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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
This is a fine book, written with craft and style and yet....
If forced to pick just one, I think the adjective I would use to describe this novel is sedate, which is somewhat odd because it involves some of the most tumultuous times in one of the most contentious areas in American history, the years just before the Civil War at the intersection between North and South. Smiley does a fine job invoking the time, and I admire her apparent scholarship, but the story itself is surprisingly mild.
Don't get me wrong, I am not asking for more violence or blood. But the emotional upheaval and general chaos of the time and place are simply not communicated with any clarity to the reader. It's as if we are standing at one remove from all the struggles of our protagonist, even as she is going through them. It is hard to put a finger on why this is so, but I know it has something to do with the languid language Smiley chooses to tell this story.
The basic plot is this: Lydia Harkness is a young woman in a small Illinois town who yearns for something more from her life. When Thomas Newton shows up and declares he is headed to the Kansas Territory, she is all ears. Newton's intent in going there is two-fold: he wishes to homestead, but he is also an abolitionist, who, along with several hundred others, is hoping to populate this new territory with the like-minded so that it will never be a slave state. The neighboring state of Missouri has a quite different idea. The conflict between the two is uncivil and often violent. Lidie must eventually leave the territory, and her travels and travails take up the second half of the book.
One challenge of writing historical fiction, I would guess, is the very fact that you are constrained by the facts that dictate what is plausible. But I do wonder if Smiley is capable of juggling the competing aspirations of historical fealty and novelistic readability. It is passing strange that a book with all of these elements should be, in fact, rather dull.
But this truly is an enjoyable book in many ways. The characters are distinctive and strongly written. The history is a fascinating slice of an era of which most of us are unaware. We truly care what happens to Lidie Newton. Unfortunately, in the end, we just don't care all that much.
If forced to pick just one, I think the adjective I would use to describe this novel is sedate, which is somewhat odd because it involves some of the most tumultuous times in one of the most contentious areas in American history, the years just before the Civil War at the intersection between North and South. Smiley does a fine job invoking the time, and I admire her apparent scholarship, but the story itself is surprisingly mild.
Don't get me wrong, I am not asking for more violence or blood. But the emotional upheaval and general chaos of the time and place are simply not communicated with any clarity to the reader. It's as if we are standing at one remove from all the struggles of our protagonist, even as she is going through them. It is hard to put a finger on why this is so, but I know it has something to do with the languid language Smiley chooses to tell this story.
The basic plot is this: Lydia Harkness is a young woman in a small Illinois town who yearns for something more from her life. When Thomas Newton shows up and declares he is headed to the Kansas Territory, she is all ears. Newton's intent in going there is two-fold: he wishes to homestead, but he is also an abolitionist, who, along with several hundred others, is hoping to populate this new territory with the like-minded so that it will never be a slave state. The neighboring state of Missouri has a quite different idea. The conflict between the two is uncivil and often violent. Lidie must eventually leave the territory, and her travels and travails take up the second half of the book.
One challenge of writing historical fiction, I would guess, is the very fact that you are constrained by the facts that dictate what is plausible. But I do wonder if Smiley is capable of juggling the competing aspirations of historical fealty and novelistic readability. It is passing strange that a book with all of these elements should be, in fact, rather dull.
But this truly is an enjoyable book in many ways. The characters are distinctive and strongly written. The history is a fascinating slice of an era of which most of us are unaware. We truly care what happens to Lidie Newton. Unfortunately, in the end, we just don't care all that much.
Interesting read although I found parts of the middle a bit sluggish. The viewpoint character is well written. Her flaws and uncertainties ring true to life, as do her strengths. I think Smiley does a credible job of portraying people on both sides of the divide and their flaws in wrestling with a topic that even Lincoln himself wrestled with. Perhaps the best part was that Smiley didn't turn this into a fairy tale in the end.
Interesting for the history, but I can't remember the last book that has left me this unsatisfied at the end.
This one took awhile, with a big break in the middle. Once I got back into it, I really enjoyed it. Lidie certainly made an adventure for herself, and I can't imagine her ever settling down.
I finished this book wondering what the point was, which I guess was the point, the basic pointlessness of most of the Kansas-Missouri violence even in a Civil War context...nonetheless it's not exactly an ideal feeling to leave a book having. Lydia was an extraordinarily uncomfortable heroine, and despite her exploits seemed to have no real personality - she was just a canvas for events to be imprinted on. Everyone around her had actual convictions about things which made her lack of them pretty unrealistic.
