Bloodroot
by Amy Greene
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Book Reviews of Bloodroot
Book Review: To Poison and To Heal
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The bloodroot is a perennial flowering plant with the medicinal properties to heal and the toxicity to kill. It is an apt title for this haunting debut novel, set in the Appalachian mountains and narrated by six seamlessly woven voices, in paired sequences.
Each of the characters is interwoven with Myra Lamb -- a beautiful and wild young girl with "haint blue eyes" who grows up on Bloodroot Mountain. Her voice -- and that of her grandmother, Byrdie Lamb, who passes down "the touch" with its magical healing -- soar in their lyricism and evocation. Byrdie's story is paired with Doug's, an emotionally wounded classmate and neighbor who longed for Myra but could not possess her. The story shifts to that of her twin children, Johnny and Laura, who she was forced to abandon. And the last substantive story belongs to Myra herself.
But it is also the story of a bewitching place. Amy Greene writes of the mountain: "You might leave but one day your blood will whisper to you. You will hear witches making magic in a holler, healing wind blowing down a swollen throat, the song of the woman who came here in a mule-drawn cart and made it home. One of these days, wherever you are, you'll turn around and look toward the mountain, old and wild and bigger than you..." The vernal and sensual beauty of Appalachia is never far removed and always calls the characters home, except for one -- John Odom, the abusive and damaged man that Myra eventually marries, leading to shocking disaster.
Ultimately, this is a book about contrasts; of magic and madness, of passion and loss, of pain and forgiveness. It carries the distinct voice of Appalachia -- both its colorful geography and its distinctive language. It is not a perfect book; I vacillated between four and five stars. The book should have ended with Myra; inexplicably, this talented author decided to tie up all the loose ends with a short epilogue from John Odom, which destroyed some of the mystery and seemed inauthentic to his character. The voice of Myra's children is not quite as strong as the other two sections. Yet ultimately, I decided on five stars because I was charmed by the book, could not stop turning pages, and believe that for a debut, this is a powerful book. I will look for more from Amy Greene.
Book Review: Appalachian Gothic
Summary: 3 Stars
Somewhat of a spoiler alert ---
I really give this book a 3 1/2 stars. The writing is very good - with the exception of when a heroine describes feelings of romantic love. She then gets too close to a Stephanie Meyeresque style of writing. Surprisingly, the descriptive prose of a man in love (Johnny) is sparse and moving - more is really less when dealing with a character's emotions. It too often reverts to a parody of the character's feelings.
The descriptive prose is outstanding. I have never visited this area of the country but can vividly picture the surroundings of the novel. I'd recommend that one read it just to feel the coldness of a creek and forest floor on the bare feet.
The characters' response to situations generally are well done with the exception of Laura's predicament with her child. The social services counselor came to see her in what, 1995? The way this is portrayed (along with the character of the mother) feels more like 1955.
I also was disappointed with the Epilogue. It was a brilliant idea to use the voice of John (Sr.) to finalize the book. But - the author goes out of her way to make this man a monster with little or no redeeming qualities up until after the climax. Then he miraculously changes because he leaves the scene with his tail between his legs because a woman has physically hurt him? Is the author trying to say that if a woman shows backbone and exerts her revenge in response to abuse, then, "OK everything's cool, I now know that I was a jerk and am soo very sorry for the way I acted....."? Or - "Ok so I'm now away from my toxic family and can see from a distance how wrong I was...?" I did not buy his redemption based upon the character details given prior to the climax. Evil, done well, is fun to read. Revenge is sweet. The fun then can become genuinely moving when a villian changes with plausibility. Doesn't happen often. Didn't happen here.
Read the book as a travelogue and the wonderful twist about three quarters of the way through. Absolutely came out of nowhere and it is not often that an author can do this to me. Usually these surprises (Ford's relationship to other characters) are anything but and seen from a mile away
Ms. Greene has potential. She might want to tighten up her emotive diaglogue and stick to actions as a descriptive tool rather than explanation of "feelings." Less is more.
Book Review: Roots are Important
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Bloodroot Mountain is named after a fairly nondescript flower. But when dug up, and its root sliced open, a bright red liquid pours forth. Amy Greene's novel, set on and around Bloodroot Mountain in present day Tennessee, is a modern take on a traditional Greek tragedy. The story centers on Myra, raised on the mountain, who leaves to make a new home with the love of her life. As she leaves the mountain, decisions which seem reasonable at the time lead step by step to disaster. Bloodroot is not only the name of the mountain, it is also a metaphor for the story itself. When Myra is removed from her roots, she ends up bruised and bloody--both literally, and metaphorically.
