1 of 2 copies available
The novel is told in a kaleidoscope of seamlessly woven voices and centers around an incendiary romance that consumes everyone in its path: Myra Lamb, a wild young girl with mysterious, haint blue eyes who grows up on remote Bloodroot Mountain; her grandmother Byrdie Lamb, who protects Myra fiercely and passes down “the touch” that bewitches people and animals alike; the neighbor boy who longs for Myra yet is destined never to have her; the twin children Myra is forced to abandon but who never forget their mother’s deep love; and John Odom, the man who tries to tame Myra and meets with shocking, violent disaster. Against the backdrop of a beautiful but often unforgiving country, these lives come together—only to be torn apart—as a dark, riveting mystery unfolds.
With grace and unflinching verisimilitude, Amy Greene brings her native Appalachia—and the faith and fury of its people—to rich and vivid life. Here is a spellbinding tour de force that announces a dazzlingly fresh, natural-born storyteller in our midst.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 12, 2010 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780307713261
- File size: 391214 KB
- Duration: 13:35:01
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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A full cast of narrators stays true to the strong voices of this novel and works well to differentiate the characters and their multiple points of view. Their accents blend convincingly to convey the remote Tennessee setting as each performer accomplishes a credible portrayal. Heroine Myra Lamb, a charismatic blue-eyed beauty, is rendered by Emily Janice Card. As a joyful child, Myra thrives under the care of her grandmother, whom narrator Lorna Raver depicts as tender and caring. Through the eyes of her children, we watch the changes that take place in Myra as her abusive marriage to John Odom unfolds. Portraying Myra's twins, Jesse Bernstein and Rebecca Lowman convey confusion and a yearning for stability. Richard McGonagle plays an older John, who, having resolved his life, fittingly concludes the story. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine -
October 19, 2009
Despite a few vivid moments, this uneven debut, a four-generation Appalachian family epic, loses sight of the intriguing mythology it lays out early on. Though Byrdie Lamb inherited the mystical powers of the “granny women” of her grandmother's mountain village, she's failed to protect her family: daughter Clio runs away from Bloodroot Mountain at 17 to get married and is later killed, along with her husband, in a car accident, leaving their daughter, Myra, in Byrdie's care. And though Byrdie tries to raise Myra right, Myra falls under the spell of an abusive alcoholic. Her children, twins Laura and Johnny, grow up largely in fear, and eventually social workers remove them from their home. As adults, they return for different reasons: she for comfort, he for revenge. Narrated by several members of the Lamb-Odom clan, the narrative initially swirls around the mystery of Byrdie's powers, but as the story plays out, her gift (or, perhaps, curse) is unfortunately backgrounded by the violence of those who marry into the family and sow ruin. Greene has a sharp eye for combustible moments and a fine ear for dialect, but the follow-through doesn't do justice to the setup. -
March 29, 2010
In this saga of an Appalachian family haunted by trauma, great gifts, and greater tragedies, the story unfolds in first-person segments by rotating members of the clan, each revealing a different perspective to the same tragic events that span four generations, the principal being a beautiful, free-spirited woman whose choices drastically shape the lives of those who love her. The superb performances by the multiple cast reading the story are a saving grace to a promising but meandering novel. Each reader creates for his or her character a well-suited, textured voice rich with accent and sincerity. From Lorna Raver's sweet, artless, and determined Byrdie to Richard McGonagle's gruff John, the narrators breathe life into the young and old characters of Bloodroot Mountain. A Knopf hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 19).
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