Patricia

This book was well done...only 4 stars because it ended so abruptly. I think a lot of people are missing the point here...the doctors "treating" the patients can be as obsessed and dangerous in their thinking as their patients, given the right circumstances...that's what was so engaging. Peter's faulty treatment of Stella, clouded by his desire for her rather than her successful recovery, made him as dangerous as the other inmates which ultimately resulted in her death. Very interesting premise and subtle which can make it seem at first like a simple case of adultery.

I listen to most of my books but the narrator/audio controller in this one truly frustrated me...this needs to be re-recorded so a listener can actually HEAR all that is said...the narrator speaks and sometimes appears to mumble or speak so low and soft that I could not get what he said. I suppose his bleak performance reflected the bleak atmosphere and story but really, one needs to hear all that is said! I would have to turn the volume up so loud that I would get humming, then Lucy would speak and it would hurt my ears. So frustrating....such an excellent story. I finally borrowed a copy of the book from a friend so I could finish it.

Fasincating description of the "migration" of blacks from the South after the Civil War until the 1970's (!) to escape Jim Crow laws that continued way past the time they were outlawed.
The story is told by the daughter of one of the "immigrants" and follows at least 3 families, their reasons for leaving the South, and how their lives unfolded in NYC, Chicago and Los Angeles. as well as what happened to family members who didn't make the move. This situation is seldom heard about or described and is very well done and immensely readable....highly recommend it.

Could not identify in any way with Heloise...totally unsympathtic character, whined about the choices she made. She ran a highly successful escort service and then whined through the book about not getting any respect! Just annoying. I have read and enjoyed other Laura Lippman's books but not this one.

This book should be listed as a classic, along the lines of The Grapes of Wrath, etc. Really riveting and well done. Highly recommend it.

Had never slogged through this book before...looked pretty grim. But I was totally caught up in the audio version...it's a transforming book....most of us never experience anything like this, but at least this gives us an idea of what it must have been like for these migrant workers (and still is to some extent). Don't miss this experience!

So glad I discovered this "sleeper" of an epic story...had never read it but found the character and area descriptions very thorough...especially liked the ending...quite different for a novel from the 60's. This author is a masterful story teller and should be much better known in his field than he is...it is indeed a classic. Started to watch the movie based on this but it was bland compared to the book and I didn't finish it...the book says it all.

O'Reilly starts out this book saying it is written as a "thriller." It may have been written as one, but didn't come across that way because of the narration....O'Reilly read it like it was a news report and after 7 hours of him droning on with littlle inflection, I had a hard time staying awake. As a short overview of the last days of The Civil War and Lincoln's assasination, it was mildly entertaining, but again, the narration didn't make it palatable to me. I definitely won't listen to his latest one on Kennedy.

I had not read anything in this series but will in the future....charming story, very entertaining.

Very disappointed in this book...it was offered on sale and I can guess why. Shocked that someone of McCullough's reputation would put her name on this...perhaps a student of hers wrote it? To piggyback on one of Austen's great novels and to do it in such a shlock way should be embarrassing to the author and publisher.

The plot line behind this book is unusual and interesting by was over-simplified, like it was written for a younger audience. Some key scenes were glossed over while backtracking the story. Still, it held my attention and I routed for the main character Minke throughout, anxious to learn of a resolution. Loved the narrator, her voice fit well with my image of what Minke would sound like.