jmatkinson1's review
4.0
George Seldom is an old man who decides to take some time to revisit his personal history on a road trip. He travels through the Deep South and as he does so the reader is given some of the events that have led to a country on the brink of race equality. The plantation of Beauvais is owned by a cruel master Levallois who, even before the Civil War, has recognised that industry is the way forward, not agriculture. His neighbour goes to fight in the war and Levallois usurps his land, his daughter and his life. Rawls has been in love with Nurse but both are purchased by Levallois and are subject to his mind games. Reid goes off to war a proud Confederate but returns to find that he has lost everything. Minor characters fight for what they believe is right.
This is a complex and very moving book which looks at aspects of the Civil War and the changes in society from numerous perspectives. The characters are not easy to pin down - Emily seems powerless to stop her fate but does she fight back in the worst way. Even the minor characters, the gang leader, the apprentice and the boatman are given a sympathetic perspective and the descriptions of violence are visceral in the extreme. I hadn't read Powers' first novel but know it was well received, I can see why.
This is a complex and very moving book which looks at aspects of the Civil War and the changes in society from numerous perspectives. The characters are not easy to pin down - Emily seems powerless to stop her fate but does she fight back in the worst way. Even the minor characters, the gang leader, the apprentice and the boatman are given a sympathetic perspective and the descriptions of violence are visceral in the extreme. I hadn't read Powers' first novel but know it was well received, I can see why.
callummac's review against another edition
5.0
A must read - Powers taps into a harrowing sense of fatalism that remains unparalleled. Moving and intimate.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
3.0
Visit the locations in the novel
An epic and all encompassing read. It takes place over many many years from before the Civil war in 1865 leading up to 1980s. There’s a lot of ground to cover and a lot of characters to keep track of. But this author is not afraid of a challenge.
It’s a novel of shadows – black, white and lots of shades of gray – there’s several voices all at one – speaking and trying to get their point across which is often hard to separate. But on another note, this technique does translate the confusion of war well.
The landscape, the violence, the rawness and the breathtaking passion of those who live there is amazing to read. The truth of slavery and inhumane behaviour , less so. But it’s like a sketch on a wall – too large to appreciate in its entirety and it would have been good to spend time with one character at a time for longer period.
The cruelty and hopeless of the Civil war comes through loud and clear but I I think a simpler timeline with less voices would have made even the whispers of the message a lot more powerful.
avsfan08's review
3.0
While the writing itself is excellent, I found it difficult to engage with the book.
kba76's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you NetGalley for the access to this in exchange for my thoughts.
I’ve not read Powers’ first novel, and have no idea whether the sprawling style is his trademark but this left me baffled.
The write-up suggests we’ll gain insight into the character of George, a man who doesn’t know where he came from, and that we’ll journey through the South at a time of change. Having finished I honestly feel none the wiser about George and little extra was given to me.
The book itself is written well in terms of style. I found myself admiring passages of description. Unfortunately there were just so many characters and nobody that I connected with, which meant I finished feeling that I don’t really know what happened or why and won’t care much.
I’ve not read Powers’ first novel, and have no idea whether the sprawling style is his trademark but this left me baffled.
The write-up suggests we’ll gain insight into the character of George, a man who doesn’t know where he came from, and that we’ll journey through the South at a time of change. Having finished I honestly feel none the wiser about George and little extra was given to me.
The book itself is written well in terms of style. I found myself admiring passages of description. Unfortunately there were just so many characters and nobody that I connected with, which meant I finished feeling that I don’t really know what happened or why and won’t care much.
jonid's review
3.0
Lots of characters woven throughout the book. Told is a disjointed fashion, it was a challenge to follow. The writing is vivid although I found it to be a bit plodding in pace. I also St gave up about half-way through - but I wanted to learn if George , who is in his 90s - would learn where he had come from., If slaves Rawls and Nurse would find each other again, if Mr. Levallois would pay for his cruelty. Things come together in the end, but it requires a lot of patience on the par to f the reader. Spanning over 100 years, this story of the civil war and it’s aftermath a told through the eyes of a few characters over the years is somber and often harrowing.
mysticfaerie's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
lfs's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe more like a 3.5 star? I'm still workin' on it. There's some very pretty and poignant writing here, but many of the writer's attempts at profundity end up getting lost or encumbered in their own obtuseness--in run-on sentences that turn into entire, meandering paragraphs; vague and/or forced metaphors that aim for depth but land shallow and muddy. I also didn't love how the character perspective shifted so frequently, often from paragraph to paragraph. With such a large cast of characters, the effect was almost chaotic. All that being said, I did find the characters themselves and the way they fit together to be interesting enough to push me through the technical 'clunkiness'. The civil war era narrative in particular I found vividly and brutally drawn, the characters complex and fascinating, and at less than 300 pages, it's a fairly brisk read with enough thoughtfulness and heart to make me glad to have persevered.
daschneider's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
janetlweller's review against another edition
3.0
"A Shout in the Ruins" by Kevin Powers actually felt like it could have been a better book if longer. It goes back and forth in time starting pre Civil War, and links those characters with people in the 1950's through 80's. While much of the book is poignant and often heartbreaking, the story arc of several peripheral characters often seemed to belong to another book. Maybe if they had bigger story lines I might have enjoyed their stories more. I did love how Powers wove together several plot lines, but on the whole I felt this book too scattered to really gel together.