Pages

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Glen Aaron Reviews Historical Fiction

 
Title: The Middle of Nowhere
Author: Paula Duncan McDonald
Web link: www.pauladuncanmcdonald
ISBN: 978-1-62141-695-1
Publisher: BookLocker.com
Category: Historical Fiction
Review link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16209701-the-middle-of-nowhere

Rating: Four-point-three Stars


Reviewed by Glen Aaron, originally for MIDLAND REPORTER-TELEGRAM and Goodreads 

When an author brings you to the feeling of a character in her book without telling you how the character feels; when an author makes you either love or hate the protagonist without telling you to do so; when nature descriptions live by their own vitality, you know you are reading a novel written by a gifted author.

THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE by Paula Duncan McDonald begins west of the Pecos when Apaches had been cleared of the area and free land was being offered for settlement. It was “the middle of nowhere.: But the story quickly evolves from the settler family to the tale of their daughter, Skitchy, the second generation. It becomes her story of life and love, identity and survival, during the desperate years of the Great Depression in West Texas when severe drought and relentless dust storms wracked the land.

The history of the Pecos area as well as the landscape are woven into lives filled with authentic details. . . . Skitchy’s deeply personal and wrenching story took place then, but with little effort of focus by the reader, we quickly see it is our time as well.

The book quickly draws West Texans in with shared knowledge as it begins: “There are place on earth where life has to work harder to survive, and only the hardy, the most adaptable and resilient, thrive. The northern edge of the Chihuhuan Desert west of the Pecos River was such a place.”

It is no wonder that Paula Duncan McDonald can make us feel so intensely as she creates and relates this epic story. She draws her knowledge from [her own family] as well as solid historical research, as she takes off into “the middle of nowhere.”
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Authors and reviewers would love to hear from you. Please feel free to include the URL (permalink) of your post in your own blog or website.