- Hardcover: 194 pages
- Publisher: UNP - Nebraska (Sep 1 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0803232314
- ISBN-13: 978-0803232310
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.1 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 445 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The last living member of his Martin family, the author attempts to reconcile the facts of his own life with the history of his ancestors in this lyrical, imaginative work. Most of Martin's relatives were farmers in the Midwest, "hard workers, but for the most part...uneducated." Because they left behind "no letters, no journals, nothing written in their own hands," Martin turns to court and county records, as well as to fiction, to re-create their past. The shifts between this fictionalized history and Martin's own fact-filled memoir may provoke some difficult transitions for his readers, but the beauty of his obviously heartfelt words makes up for this awkwardness. One of the most powerful sections in the book vividly juxtaposes a story about the day that great-great-great-grandfather Martin bought his only slave with the author's memories of the whippings he received from his own father. Martin's fictionalized writing doesn't match the skill he displays in his autobiography; he creates more nuanced portraits of the people he actually knew, while his fictional family portraits tend toward hagiography. His characters speak in vague language, especially the women in the romantic scenes; they also usually end up making noble choices, even when those choices are out of step with their times. As Martin himself shows in a chapter that describes how he lied to the police, his father and a judge to avoid a hearing for a car accident, even good people sometimes make bad choices, something few of his fictional ancestors ever do. Nonetheless, despite these minor faults, this ambitious work weaves together many strong, intriguing people, brought together by a skillful writer for a family reunion across time.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“[A lyrical, imaginative work. . . . [This ambitious work weaves together many strong, intriguing people, brought together by a skillful writer for a family reunion across time.”—Publishers Weekly
(Publishers Weekly )"A moving family history and cultural excavation."—The Virginia Quarterly Review
(The Virginia Quarterly Review )"Through white space, Martin guides readers through his tale of his family''s past, as well as his own, in a captivating tale of love, heartbreak, and redemption."—Ashlee Clark, Ohioana Quarterly
(Ashlee Clark Ohioana Quarterly )
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An American Life,
By "leroy2001" (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Turning Bones (Hardcover)
In "From Our House," Lee Martin explored his youth, growing up with a father who must cope with a split-second decision that cost him both of his arms. In "Turning Bones," with the help of his ancestors, Martin explores his middle age, looking back on his marriage, the question of children, the death of a friend. Reconstructing the lives of his forebears from what facts he can discern and the skin and bones that he inherited, Martin not so much stalks his ancestors as he is stalked and guided by them; they tease him with their shadows so that he finally has "the peace of his confession." The beautiful concluding chapter confirms, in more ways than one, that his inquiry was worth the trip.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An American Life,
By "leroy2001" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Turning Bones (Hardcover)
In "From Our House," Lee Martin explored his youth, growing up with a father who must cope with a split-second decision that cost him both of his arms. In "Turning Bones," with the help of his ancestors, Martin explores his middle age, looking back on his marriage, the question of children, the death of a friend. Reconstructing the lives of his forebears from what facts he can discern and the skin and bones that he inherited, Martin not so much stalks his ancestors as he is stalked and guided by them; they tease him with their shadows so that he finally has "the peace of his confession." The beautiful concluding chapter confirms, in more ways than one, that his inquiry was worth the trip.
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