Joan > Recent Status Updates

There was a lot i really loved about this book, with compassion at its heart it gives the reader an insight into a world where someone hears voices. While we might dismiss this as madness the question being asked by Benny a young man who hears voices, is what is real? The exploration of the answer to this question is multi-layered and the writing is eloquent.

This was a thought provoking book. Written about a woman's struggle in the american depression of the 1930s the migrants from the dust bowl moved to California and were called Okies and looked down on my the rest of society. This drew parallels with todays migrants and how they are often treated. there were some great points about this book that really drew you into the story and made you care about people.

The writing in parts of this book is gorgeous and the emotions described are bruising in their searing honesty. This is a kind of letter written by a son to his illiterate mother and a kind of meditation of memories throughout his life, some when his mother was present and others not. He describes the developing relationship between Little Dog and Trevor as simultaneously something beautiful and ugly.

It took me a little while to read this book, through outside events and perhaps because of that I failed to identify all the many characters in the town and their lives and how this related to the plot. Also maybe the subject of a grieving minister made me believe it wasn't for me as I'm not religious. However as I got towards to end of the book I thought it was about more than the narrowness of a persons religion