Obtain Immediately Love And Lament Penned By John Milliken Thompson Presented In Visual Format

times this read like Jane Austen giving the reader the small daily details, thoughts, and happenstances of a woman's life.
But the similarities largely end there, Mary Bet's life was less socially restricted and this is North Carolina beginning when Mary Bet is six inand finishing inas soldiers do or do not return from the war in France.


Some parts of the story worked better than others, For example, I found the chapters taking place in France and telling of her suitor's life to be an intrusion.
But I enjoy this sort of book where the main character's thoughts often take precedence over the events of the world outside their window.
Since Mary Bet's young life is lived through the loss of nearly her entire immediate family, she tends to always fear the worse.
These thoughts feel like foreshadowing, but they are simply thoughts, This naturally leaves a few loose ends for the reader, And there are undoubtedly people who will ask why, Why would Thompson include this or that in the story if it led to nothing Well, I will argue because that is just the way life's thoughts and realities are.
I also felt it added an innovative twist, giving the book a smidgeon of literary importance, It also makes the book perfect for discussion, very possibly a polarized discussion,

Personally, this fits my comfort read category, One I snuggled under a blanket to read and found my mind escaping into, to follow. What a poignant book. It left me a little speechless actually, a little spellbound It's a story that will pull at your heart and mind in a multilayered way.
It won't leave my thoughts easily in a good way,
This was the second book by J, M. Thompson that I have read, I actually met him at a book signing when "Love and Lament" was being released, I must say that this second book was much more enjoyable to me as a reader, He has a fine way of using prose, During the book signing he read for his audience, While I was reading this book, I could hear his voice coming through clearly and smooth as silk, I liked it very much, A dauntless heroine coming of age at the turn of the twentieth century confronts the hazards of patriarchy and prejudice, and discovers the unexpected opportunities of World War I
 
Set in rural North Carolina between the Civil War and the Great War, Love and Lament chronicles the hardships and misfortunes of the Hartsoe family.

 
Mary Bet, the youngest of nine children, was born the same year that the first railroad arrived in their county.
As she matures, against the backdrop of Reconstruction and rapid industrialization, she must learn to deal with the deaths of her mother and siblings, a deaf and damaged older brother, and her fathers growing insanity and rejection of God.

 
In the rich tradition of Southern gothic literature, John Milliken Thompson transports the reader back in time through brilliant characterizations and historical details, to explore what it means to be a woman charting her own destiny in a rapidly evolving world dominated by men.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, though I don't feel capable of articulating what exactly made me love it so much.
It may have been that it didn't follow the usual story arc of "woman experiences sorrow, grows as a person, and becomes athiest/nonconformist.
It takes place during an interesting interval of history, and the ending is happy without being contrived or too happy.
I loved it. I'm a little over one hundred pages in and I'm giving up on it now, Too many other good books to reak! It's moving way too slow for me, I'm also not feeling the southern gothic vibe other than it's set in the south, I didn't think a book with so much death could be so very boring, The first three quarters or so just plod along following the main character, then suddenly there is a jarring point of view switch to her love interest overseas in the war.
Sixteen years and two hundred pages after the death of her brother, the main character finally decides to investigate his cause of death, which might have been even more jarring than the sudden POV

change.
I really wanted to like this novel, but it was poorly written and rather boring, Initially the cover and the advertisement in the bookstore as a Southern Gothic novel attracted me to this novel.
The story of a young girl growing up in North Carolina during the turn of the century and the Great War intrigued me.
Mary Bet Hartsoe is the youngest of Cicero Hartsoe'schildren, Thompson illustrates the world of post Reconstruction and religious devotion through the very young eyes of Mary Bet, Religion plays a strong theme throughout the book as Mary Bet views the world in black and white pleasing God and avoiding the Devil.
Tragedy strikes the Hartsoe family numerous times and as each death comes, Mary Bet attempts to strike/renew her bargain with God.
Her father deals with each tragedy by slowly losing his faith and ultimately his mind, Mary Bet comes into adulthood and the world is changing, The Great War begins and Mary Bet sees those she loves joining in the fight, She finds her life of loss, tragedy, and girlish notions eventually fade away to acceptance, love, and promise,

