I was quickly drawn in to this book. I kept waiting for it to get better, but guess what, it don't. I hate it when I read a book and then I am mad I wasted my time on it. That is how I felt. I am with the other readers regarding Oprah's book choices, depressing. ( )

This novel tells the story of the down-and-out Fermoyle faily. Living in Vermont in the 1960s, Marie Fermoyle and her three children live in poverty and desperation, for more money, more security, and more affection. Marie Fermoyle, a hardened cynic, is so desperate for all of the above that she falls victim to the wiles of a con man. The Fermoyle children are blatantly aware that their mother is being fleeced, but the emotional distance of all the family members makes it difficult for any of them to communicate or to trust one another. As Marie falls deeper under her now-boyfriend's spell it is the Fermoyle children who feel this lack of communication most acutely. The most difficult character in this book is Marie Fermoyle: cold, cynical, and emotionally abusive towards her children, Marie is clearly a woman who has been deeply wounded and is now striking back, albeit at the wrong people. In this book Morris has crafted a deeply complex narrative with fantastic chracter development. Truly, she has created a whole world in this Vermont town. The characters' lives are richly interwoven with one another, and actions by one reverberate to affect the whole. This is a deeply moving and engaging novel. ( )

I read this book a long time ago, but I enjoyed the experience so much I have never forgotten it. It is a long, slow-moving book, but thoroughly absorbing and thick with atmosphere as the tension builds. I remember that on the one hand you have a mother with children and on the other a sinister character closing in on them. Be patient, read it when you are relaxed and have plenty of time... ( )

This book is full of extremely well-developed and believable characters and we get to follow each and every one of them through a summer of turmoil. The plot flows along at the lazy pace of languid summer days and the book is quite long, but the character studies are worth the effort. ( )

1996 ( )