was worried that I wouldn't connect with this book, I'd read several reviews from readers who didn't enjoy it or "couldn't get into it", I, however, found the writing to be gorgeous, the story compelling, the characters grew of me, This is a character driven story, so if readers are accustomed to plot pushing a story along, this might not be the book for them.
This, for my taste, was a beautiful story of redemption and I'm so glad I gave it a chance.
The Painted Table looked like an interesting book when the opportunity came up for me to review it.
it is the story about a family and an heirloom Norwegian table, A story of pain, mental illness, emotional abuse, and healing,
Safee inherits her mothers antique Norwegian table, She remembers when it first came to them in a beautiful natural wood, However, the state the table is in when she first gets it against her wishes is anything but of beauty.
It has layer upon layer of paint plastered upon it, and is an ebeneezer to the emotional crippling she received as a child.
Yet, with the persistence of her husband, she starts the process of restoring the table to its natural beauty and in the process finds peace and healing over her past.
This book is a hard read, Especially for anyone who has suffered through abuse as a child, or seen the ravages of mental illness close hand.
However, this book is well worth the difficulty in reading, Suzanne Field takes the reader on a journey that brought me to tears as memories of my upbringing came to the surface, I so identified with Saffee as she went off to college and learned to have a life of her own that wasnt controlled by her mother.
I also identified with her mothers upbringing which is how the book starts, It wasnt ideal either and while the first half of the book seems a bit choppy in moving through time, those parts are desperately needed to see how and
why everyone turned out the way they did.
By the end of the book, I was a blubbering mess as I realized how similar I was to Saffee in regards to my emotions and how I reacted to things.
And as she learned a better way of living, I found myself cheering her on to a life of normalcy and of breaking the patterns set by the generations before her.
I too am breaking patterns that were set for me in previous generations, and it is hard, and this book doesnt sugar coat it at all.
This review, is honestly, very hard for me to write, This book impacted me so profoundly that I am having a very difficult time seperating myself from the review.
Just suffice it to say, I think that everyone needs to read this book, especially counselors and pastors.
This is a good book to give to someone struggling with the abuse and mental illness that they grew up with or have in their family.
It shows a shining example of how with faith and a great support system, we can overcome the pain of the past in story form.
Stories teach sometimes better than a lecture can and are less threatening, This book is terrific for that, The table, a family heirloom, holds deep meaning for both Joann and her daughter Soffee, For Joann, the table was a place of refuge for a lonely little girl, who was shown so little love.
The table also represented fearful and horrifying memories for Joann, In her madness she paints the table, trying to exorcise her demons, Soffee's childhood in many ways is defined by her mother, and this often isolated her from others, Yet, her mother possessed some qualities that Soffee could embrace, Soffee's father, Nels, loves Soffee and her sister April, but is too often consumed in concern and care of his wife, and the gradual descent of her mental illness.
For Soffee, she finds redemption in removing the many layers of paint in restoring the table to it's original beauty.
Soffee finds role models in special teachers, her faith, and in friendship and her beloved husband, Jack, She slowly emerges from her cocoon to blossom into a beautiful butterfly, Interspersed with bible verses and the redemption found in faith, but in a wonderfully subtle way,.review soon. Suzanne Fields explores how dementia affects the family in her debut novel The Painted Table, Fields employs an omniscient present tense narrative style which at times is disconcerting, yet emphasizes the fragmentation and even the isolation of each character.
The story revolves around how Joann, a singular child raised in a large family, finds solace hiding from childhood fears under the family's heirloom table.
As Joann becomes an adult, the table reminds her of those fears and as the fears begin to take over her rational thinking, she begins painting the table as a way to suppress the ever growing fears.
As time goes by Joann loses her grip on reality as the table gains increasing haphazard coats of paint.
Nels, her longsuffering husband remains faithful to Joann, yet remains in denial about Joann's mental health, As the story switches to Safee, Joann's oldest daughter, there is another focus on insanity: is it truly inherited or is it brought on by learned patterns Safee struggles with the results of her marred childhood.
She eventually finds the missing love and need for redemption through her belief that God is always there for her.
Fields presents a fascinating generational story of how insanity can disrupt a family, Unfortunately, the disjointed narrative technique prevents establishing a true connection with the characters, Overall, it feels as if we are observing instead of connecting, which, in a way, serves the purpose of emphasizing how mental instability can fragment and isolate people.
The painted table gave me insight on some of my own demons and behaviours The Painted Table is the debut book by author Suzanne Field and WOW.
. what a debut book! When I received the information on this book, I felt drawn to read it and I am very glad I did.
Joann grew up in a large family and lost her mother at a very young age, Her mother died of mental illness in an asylum, something that haunts Joann from the time she can remember.
Joann spends her childhoon hiding under "The Norwegian Table" as her safe place including to keep her safe from a fire.
