≡ Libro Free The Truth According to Us A Novel Annie Barrows 9780385342940 Books

The Truth According to Us A Novel Annie Barrows 9780385342940 Books

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The Truth According to Us A Novel Annie Barrows 9780385342940 Books

It’s funny I never even read the description for this book I just knew I wanted to read it because I loved her Guernsey book so much, so imagine my surprise when this book was not set in Britain but in the American south, I know authors don’t write about the same place all the time but I guess I assumed the authors of Guernsey were British. I also didn’t realize the author writes the children’s series Ivy & Bean, so now that I’ve admitted to being a bad librarian I will get on with my review of this fabulous book.

Layla Beck a senator’s daughter is being taught a lesson and is sent away by her father to work for the WPA, a writer’s project that is part of the New Deal, she is sent to write a history of the town of Macedonia, West Virginia. She ends up in a rooming house run by Jottie Romeyn who lives there with her nieces Willa and Bird and their divorced father Felix.

Between Layla’s research for her book and Willa’s snooping no secret is safe in this small town and those secrets will affect everyone at the Romeyn boarding house and beyond. When Layla starts falling for Felix, Willa gets involved because she wants her parents to get back together and no one is good enough for her father, but is Felix as good of a man as these two think he is?

The characters in this book are at times eccentric and some are sad and lonely ( Jottie) but she keeps that sadness bottled up so everyone thinks she is just fine and when you come to understand the reasons for that sadness you will wonder why she let it go on as long as she did. But, family loyalty is important to the Romeyn’s even though some members of the family are holding back important details of the night that changed their entire life it seemed like the right thing to do. Ah, but secrets have a way of wiggling to the surface and when these secrets come to light this family will never be the same.

I really enjoyed this story and the characters and will read anything this author puts to paper!

5 Stars


Tags : The Truth According to Us: A Novel [Annie Barrows] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b><b> NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER  • </i></b>From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society </i>comes a wise,Annie Barrows,The Truth According to Us: A Novel,The Dial Press,0385342942,Coming Of Age,Historical,Depressions - 1929 - West Virginia,Depressions;1929;West Virginia;Fiction.,Family secrets,Family secrets;Fiction.,Historians,Historians;Fiction.,Historical fiction,West Virginia - History - 20th century,West Virginia - Social life and customs - 20th century,20th century,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,FICTION Coming of Age,FICTION Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Fiction Literary,Fiction Sagas,Fiction-Coming of Age,FictionSagas,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,History,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Sagas,Social life and customs,United States,West Virginia

The Truth According to Us A Novel Annie Barrows 9780385342940 Books Reviews

An interesting read. I should disclose that this type of story is not in my wheelhouse. I mostly like thrillers and action/adventure stories. But I have a soft spot for history and historical fiction. I enjoyed the descriptions of a fascinating time and place in our history. I liked the shifting POVs of a few key characters throughout the book. I generally enjoyed the gradual reveal of family and town history by different characters with different views. Like some other readers, I felt that the family story dragged on too long before the big reveal and that the ending was a little subdued. I personally would have preferred that the main family story be reduced about 100 pages. Then I would add some pages to the background, showing more of what W. Virginia and America were like in the late 1930s.
I bought this book with high expectations as I had much enjoyed "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society". Unfortunately, it became rapidly obvious that it wouldn't be as good. While the story is well written, its focus and narrative tension just don't stretch to 500 pages and I dragged along to finish it. Since the plot has been summarised by many rewiewers already, I won't go into it but will just try to explain what made me give this book 1 star

As other readers pointed out, there are too many characters. This proves distracting and dilutes the plot. (A lot of) pruning could definitely have done much for the book, and might have showcased a promising storyline - even though the plot was rather predictable.

The constant alternative POVs feel artificial and get annoying over time Jottie's, Willa's, the narrator's, Layla's letters, excerpts from Layla's book, voices from the past... That's too much !

But for me the most disturbing issue was the central character of Felix as well as his bizarre (unhealthy?) relationship with his sister Jottie. Felix is described as daring, charming and seductive and we are repeatedly told that no girl can resist him. But the more the story unfolds (which takes a very long time), the more ruthless, unpleasant, openly manipulative and utterly self-centered his character turns out to be. His sister Jottie's relationship with him is for me beyond understanding - especially in view of the ruthless way Felix treats her in one of the book's climactic scenes.

Overall, the whole book, which I kept hoping would live up to Potato Peel Pie at some point, left me with a foul taste.
What a pity!
I chose to read this book because the author also co-wrote the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I adored that book. When I started this book, I was expecting more of a southern feel to the characters, with the setting being West Virginia. My home is in Kentucky, so I anticipated feeling somewhat of a familiarity with the types of people who would become part of this novel. However, I did not feel that way at all; in a sense I more so enjoyed this book because they did not fit the stereotype I had envisioned. The actual storyline was very engaging, perhaps a bit drawn out, but I enjoyed reading from the point of view of a young girl, to clearly understand what she felt , and finally in the end, to see her begin to heal from old wounds.

The intent of the book, as the author states in an interview, was to give a little taste of the history of writing about historical small town American people and events, through the Federal Writing Project of the early 20th century. When a bored and spoiled US Senator's daughter comes to this tiny W Va town to undertake a written history of the place, she lodges with a local well-known, prosperous, though dysfunctional, family. Through her interviews and newly found friendships and love affairs, she unknowingly begins the uncovering of the truth of a past tragic event involving her new lover and his friend. The plot has many unexpected turns, all part of the reality of the complexities surrounding relationships - especially ones built on untruths. The book also manages to teach us that we do not always realize what we truly want, until we get what we thought we wanted.
It’s funny I never even read the description for this book I just knew I wanted to read it because I loved her Guernsey book so much, so imagine my surprise when this book was not set in Britain but in the American south, I know authors don’t write about the same place all the time but I guess I assumed the authors of Guernsey were British. I also didn’t realize the author writes the children’s series Ivy & Bean, so now that I’ve admitted to being a bad librarian I will get on with my review of this fabulous book.

Layla Beck a senator’s daughter is being taught a lesson and is sent away by her father to work for the WPA, a writer’s project that is part of the New Deal, she is sent to write a history of the town of Macedonia, West Virginia. She ends up in a rooming house run by Jottie Romeyn who lives there with her nieces Willa and Bird and their divorced father Felix.

Between Layla’s research for her book and Willa’s snooping no secret is safe in this small town and those secrets will affect everyone at the Romeyn boarding house and beyond. When Layla starts falling for Felix, Willa gets involved because she wants her parents to get back together and no one is good enough for her father, but is Felix as good of a man as these two think he is?

The characters in this book are at times eccentric and some are sad and lonely ( Jottie) but she keeps that sadness bottled up so everyone thinks she is just fine and when you come to understand the reasons for that sadness you will wonder why she let it go on as long as she did. But, family loyalty is important to the Romeyn’s even though some members of the family are holding back important details of the night that changed their entire life it seemed like the right thing to do. Ah, but secrets have a way of wiggling to the surface and when these secrets come to light this family will never be the same.

I really enjoyed this story and the characters and will read anything this author puts to paper!

5 Stars