Customer Reviews

A Short History of Women: A Novel

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I sat down to write this Vine selection for AmazonUSA, I went to the other reviews to get an idea about how other readers liked the book. Actually, I only read the one-star reviews, though the ratings seemed to be pretty evenly spread out between one star and five.

And what the one-star raters DIDN'T like about Walber's novel about five generations of women, living both in the UK and the US, is what I DID like about it - the bouncing of voices between time and place. Walber included a family tree of the characters and I did consult it a few times, but was not bothered by the jumping.

The novel begins with the suicide in 1914 of the "first" Dorothy, a British suffragette who starves herself to death for "The Cause", leaving behind a young son and daughter, whose lives are cast adrift. The repercussions of this act echo down through the generations to current day great-granddaughters. None of the women depicted in the novel seem to live full lives. All seem to detect a missing "something", usually in their abilities to relate to other family members. Walbert's writing is nuanced in trying to tie the losses of the past to the emptiness of the present.

I enjoyed the book - maybe I'm a restless reader - and am ordering some of her backlist.

Singer vs Vocalist.

Guitarist vs Guitar Player.

Chef vs Cook.

Novelist vs Writer.

For me, there's a difference in all these situations. While the degree of this difference is wholly subjective, and many may not agree with the way I'm slicing things, final of these two comparisons can mean either something utterly engaging and transportive or something merely satisfying.

'A Short History of Women' comes from a novelist who is in obvious control of her craft, has a particular vision in mind and weaves a fascinating tapestry with that craft and that vision. It's a slim affair, but there's something additionally delightful in its brevity, how Ms Walbert doesn't try to present all manner of insight, instead choosing to focus on the particulars of the family of women comprising the main characters of this tale that spans three different centuries.

Once again, as seems to be the case lately, I was stunned by the effects of a style of writing at the opposite end of the spectrum than is my default preference, but even in wanting more, I'd have wanted more from the author herself.

(Personal rating: 9/10)