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taylorofcontents's review
4.0
I’m so glad I stuck it out because the last few chapters of this book had me weeping… I hate the white savior of it all, but thought that there was a lot of balance to it (and enough historical truth for certain situations to be believable). Anyway, may John be roasting in hell as well
katykat_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
magis1105's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and War
ssimpson92's review
3.0
“Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.” – Ecclesiastic 1:4
The Earth Remains, Shelley Burchfield’s debut novel, is a historical fiction set in antebellum South Carolina. At its center is a young, slaveholding plantation owner named Polly Burgiss. We first meet Polly when she is eight years old and follow her into young adulthood; the last chapters jump across generations to finish out her story. The time frame for this telling takes place across some of the state's most painful years, the period pre, peri, and post-Civil War. Over those years, Polly suffers deep personal losses as she struggles to run a profitable farm and reckons with unsettling truths about slavery. Her eventual, hard-won wisdom sets changes in motion that reach beyond her own small corner of the world.
It’s not a bad book.
Burchfield’s writing is easy and engaging, and she excels at creating a strong sense of time and place. We are quickly lulled into the rhythms of that time and get a clear view into Polly’s life on the farm. Polly, herself, along with some of the other major characters, are well-drawn, dimensional and easy to imagine. Birchfield brings interesting historical facts to bear on the family’s life (beyond the slave economy of the South), such as the building of railroad tunnels through the mountains, the state of medicine and contemporaneous family law. However. The primary plot device Burchfield uses to kick-start and propel the story just wasn’t believable – especially when stretched over 800 pages. It nagged at me throughout, especially since it’s used to create one of the major moral dilemmas Polly and Ona (her house slave) with which they must wrestle. There is also the matter of Polly’s stubborn blindness regarding her selection for male affection, her easy capitulation to his pressure – which didn’t fit with what we’re led to believe about Polly’s character. So, again, this narrative twist was completely unbelievable to me. Perhaps, it’s because the “positives” of John’s character were not fully presented; there didn’t seem anything more than his good looks to recommend him. And there certainly wasn’t enough between John and Polly (in terms of meetings, contact, emotional connection) to make understandable her defiance of everyone around her and her refusal to heed the advice of others to steer clear of him. It felt like a forced plot point: out-of-character and used solely for the purpose of setting up drama. One final thing I’ll mention is that in this story, a “Chekhov’s gun” is heavy-handedly placed - several times - until finally, finally the “trigger” is pulled. It wasn’t subtle. You'll know it when we see it. You'll know why it’s there. You'll know who it’s for. But we're forced to wait a very long time for it to serve its intended purpose.
In the end, in addition to the “peeves” mentioned above, I just didn’t think there was a big enough return for the time investment. At 800 pages, I’m hesitant to say anything that might suggest it should be longer. But after we’ve invested so much time in Polly and are rooting for her redemption, success, and happiness, after all she endures, after so much time of her being lonely and without love, we could have been given a few pages of her late romance finally coming into bloom. (A reward for sticking with it so long?) Certainly, some of the book could have been trimmed to accommodate that. But no. That was where Burchfield skimped. And by the end, there were still some things left hanging.
The last thing to say is that the book, written in 2021, feels a little out-of-step with current times. To me, The Earth Remains feels like a re-imagining of Gone with the Wind, if Scarlett had been a bit more practical, with abolitionist leanings (and minus the fiery romance). I’m sure there were abolitionists in the South during the time of the Civil War. Some of them might have even been slave/plantation owners. Of the book, Burchfield says: “I wanted the reader to imagine being in Polly's situation, to think about what the options might have been if the institution of slavery ensured your livelihood, but you also knew that it was horribly wrong." So, if you want to read a book about those particular types of slave owners, this might be the book for you.
But ... I don’t think there is much of an appetite for novels about American slavery that asks readers to see the situation from the (torn? good?) slaver’s perspective. I think we’ve moved past that. Of course, given all the great reviews, I may just be speaking for myself…
The Earth Remains, Shelley Burchfield’s debut novel, is a historical fiction set in antebellum South Carolina. At its center is a young, slaveholding plantation owner named Polly Burgiss. We first meet Polly when she is eight years old and follow her into young adulthood; the last chapters jump across generations to finish out her story. The time frame for this telling takes place across some of the state's most painful years, the period pre, peri, and post-Civil War. Over those years, Polly suffers deep personal losses as she struggles to run a profitable farm and reckons with unsettling truths about slavery. Her eventual, hard-won wisdom sets changes in motion that reach beyond her own small corner of the world.