Overall, I found it a likeable read, Thompson's style of prose and narration is definitely one to savor while reading, It is not a fast paced story, it is choppy, and at times leaves the reader with no closure.
I wouldn't call this a Southern Gothic read, in my humble opinion, The story played more of role than the period it was set in I would have appreciated a bit more historical background and references.
I almost gave up on this book when by pageabout seven characters had already died, You must be able to tolerate depressing material to make it through this book I love a depressing storyline.
There really isn't much happiness in Mary Bet's life and she doubts herself throughout the book, But overall, it was a good story about a girl/young woman's struggles after the Civil War and into theth century and through WWI as she grows and matures in rural North Carolina.
A bit slow at times, so again, if you can tolerate that then you'll enjoy the book, Drawn to the cover and the North Carolina setting, but this book was a mishmash of themes and characters, almost as if the author wanted to get all his thoughts down in one book, without a clear intention.
My review is a bit personal but I loved it!

sitelink blogspot. com/ I was pleasantly surprised by this book, I checked it out from the library when I was just looking through the shelves actually this last trip, I went to the end of the alphabet and picked my books from there.
The time period and Mary Bet's situation sounded interesting,
I'm going to try and be vague so I don't ruin anything while also describing the book let's see how this goes, shall we.
Very early she experiences loss after loss, but it wasn't as sad as you'd think, The deaths happened so quickly I didn't get a chance to become attached, . . until a little bit later and then it was sad and it hurt,
After her family's pretty much gone, things start to settle and you get to watch Mary Bet become an interesting and independent womanyay!.
I was afraid something bad was going to happen later on, but finally Thompson seemed to leave Mary Bet alone.


I enjoyed the writing and the setting the details were so nicely done you were really in the story.
I actually postit noted a quote that seemed to sum up the majority of the book especially the beginning.
In my edition it's page: "We go on living because we have no choice, she told herself, because there is nothing else for us to do.
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I didn't really care for the additional narrative voice later in the book it didn't happen much, but it just felt too abrupt and ultimately unnecessary and the very end felt.
. . off. I don't know how else to describe it, I liked the ending up to the last couple of pages and then it kind of left a weird after taste.
Also there was a little mystery about one of the siblings that I never felt was explained, It could be that I just missed it, but I would have liked a little more,

I would recommend this, especially if you like historical fiction! One dead child after another and then their mother.
How could Cicero stand any more He only had three of his nine children left and was constantly worried they would be gone too.
His worry wasn't over with the three that were still living,

LOVE AND LAMENT was the saga of Mary Bet Hartsoe and was set in the late's when typhoid was rampant, when deaths were on a daily basis, and when inventions of machinery were beginning to surface to make factories and lives easier.
The late's was a time of change for everyone both personally and historically, The book dealt with many social issues and is very deep, thoughtful and intellectual,

LOVE AND LAMENT was beautifully written, The author had amazing prose and detailed, remarkable descriptions, At times the descriptions were so vivid, you could feel the grass under your feet, smell the aromas in the air, and share the pain of the characters.
Despite the marvelous writing, it was a bit tedious and difficult to get into at first, but once I became attached to the main character, Mary Bet, it held my interest.


Mary Bet was the youngest of the nine children, the one who stayed with her father, and the one who was quite headstrong for a woman of that era.
It was amusing to see the social protocol of that time especially the "rules" for courting and the woman's role in following these "rules.
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It was a book about family, suffering, and living life no matter what circumstances are thrown your way.
If you enjoy historical fiction, description at its finest, but details a bit too drawn out at times, you will enjoy LOVE AND LAMENT.
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This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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