the end pieces well. Who was Mary? Her child, grandchild? I would have liked to have read at least a little about their marriage. She pines for him for so long, and what got bupkiss……
I was disappointed in what could have been a fabulous story….

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely story about Alma Flynt and the man she loved.

[Christine Matha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really had high expectations...I loved the time period and the setting. Alma was a sweet likeable character from the very beginning. Highly descriptive and attention to small historical details, it started out very charming. Midway it became very slow and there was little to look forward to with what seemed this "puppy love" relationship Alma finds herself in. I would have loved more about the Cleveland estate or perhaps it jumping forward a bit faster for a more mature Alma and her relationships. The small sketches are so delightful and I had to smile when I scanned through the book when I first picked it up.

[Anajoy-rusticgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takes Place: 1858-1873 Kentucky
Reading Level: Adult
Content Level: Adult
Violence: Soldiers raid and loot homes and shoot people (they don't die). Some characters die in war or natural causes.
Swearing: Barely
Sexual Content: kissing between Alma and John Warren

Alma Flynt, an orphan, arrives in the Bluegrass only a year before the Civil war erupts. There she meets John Warren Cleveland. They are bonded instantly. This is their love story from childhood to 1873 when they finally meet again after the Civil War separated them ten years before.

[Michelle Olms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Tena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never received my copy that I won in a GOODREADS giveaway back on December 07, 2016. I've reached out with no response. Sadly, I need to clear my reading queue & shall assign a 1 star rating. I was excited to have won and looked forward to reading. If I ever receive it, I'll read & post corrected review.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful historical fiction novel. I was able to finish this in about 3 days. I loved the writing style of John Reed. He really makes you feel like you can see the story unfolding. I highly recommend this book.

[~mad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written book about the Civil War era and the years after.

A slow read but worth the time and effort.