This book seems to be modeled after The Oddessy in that it shows a man trying to return to his love after war. As an extra bonus the waiting woman - the Penelope - is given her own story.

Frazier does an excellent job of juggling two separate story lines and two separate casts of characters without dropping anything. It makes the coming together of all the characters at the end of the book all the more satisfying.




I am always harping on the fact that everyone in the South seems totally preoccupied with the Civil War, so I'm glad this book protrays the conflict in a unique light.




The Appalacian setting. The mountains and valleys are described so richly.

Frazier kinda makes you read through the lines at the end, which I orginally thought was fine until I had to explain what was going on to my grandmother who didn't quite catch on. I don't want to give away the ending, but if you read it you'll understand.

It has everything you need in a novel - love, desire, conflict, suspense, and hardship. All the basic themes of human existence are represented in the text, and Frazier does them justice by casting them in a new and different light.

This is in a set of books I commonly refer to as The Modern Classics. It has the artistic integrity one should look for in any fiction novel.

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Created Feb 18, 2002 at 11:19pm • Submit your own review...