****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Hattie, the title character, is still a teen when she takes up with August, mostly "because he was a secret from her mama, and because it thrilled her to go out with a country boy she thought beneath her." After a shotgun wedding, they marry. She gives birth to twins, Philadelphia and Jubilee, who die of pneumonia in the first chapter, a fact that, unfortunately, is noted on the dust jacket (and why I don't feel bad revealing it here). This sets the tone for the tale. The next chapter, Floyd 1948, follows their musician son. Each successive chapter spotlights the life of one of the Shepherd children (though one chapter follows two, for reasons that become obvious, and one concerns a grandchild) during a short, specific period in their adult life. Siblings sometimes appear in each others' stories. Only Hattie shows up (if I remember right) in every chapter.About halfway through the book, what came to mind was that the there sure was a lot of violence, adultery, drunkenness, gambling and other irresponsible behavior in the book, as well as an abundance of intramarital and extramarital sex. But, by that time, I was committed to learning about the rest of the family, so I continued. Then I reached the chapter entitled Alice and Billups 1954, which was different than the others. I loved it. Franklin 1969 was even better and that continued (better and better, bleaker and bleaker) throughout. As I neared the end of the story and realized what was about to happen, I knew that that event would have really ruined it for me and thought, "Don't do it." It came as a bit of a surprise that the author chose not to go down that (commonly traveled) road and let readers down with a happening that didn't (in my mind) fit the circumstances. I'll bet others will feel differently.What I loved best, besides the varying personalities of the Shepherd kids and their dealings with diversity, was the excellent writing, both in character development and descriptions. I include my top five favorite excerpts below:(p 37) "The sun rose in an angry orange ball. Could be another earth, another earth just like this one all up in flames. The upper sky was still a dark layer of purple clouds. [ ] turned the key in the ignition and thought, I should hang myself like Judas."(p 78) `"You act like your whole life was one long January afternoon...The trees are always barren and there's not a flower on the vine."'(p 139) "...when assembled, the [Shepherd] family put her in mind of a group of roaming solitary creatures rounded up and caged together like captured leopards."(p 185) "She felt as though her insides were nothing but air--if she got up from her bed, she would bounce slowly along the floor like a balloon."(p 233) "Sala woke in the deepest part of the night, when the furrowing, burrowing creatures are quiet in their dens and the night hunters have eaten their fill or given up the chase."In summary, a strong start and fantastic finish make this story my favorite of the (non-classic) Oprah picks. Also good: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones, and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
