Monday, Apr 27, 2009

I Loved “Follow Me”

I have been reading reviews today from the Early Birds Blog Tour for Follow Me.  It seems that I may be the minority on absolutely loving  this book.  I thought this book was rich in character development and the story had just the right amount of tragedy and redemption.  Some of the reviews I’ve read have expressed that the readers were dissatisfied with beginning of the book and its tempo.  I would like to say that I actually agree with those reviews.  The beginning of this book was also a bit confusing for me; I re-read it twice.  But, once I got to a certain point in the book, there was no turning back for me… I was hooked on the story. 

Other reviewers have stated that they had trouble relating to Sally because her choices were so poor.  I would have to agree that a part of me thought… well, had she just done THIS instead of THAT then none of this mess would ever have happened.  But, when I looked at the overall book and Sally’s story I realized that her life is a series of tragedies brought on by poor judgment.  In a way, she was ignorantly self-destructive.  That, in my mind, almost made her a victim.  Despite her shortcomings, I wanted more for her and her family.  I wanted to see Sally achieve an outcome that wasn’t filled with pain and despair.  In a way, she achieved that.  Definitely, the ending of the book brought the reader closure on Sally’s life and legacy and gave it a new beginning.

I am going to stand by my rating of the book and A Novel Menagerie’s guaranty.  I loved it…. but can definitely understand the viewpoints of the other GREAT AND RESPECTABLE reviewers who posted today. 

Author:       JoAnna Scott

Publisher:    Little Brown/Hachette

ISBN:          978-0-316-05165-1

Website:      Hachette Books

 Type:         Fiction

Pages:        400 Hardcover

Purchase:    $16.49 @ Amazon.com (HERE)

The Story

“On a summer day in 1946, Sally Werner, the precocious daughter of hardscrabble Pennsylvania farmers, accepts her cousin Daniel’s invitation to ride his new motorcycle.  Like so much of what follows in Sally’s life, it’s a decision driven by impulse and a thirst for adventure, a decision with dramatic and far-reaching consequences.

Soon Sally abandons her newborn baby and her home.  Fueled in equal measures by her eternal optimism and her mercurial moods, she embarks on an odyssey of self-creation that spans six decades, the story of which she entrusts to only one person: her granddaughter and namesake.  It’s an uncommon legacy that young Sally believes until her father – a man she has never known – enters her life and offers another story altogether, forcing her to uncover the truth of her grandmother’s secret history.”

(Above excerpt is from the back cover of Follow Me)

The Review

This story swept me away into Sally’s life and mind.  The story flowed like the river that ties the characters of this saga.  The writing engulfed me.  This story is one that I will never forget and am deeply grateful to JoAnna Scott for writing. 

Scott is the author of nine books.  Of these nine books, one was a finalist for the Pulitizer Prize and two were finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award.  If these books are anything like Follow Me, I can certainly understand why.  In my never-to-be-humble opinion, this book should be nominated, as well.

Follow Me is an epic tale of women and the hard choices that they are often faced with.  This is the heartbreaking story of what happens to families when adversity infiltrates them.  This is a memoir of love that was never meant to be lost, but was stolen from the lovers.  This is a woman’s search for redemption for a life that she couldn’t possibly replace with other choices; the outcomes were destined and unavoidable.  This is a tragic song of a man who lost what should have been his.  All of this is told by a granddaughter who pieces together the remnants of fantasy with the pieces truth searching to be found.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

Is there any doubt, whatsover, that I am going to rate this book a 10 OUT OF 10?  Of course, not!  I deserves it!  I only wish our bookclub read hardcovers, because this will make A GREAT BOOK CLUB discussion.

My heartfelt thanks to Miriam and Hachette for this amazing read. 

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