It’s not a bad book.
Burchfield’s writing is easy and engaging, and she excels at creating a strong sense of time and place. We are quickly lulled into the rhythms of that time and get a clear view into Polly’s life on the farm. Polly, herself, along with some of the other major characters, are well-drawn, dimensional and easy to imagine. Birchfield brings interesting historical facts to bear on the family’s life (beyond the slave economy of the South), such as the building of railroad tunnels through the mountains, the state of medicine and contemporaneous family law. However. The primary plot device Burchfield uses to kick-start and propel the story just wasn’t believable – especially when stretched over 800 pages. It nagged at me throughout, especially since it’s used to create one of the major moral dilemmas Polly and Ona (her house slave) with which they must wrestle. There is also the matter of Polly’s stubborn blindness regarding her selection for male affection, her easy capitulation to his pressure – which didn’t fit with what we’re led to believe about Polly’s character. So, again, this narrative twist was completely unbelievable to me. Perhaps, it’s because the “positives” of John’s character were not fully presented; there didn’t seem anything more than his good looks to recommend him. And there certainly wasn’t enough between John and Polly (in terms of meetings, contact, emotional connection) to make understandable her defiance of everyone around her and her refusal to heed the advice of others to steer clear of him. It felt like a forced plot point: out-of-character and used solely for the purpose of setting up drama. One final thing I’ll mention is that in this story, a “Chekhov’s gun” is heavy-handedly placed - several times - until finally, finally the “trigger” is pulled. It wasn’t subtle. You'll know it when we see it. You'll know why it’s there. You'll know who it’s for. But we're forced to wait a very long time for it to serve its intended purpose.
In the end, in addition to the “peeves” mentioned above, I just didn’t think there was a big enough return for the time investment. At 800 pages, I’m hesitant to say anything that might suggest it should be longer. But after we’ve invested so much time in Polly and are rooting for her redemption, success, and happiness, after all she endures, after so much time of her being lonely and without love, we could have been given a few pages of her late romance finally coming into bloom. (A reward for sticking with it so long?) Certainly, some of the book could have been trimmed to accommodate that. But no. That was where Burchfield skimped. And by the end, there were still some things left hanging.
The last thing to say is that the book, written in 2021, feels a little out-of-step with current times. To me, The Earth Remains feels like a re-imagining of Gone with the Wind, if Scarlett had been a bit more practical, with abolitionist leanings (and minus the fiery romance). I’m sure there were abolitionists in the South during the time of the Civil War. Some of them might have even been slave/plantation owners. Of the book, Burchfield says: “I wanted the reader to imagine being in Polly's situation, to think about what the options might have been if the institution of slavery ensured your livelihood, but you also knew that it was horribly wrong." So, if you want to read a book about those particular types of slave owners, this might be the book for you.
But ... I don’t think there is much of an appetite for novels about American slavery that asks readers to see the situation from the (torn? good?) slaver’s perspective. I think we’ve moved past that. Of course, given all the great reviews, I may just be speaking for myself…
100pagesaday's review
5.0
Polly Burgiss grew up on a South Carolina Plantation. She loved the land and playing with her two older brothers while her father worked tirelessly on building a railroad. Polly's life changed when tragedy struck, Polly watched as her brother's were murdered and soon after, her father suffered a heart attack. Polly's mother was left bereft, leaving Polly to be raised by her slave and mammy, Ona. Polly soon took her education into her own hands and with the help of Ona's son, Ben and a friend in town, Flouride Calhoun, grew up into a capable woman. Polly's life soon changes again as her mother dies and Polly is left to run the Plantation herself and war is on the horizon. Polly soon chooses the only suitor who has shown interest, her neighbor, John Stone. However; Polly has also been warned to stay away from John Stone by several people. John's interest in Polly is for anything but love. Polly takes on running the Plantation along with her trusted overseer and the slaves that she has grown up beside while John is at war. Polly learns of the struggles of her slaves and the multiple betrayals that John has committed.
