bourbonandabook's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lindasdarby's review
3.0
listened to this book this time around and I should have remembered as much as I love Wendell Berry I don't love this book. there are a few parts that are so tender and thoughtful but it doesn't capture me as do some of his other stories.
mjsteimle's review
3.0
3.5 stars. Like all of Berry's Port William fiction, this book was a joy to read. This short novel is told from the perspective of Andy Catlett, the nine-year-old grandson of the Feltners. The story takes place over just a few days, as Andy travels alone from Hargrave to Port William to spend a few days each with his Catlett and Feltner grandparents. He tells the story as an old man looking back at an era on the precipice of change.
elianachow's review
4.0
“Time, then, is told by love’s losses, and by the coming of love, and by love continuing in gratitude for what is lost” (157).
dave37's review
4.0
A beautiful, soft, quiet, gentle addition to the Port William stories. Probably not the place to start, but a worthwhile read if you're already enchanted.
joel_buck's review
3.0
An average Wendell Berry novel is still a cut above. And that's what this is. It's slight. Bears his usual stamp of the mundane and profound wound up and experienced by a resident of Port William. As always, I'm happy to see Hannah, Jayber, and the other familiar faces. As usual I'm hung up on how ideal this way of life seems in the reading but not sure it's possible again
randyrasa's review
3.0
[a:Wendell Berry|8567|Wendell Berry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1209652700p2/8567.jpg] has such a comforting authorial voice: warm and wise, contemplative, humane, nostalgic. This short novel is a snapshot of a vanished America. It never really goes anywhere, but it's a joy to spend time with these characters nonetheless.
mary_elizabeth's review
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
randyrasa's review against another edition
3.0
[a:Wendell Berry|8567|Wendell Berry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1209652700p2/8567.jpg] has such a comforting authorial voice: warm and wise, contemplative, humane, nostalgic. This short novel is a snapshot of a vanished America. It never really goes anywhere, but it's a joy to spend time with these characters nonetheless.
traeh's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first Wendell Berry book I have read and I can’t wait to dive into more. I felt like I was sitting at my grandpa’s feet listening to him tell me stories of his childhood. This book was comfortable.