Greene tells Myra's story by tracing four generations of her family--Myra's grandmother, a childhood neighbor who had an unquenchable crush on Myra, and Myra's twin children. As an epilogue, we hear a vastly abbreviated account of events from Myra's abusive, by then ex-, husband.
As Myra grows, she is drawn to the world beyond the mountain. When a way out appears--in the person of an amazingly attractive man a few years her elder--she ensnares him, and goes off to begin her new life. Only she finds not all is as she had imagined. The hard realities of being dirt-poor in small town rural Tennessee, married to an abused, and abusive, man who is bitterly disappointed that his dream of what life should be like do not come true after he marries the girl of his dreams, spiral her life into chaos...affecting everyone across all generations.
Greene does a fantastic job of weaving this into a riveting story. Her writing is superb..her image (to mention only one) of Myra's son "emptying his pen onto paper" captures perfectly the fervent outlet writing provides. The book is full of such wonderful use of language.
My only criticism is that there is an overlay of suggested supernatural running throughout. But it is only hinted at, never clarifying whether this is real, or just the perception of the narrators. As a metaphor for fate, it is heavy handed and unnecessary. As a driving force of its own, it is insufficiently developed. In the end, I felt it was mostly just a distraction.
Book Review: hauntingly good
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I picked this from the Vine program to read and review, but once the book came in I realized the reviewers were from writers that I've read before, but are not the normal books I read. So I put it aside and did not pick it up to over a month later. I prefer fantasy and happy endings. Although, I've read realistic, crime, etc. before, my book readings are my escape.
The book does contain mystism, but it mostly focuses on the relationship of a family over four generations. This family is "cursed." They loose their children, husbands, etc. They battle poverty and rumors. It was very depressing.
What was good about this book was the vividness of the characters drawn. The book is separated into four parts. Each written in first person. The first part is the grandmother and Doug telling their life stories and how it revolves around Myra. The grandaughter and love of Doug's life. Myra is a person that is magical in their eyes and free. They can't seem to grasp her no matter how long or how hard they tried. The second part of the book skips eight years and tells the story of Johnny and Laura...Myra's twin children. The telling of their lives is just too depressing to even get into. Yet, they too bring something into the story, and that is a mystery...What happened to their father? The third part is Myra. She coveres the lost eight years. Again, very depressing. Some answers are answered and lives are intertwined unexpectedly. Yet, again, their are answers unanswered. Lastly, is a short chapter told by John, Myra's husband. Even though his story helps to bring the story to a close, there are still strings left hanging. The reader never knows the complete story of what happened to these people, but has an idea that things will work themselves out in the end.
Like I said, the characters were very vivid. You can hear their "voice" speaking to you and the reader can almost feel their pain. It was very well written, but I believe it would attract a certain type of reader that enjoys this type of storytelling. This would not be MY first choice of reading. Although, I did enjoy it.
Book Review: It was too tragic to be pleasurable, but undeniably well-done
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Plot Summary: Passing back and forth among multiple points of view, this story is about rural families living in the mountains of Tennessee. The crux of it all revolves around Myra Lamb, a special girl who draws people in, which is both her blessing and curse. Tragedy strikes every generation of the Lamb family, who are either slightly magical or maniacal, depending on your point of view.
A few weeks back I made a vow to break my addiction for books that have `happily ever after' endings, and try to read some sad, but worthwhile stories. I would just like to state that with Bloodroot I've met my `sad' quota for a month or two at least. I was persuaded to try this book by a rave review in Entertainment Weekly magazine. I figured if the purveyors of popular culture liked it, then there's a good chance that I would too.
Some books like to save up the sadness, and spring it like a trap at the end. Bloodroot was different in that it was fairly sad at the beginning, middle, and end. Actually I take that back - the one ray of hope and sunshine came at the very end. As sad as it was, I didn't cry. Not once. I suppose I was too angry with the characters to express any maudlin sentiments. As I read story after story about these poor, ignorant people, I kept wondering where is that American grit we're so famous for? I kept waiting for someone to pull herself up out of the muck, but it's like they were all destined to fail.
The setting was vivid and lush, with beautiful descriptions. The speech rhythms got under my skin, and I found myself wanting to slip into the same patterns after spending all afternoon within the story. There is much to admire here, but it was too unrelenting when it came to the sour mood. This book deals with domestic violence, mental illness, and the failures of the foster care system, and there wasn't enough `magic' to balance the scales. I wasn't given a chance to hope for a better outcome for most of the characters. It was made all too clear that their story arc pointed down, down, down.