After having read many a picaresque novel whose central character is a man, it was refreshing and just plain fun to read a pic-novel whose main character was a smart woman. Smiley's book offers a fresh perspective on both the Civil War and America's westward expansion. It was wonderful to read a book that worked one's mind without sacrificing genuine human emotion.
gritty, independent woman marries an abolitionist and ends up in pre-Civil War Kansas during the conflict with Missouri
I really wanted to like this but abandoned it at p175. Too dense, print too small and too much focus on the setting rather than the characters!
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
I read this many years ago and remembered really enjoying it. It did not disappoint on this reread. Jane Smiley’s writing in the character of Lidie Newton is very different from her many other novels. And Lidie is an amazing narrator of her own story.
Jane Smiley won a Pulitzer Prize for her work, [b:A Thousand Acres|41193|A Thousand Acres|Jane Smiley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388197504l/41193._SY75_.jpg|2234336], and this is an equally compelling novel but was a commercial flop. But if you are a fan of US-based historical fiction, this novel should be on your shortlist. Why?
- All-True Travels is set during the turbulent pre-Civil War period referred to as "Bloody Kansas." I can't recall reading any historical fiction focussing on this historical time and place, but it was very important to the build-up to the War.
- The novel is written from the perspective of Lidie Newton and based on many primary source materials. IOW, the history is phenomenal (similar to the rigor of Gwendolyn Brooks or Paulite Jiles) and the female perspective relatively rare.
- So much Civil War literature focuses on the deep south, battles, and large plantations. This book gets into the deep complexity of the issue in the hotly contested Kansas Territory. It delves into cultural differences across regions and groups in the US and makes the reader reflect on the events with new insight.
- In today's hostile political climate, it is interesting to read a book portraying a time and place where people were even more divided, but not yet at full-blown war.
The pace of this book is slow, but I found it engaging from beginning to end. The pacing of the book brought to mind [b:A Gentleman in Moscow|34066798|A Gentleman in Moscow|Amor Towles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551480896l/34066798._SY75_.jpg|45743836], (but the content is completely different). Slow is the correct pace for this novel, as everything occurring then took longer. Wagons and walking were slow, letters took days to months, clothes were hand sewn. The pace pulls the reader into the time, and especially into a woman's existence.
I fear I am not doing this book justice. I encourage you to read it. In short, if you love historical fiction that gives you a strong sense of time and place, immerses you in the daily hardships of the period you will like this book. If you are interested in understanding more about the role Kansas and Missouri played in the climax of the abolitionist cause, then you will appreciate this book. If you are interested in realistic portrayals of women in history, you will like it. I appreciate all of the above, and loved this book.
- All-True Travels is set during the turbulent pre-Civil War period referred to as "Bloody Kansas." I can't recall reading any historical fiction focussing on this historical time and place, but it was very important to the build-up to the War.
- The novel is written from the perspective of Lidie Newton and based on many primary source materials. IOW, the history is phenomenal (similar to the rigor of Gwendolyn Brooks or Paulite Jiles) and the female perspective relatively rare.
- So much Civil War literature focuses on the deep south, battles, and large plantations. This book gets into the deep complexity of the issue in the hotly contested Kansas Territory. It delves into cultural differences across regions and groups in the US and makes the reader reflect on the events with new insight.
- In today's hostile political climate, it is interesting to read a book portraying a time and place where people were even more divided, but not yet at full-blown war.
The pace of this book is slow, but I found it engaging from beginning to end. The pacing of the book brought to mind [b:A Gentleman in Moscow|34066798|A Gentleman in Moscow|Amor Towles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551480896l/34066798._SY75_.jpg|45743836], (but the content is completely different). Slow is the correct pace for this novel, as everything occurring then took longer. Wagons and walking were slow, letters took days to months, clothes were hand sewn. The pace pulls the reader into the time, and especially into a woman's existence.
I fear I am not doing this book justice. I encourage you to read it. In short, if you love historical fiction that gives you a strong sense of time and place, immerses you in the daily hardships of the period you will like this book. If you are interested in understanding more about the role Kansas and Missouri played in the climax of the abolitionist cause, then you will appreciate this book. If you are interested in realistic portrayals of women in history, you will like it. I appreciate all of the above, and loved this book.