The Earth Remains is an epic story following the life of Polly Burgiss before, during and after the Civil War. This is a long story, but pulled me in immediately through Polly's strong point of view. Polly's life is not easy and has continuous tragedy, but it does not overshadow the plight of her slaves. Polly's father and overseer, Tom, were kind in their treatment of the slaves and Polly followed suit. This does not mean that any of the slaves' lives were easy and as Polly grows, she comes to recognize that kind treatment does not equal freedom. I was continually amazed at Polly's resilience to bounce back after everything life threw at her. The danger and suspense that John's secrets and actions created were carried throughout the second half of the story and eventually caused Polly to stand up for herself and her slaves. I enjoyed that Ben, Ona, Cissy, Kate were fully developed characters that showed the point of view of slaves and the physical, emotional and mental toll slavery took on them.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
The Earth Remains is an epic story following the life of Polly Burgiss before, during and after the Civil War. This is a long story, but pulled me in immediately through Polly's strong point of view. Polly's life is not easy and has continuous tragedy, but it does not overshadow the plight of her slaves. Polly's father and overseer, Tom, were kind in their treatment of the slaves and Polly followed suit. This does not mean that any of the slaves' lives were easy and as Polly grows, she comes to recognize that kind treatment does not equal freedom. I was continually amazed at Polly's resilience to bounce back after everything life threw at her. The danger and suspense that John's secrets and actions created were carried throughout the second half of the story and eventually caused Polly to stand up for herself and her slaves. I enjoyed that Ben, Ona, Cissy, Kate were fully developed characters that showed the point of view of slaves and the physical, emotional and mental toll slavery took on them.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
whatallisonwrote's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I hope this book gets the attention it deserves. Expertly written and covers the views of both enslaved and enslaver.
A definite need to read for anyone who likes mid-19th century history.
A definite need to read for anyone who likes mid-19th century history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Slavery
merit_willa's review against another edition
A plucky plantation owner and an overseer who's nice, actually, save the slaves ... Started intriguing, but the pacing is loose, the book is far too long for the story it's telling, and it reeks of white saviorism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape
lulu_readsalot's review
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
The novel is good and so is the writing.
The characters are engaging. I would like to have seen more from the slave characters, Ben and Ona, Zadoc, George and Ceecee.
I was hard to stop reading or put it down, as I wanted to know what happened next, how is Polly going to solve this and that.
However, it is not the best book I have read and I am still reticent to like slaver redeeming books. I am sure there were some good slavers, as far as they can go (I mean... They still owned people) and that some of them were abolitionists and worked hard to tear the whole system down. Still, it is hard for me to be on their side, I tend to go to the slaves side.
It is a good read, but like uncle Tom's cabin, I am not sure it is the time for such books anymore, or that it will ever be again.
The characters are engaging. I would like to have seen more from the slave characters, Ben and Ona, Zadoc, George and Ceecee.
I was hard to stop reading or put it down, as I wanted to know what happened next, how is Polly going to solve this and that.
However, it is not the best book I have read and I am still reticent to like slaver redeeming books. I am sure there were some good slavers, as far as they can go (I mean... They still owned people) and that some of them were abolitionists and worked hard to tear the whole system down. Still, it is hard for me to be on their side, I tend to go to the slaves side.
It is a good read, but like uncle Tom's cabin, I am not sure it is the time for such books anymore, or that it will ever be again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and War
readingwithmuggy's review
5.0
Wow wow wow this book is a great example of what it looks like to change your actions and stand up for what you believe in when you see things that are wrong. Throughout the whole story, not only was I rooting for Polly, but the story line invites you into the gross injustices and horrors that black people face. There are gruesome and hard to read moments in this book but I can assure you the amount of discomfort is only a fraction of what black people actually faced. I’ve fallen deeply in love with the characters in this book. Ben, Ona, Tom Roper, Cissie, George, Zee, little Lydia, and sweet Kate will live deep in my heart.
Overall, 10/10.
note: I think there will always be limitations when a white person writes a story around slavery but I felt the genuine sense of sorrow from this author over the role that our white ancestors have played in this story.
Overall, 10/10.
note: I think there will always be limitations when a white person writes a story around slavery but I felt the genuine sense of sorrow from this author over the role that our white ancestors have played in this story.
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