Joann meets and marries Nels, They have a daughter Saffee when Nels is drafted, During leave time Joann gets pregnant again and by the time he is back they have another daughter, April.
Saffee is quiet, reserved, and stays to herself, April is the opposite and their mother, Joann is drawn to that, Saffee has always known there was something different about her mother but anytime she asked her dad, he said she was fine so to Saffee this was normal.
Eventually "The Norwegian Table" finds its way back into Joann's life and she becomes obsessed, Painting and repainting trying to cover it up and make it new,
The Painted Table is a fantastic story about family and mental illness, The Painted Table is a book that shows the effects of mental illness on the whole family and how it affects everyone involved throughout their lives.
Our family has history of mental health issues and this book really spoke to me on many levels.
Suzanne Field's wrote a beautiful story about something that affects many families for generations, I was drawn into this book from the start, I could not put it down, The Painted Table is a book that takes the reader through an emotional rollercoaster, I found myself laughing in parts and sobbing in others, Suzanne Field's gives readers a real look into mental illness, a topic that has been taboo for a long time.
She writes with authority on mental illness, Norway, Norwegian culture, and the world from the Late's, I really felt like I was there watching the story unfold as I read, This is not an easy book to read but it is definitely worth the read! I can't say enough good about it! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Fiction or books on mental illness, you will not be disappointed.
I cannot wait to read more from Suzanne Field!
I give this bookSTARS, I was intrigued by this book mainly because my own family history, With that said, I would recommend this book to anyone who have an unpleasant family history, The theme of the book is centered around the worry of negative attributes being past down through the bloodline.
Do you follow in your parents' and grandparents' and greatgrandparents' footsteps It is a real concern, If your mother developed breast cancer, aren't you warn to prepare yourself for developing breast cancer too In this story, it is mental illness.
The story begins with Joann as a little girl cowering under a family heirloom table and ends with her daughter, Saffee, becoming a mother.
Joann watched her mother die an early death from unclear reasons to Joann's innocent eyes, As Joann grew up, her mother's death and a prairie fire tortures her consciousness, The story gradually switches over to young Saffee's perspective as Joann loses her mind after receiving the family heirloom table.
Joann obsessively paints that table over and over again,
The book has religious overtones, since it is published by a Christian publisher, but it doesn't spoil the story line.
In fact, Joann begins to have twisted, radical viewpoints about everything, including God and religious things, This confuses Saffee, making her want to reject anything religious, Her mother's nonsensical behavior gives her a detached feeling of loneliness, But one evening
"Saffee lives within a colorless present that has evolved from her lackluster past, She has never been creative enough to imagine a future that would be any different, But tonight she dares to think God has, " Chapter
Just to dare to think that your life might be different, Just to watch, listen, and learn, Is there something true about the phrase "evolutionary lineage", or a predestined genetic makeup to be like the ones before you Or is it possible to think "I am not my mother.
I am different. "
I found this to be quite enjoyable, . . the author took an unpleasant subject, . . mental illness and through this story demonstrated the challenges that can bloom as a result, yet also wove in the growth, redemption and forgiveness that can be experienced even while coping with it.
. . The Norwegian Table, a century old heirloom ingrained with family memory, has become a totem of a life Saffee would rather forget a childhood disturbed by her mother's mental illness.
This table has a long history in Saffee's family, it sheltered Saffee's mother when she was a little girl, even during a horrible time in her life.
As her mother grows up, this table is full of unsettling memories, After a childhood of watching her mother slide into insanity, painting and re painting the table, Saffee has come to loath it and comes to fear that the psychosis gene lies dormant within her.
As Saffee grows older she looks forward to leaving her home and her mother's embarrassing mental issues.
Saffee's sister also longs to get away but she is much younger and must stay
home with her parents.
April was once her mother's favorite, Saffee thought, now has to deal with her mother's issues alone while their father works.
As their moms mental illness progresses so does her attitude change toward April, She starts calling her names and etc, It scares them to see her going deeper into this mental illness, Things soon change for the worse and Saffee must confront her mothers torment if she wants to defend herself against it.
I thought this was a good book and also it brought back some of my childhood memories.
My mom had Bipolar,real bad nerves and on top of that she was an alcoholic, Like April I was the youngest child, there is nine years between my brother and I, When my older brother went off to college and his own life I was left to deal with my mothers illness and at the time we did not know about Bi polar.
When my mother went through her manic states, I was scared to death and alone because there was no father figure in the home to rely on.
I witnessed a lot of scary things, even my mom trying to commit suicide, I myself, like Saffee, could not wait to get away from it and not feel alone,
This is a real issue some people must face, thank God there is more help now to diagnose and treat these illnesses.
I could totally relate to this book,
I received this complementary copy from BookSneeze for my review and opinions,
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Get Your Hands On The Painted Table: Honoring Mother--By Not Becoming Her Engineered By Suzanne Field Accessible Via Brochure
Suzanne Field