What do You think about Vinegar Hill (2006)?
I read this a few years ago so this review is not exactly "fresh" but I still remember how this book affected me. At the time I read the book I enjoyed it.. I couldn't put it down because you could just feel the tension building within the house and the family. It was like the author put a microscope on one family's situation and homelife and honed in on it and exposed it in the form of this book for everyone to see. It was at times disturbing - I wanted to sometimes step into the book and become a mediator but as in life, when you are so closely involved you can't see the big picture. Now, a few years after reading this I have a whole new appreciation for this book because my family had to move in with my grandparents for a couple years. It's surprising how the smallest things can blow up when tensions are running high within a tiny house with too many people. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a good read, or to understand what goes on behind closed doors of people who are forced to share a house together (family or not.)
—April
Normally I do not like Oprah book recommendations, we differ in taste. However I wanted to read this book based on a friend review and needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The one thing that caught my attention while reading this book was the language. The story was very evocative, it was almost like you were actually a character going through the journey with them all. Ellen Grier voice was haunting, the trials she went through as a mother & wife was heartbreaking. I can tell that she really loved her kids, wanting nothing more to sweep them away to somewhere safe. Although her home was a haven, there were so much resentment in her household. James, her reckless husband did not even show affection for his own children. In addition to not being concerned about their affairs, his past defined who he was as an individual.This book touched me deeply, some parts were disturbing to read. Not to take away anything from the beauty of the novel but reading through all of the sufferings was difficult. I happen to enjoy this novel tremendously and looking forward to reading more novels by Ansay.
—Michael
How do you rate a book that you can't put down, that you dream about and that disturbs you for days? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I liked the writing and plot of this book, but it cast a creepy aura over my life for a few days.This novel is set in rural Wisconsin in the 1970's in a community of patriachal hellfire-and-damnation Christians. I like to believe that these types of abusive cultures don't, and never did, exist and perhaps that self-imposed naivite is what made the book so upsetting for me. One of the main themes was the cruel subordination of women and the indirect, often twisted, way the women reassert their limited power. It reveals the devastating effects of this kind of gender inequality but ends with a sense of muted hope. I recommend it, especially if you've been searching for a few more reasons to leave the Catholic church...or any patriarchal religious institution.
—Meredith
