Over the Plain Houses

A government agricultural agent comes to a small Appalachian town in Georgia at the tail end of the Depression. His wife is also employed to teach the local women about modern housekeeping. Irenie, a lay pastor's wife with a teenage son, is drawn to the freedom Mrs. Furman represents, even as her husband clings desperately to the traditions of his rigid faith.

This was a debut novel with a lot of promise, that nonetheless read very much as a first novel. Julia Franks writes well and the setting was well described. She has a talent for describing nature. But there was a simplicity to the characters that left out room for contradictions and complexity. Franks is clearly loves the area she is writing about and those passages a delight to show more read. I was frustrated by the tidiness of the ending and the way she turned one character into a monster, but I'll still be looking at anything Franks writes in the future. show less

A slow moving book for me. Very well written, it's a story about a very strict preacher, Brodis and his wife, Irenie who feels suffocated in her life. She starts sneaking out at night to take walks in the woods to be alone. When Brodis discovers these night time wanderings, he starts to believe his wife is consorting with Satan in the woods. As he starts to lose his perspective (and sanity), his actions become more and more bizarre which don't end up well.

Irenie Lambey is a dedicated farm wife married to a preacher, Brodis Lambey. The story takes place in 1939. Brodis has some very rigid rules for his church members and his family and is often very hard and unyielding in his beliefs. Irenie feels suffocated in the life she lives with Brodis and starts sneaking out at night to take walks in the woods just to be alone. When Brodis discovers these night time wanderings, he believes his wife has become a witch and is consorting with Satan in the woods. The suspense builds as events lead to certain tragedy.

The author has done a wonderful job in describing this troubled marriage and the effect of the cracks that are appearing in their lives on not only the preacher and his wife but also on show more their teenage son. I cared about each of these characters, including the USDA agent Virginia Furman who befriended Irenie and opened her eyes to the possibility of another life. The author took great care with the mapping out of this story and the unraveling of Brodis’ perception of what was happening around him. I’ve always enjoyed stories set in the Appalachian Mountains and this is an excellent one. It’s haunting and profound and Ms. Franks has an excellent grasp on humanity. Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review. show less

Engrossing read, great descriptions of a time and place.

Beautifully written book!

4145/2025