rating: 5/5genre: fiction
This is the first novel I've read whose protagonist is, actually, a giant, and not in the fairy tale way. Truly Plaice (LOVE the name) is born huge and grows even more huge. Her early years are taut and miserable, living with an alcoholic father in a tiny town where being anything extreme is discouraged. Her older sister, a model of beauty and decorum, only serves to set Truly off as even more vast and unacceptable. As the years go by and things only seem to get harder, Truly has to search hard and cling tight to the people and things in life that can serve her a tiny bit of happiness.
And while Truly is not a fairy tale giant, the book does seem to have a sheen of rural mythology about it. A handed down quilt, a ramshackle family farm, a letter - these seemingly innocuous heirlooms change the course of Truly's life in ways as tremendous as Truly herself. Life and death are constantly demanding to be accounted for and acknowledged while Truly finds a way to pick through the rough parts and find the gems in surviving and moving on. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County earns five stars from me for not only its plot, which winds through Truly's life, but especially for its language - the prose of this book is poetic and tight. I found I couldn't read without a pencil to underline passages that struck me as either beautiful or profound.
Truly's way of looking at the world is emotionally charged and yet so aware of the bigger picture. Her story gives us the freedom to look at life and death and the choices we make, hoping all the while that, in the end, we'll be happy in our own skin.
8 comments:
wow, great read then!? yay! I am on the list for this....but I didn't get my copy yet!!!! oh no!
This sounds really good. I'll have to add it to my TBR list. (I like that name too :))
I've requested this book. I wasn't too worried about it, but now that I've read your review, I'll be anxiously awaiting a package.
I have to admit, I thought this book sounded super strange. I'm really glad you liked it!
Hi! This review really makes me want to read!! I hope to be reading it soon!! I can't wait! Toni
Sounds really good! I was trying to get a copy of this one but don't think I'll get it. :( I guess I'll have to just pick one up.
Corrine, I am also waiting for my copy to come also in the mail. I enjoyed reading your post. This confirms it that I really want to read this strange off-beat book.
Also you left a comment about a month ago about a book give away. Who By Fire by Diana Spechler. If you are still interested the giveaway started yesterday and ends November 5th. If you are interested.
I've requested this book. I certainly hope I get it. It sounds great, and your review makes me want to read it right this instant!
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
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