The Quarry

by Mildred Walker

In this family saga, generations mine the Vermont earth and come to rest in it. Lyman Converse is too young to fight in the Civil War, but he lives to see his own son enlist in World War I. Through all the years his closest friend is Easy, an escaped black slave who took refuge in his father’s house. Everything Converse values most is gradually lost to time, including the family-owned soapstone quarry. The Quarry invites readers to escape into private lives worth caring about—and to feel the national history that they could not escape.

Genres: Historical Fiction

paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Mildred Schemm Walker (May 2, 1905 – May 27, 1998) was an American novelist who published 12 novels and was nominated for the National Book Award. She graduated from Wells College and from the University of Michigan. She was a faculty member at Wells College from 1955 to 1968. Walker died in 1998 in Portland, Oregon.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Marc Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this book covers the period before and after the Civil War. The main character is some stupid goody-goody named Lyman Converse who has no balls whatsoever. His father Orville is a righteous old man with a black beard who is a 150% Abolitionist and gets killed by his horsie Scout. Abbie is Orville's wife and Lyman's mother, but she is too passive and never goes against her husband, no matter what she thinks. John and Dan are Lyman's brothers - John gets killed in the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 and Dan is an independent jerk who tells Orville to stuff it and moves out West to try his luck at gold mining with his wife Willie and his kid Juliet - - - you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to HIM! Lyman continues to be a total drip and wants to marry his cousin Isabel in Rhode Island, but Aunt Matilda (an old bag in black who is Isabel's mother) is having none of that. So, Lyman settles for a pig named Louisa who has no interest in anything but her pine highboy furniture and Lyman be damned. She also wants Lyman's old room to rent out to some summer boarders and who cares. The book ends with Lyman about to jump into the water of the old quarry and drown himself, but Easy comes to the rescue (unfortunately) and fills Lyman's hat with blackberries for his supper and again, who cares??? This is a totally boring book and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody with half a brain OR to my pet Madagascar Jungle Lemur! FUHGEDDITABOUDIT!!!

[EJ Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1947, this historical novel begins in 1857 with a notice of an 11 year old runaway "negro house boy, Ezekiel Williams, called Easy." Easy makes it to safety with the underground railroad and is taken in by the Converse family in Vermont who are hiding him and planning to take him to Canada. Lyman Converse, age 9, discovers where Easy is hiding and convinces him to stay with them instead of continuing on to Canada and they become lifelong friends. The Converse family owns and runs a soapstone quarry and so the name of the book. The book ends in 1912 so we see the family through many American historical events and into WWI in Europe.
I found the historical events and how the family weathered them to be interesting but Lyman's choices made his life so depressing that I almost stopped reading. I did finish and there was hope in the end but slight.
I found this book at a small town library on the "free to a good home" shelves. I was hoping for a more fun read since I was on vacation.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed about the first third of the book alot and had high expectations for the remainder. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Lyman and Easy. While the rest of the book was ok, it did not go in an overall direction I anticipated. I was disappointed there was not more about the quarry itself, although aspects of it were sprinkled throughout. It seemed more of a backdrop instead of an integral part of the story. I think it is well-written and the correspondence was effective. Just not my "cup of tea."

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge Mildred Walker fan and I think this is one of her finest books. I was away on a weekend in Vermont and took this book, knowing that it took place in Vermont. I savored every word and read it very slowly. This is the first book I have read of her with a male protagonist, Lyman Converse,,,,Memorable in every way...

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a slow book, but lovely and rewarding. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My only regret is that the ending was too sudden. I loved the friendship between Lyman and Easy. And watching Lyman grow from callow youth to staid middle-aged guy who can’t quite figure out how he got there.

[Momster2001 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read about Vermont during the Civil War up until WWI. The details of small town life are woven beautifully amongst the themes of romance, duty, change, gender roles, and a myriad of other topics. I read this for a library discussion book in Grafton, Vermont, historical home of a soapstone quarry. Ms. Walker knew Grafton well and uses the Quarry as a centerpiece of her novel and a metaphor for the lives of characters in her book. While reading this book I kept envisioning it as a movie....character driven and filled with interesting New England personalities. Definitely worth reading if you live in or visit frequently the Green Mt. State.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book expecting something similar to Mildred Walker's "Winter Wheat" which I loved. This spanned a far greater time period and didn't have as strong of a voice, but it was an interesting book to read. It especially interested me to read about the Civil War and North vs. South issues as written in the 1940's -- years after the civil war itself, but pre-civil rights movement.

[Giovanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Mildred Walker is set in Vermont around the Civil War, and while I liked it, I would not recommend it as a first or only Walker novel...others of hers that I've read are set in Montana and Michigan in the mid 20th c--this one struck me as a very different type of book.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting tale of an unfulfilled man's life from antebellum to pre WWI Vermont. I was sometimes impatient with the main character's dishonesty but it was a meaningful story.

[Mary Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read about the Civil war era.