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superdhebz's review against another edition
3.0
All The Living is a novel written by C.E. Morgan. It is a romantic story told in a very descriptive way. The writing style is new to me because it is somehow lyrical but the author did not fail to paint her words into a fine visual in which I enjoyed very much. The story started with Aloma being introduced as a girl who grew up with her aunt and uncle. She doesn't know what it feels to have a family. So over the years, she has always wished to have more than a family, friendship, and love. She is always longing for more.
Things have changed when she met Orren who is a frequent in Aloma's working place. They started to exchange jokes, tell stories, and talk about personal matters. It was clear that both of them love each other. In fact, they always make love in the dark.
Something happened with Orren's family. Driving him to go back to their house and take over what was left. In which a garden of tobacco, a barn, lots of animals, and a home. He was alone. Aloma decided to live with him.
Everything was dense. It was a little bit happy but sad. Their relationship got a bit more complicated leaving both of them frustrated with life in general. But both of them has their own way of keeping themselves sane. They fight, make love, talk and, most of the time, are silent. Aloma wants more attention from Orren who is busy farming and working for them. She wants interaction and something more.
"More like... when I have you, when I have you like that even, it's not enough and I still want some more of you. When you say something, I want to hear you say more and when you go someplace, any place, I want you to come back more than anything. That's pretty much been true for forever. That's what I mean. Well, that's the whole truth."
What I like about this story is Aloma and Orren got to understand what love is by going through difficulties. Love in their relationship, family, friendship, religion, and even farming. It is in this story where the characters seem to be uncomfortable and always in search of something.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, most especially when you are in a state where you can't figure out what is best for you. If you are searching something in life but you can't even say what you want.
This somehow helps.
Things have changed when she met Orren who is a frequent in Aloma's working place. They started to exchange jokes, tell stories, and talk about personal matters. It was clear that both of them love each other. In fact, they always make love in the dark.
Something happened with Orren's family. Driving him to go back to their house and take over what was left. In which a garden of tobacco, a barn, lots of animals, and a home. He was alone. Aloma decided to live with him.
Everything was dense. It was a little bit happy but sad. Their relationship got a bit more complicated leaving both of them frustrated with life in general. But both of them has their own way of keeping themselves sane. They fight, make love, talk and, most of the time, are silent. Aloma wants more attention from Orren who is busy farming and working for them. She wants interaction and something more.
"More like... when I have you, when I have you like that even, it's not enough and I still want some more of you. When you say something, I want to hear you say more and when you go someplace, any place, I want you to come back more than anything. That's pretty much been true for forever. That's what I mean. Well, that's the whole truth."
What I like about this story is Aloma and Orren got to understand what love is by going through difficulties. Love in their relationship, family, friendship, religion, and even farming. It is in this story where the characters seem to be uncomfortable and always in search of something.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, most especially when you are in a state where you can't figure out what is best for you. If you are searching something in life but you can't even say what you want.
This somehow helps.
imperfectcj's review against another edition
5.0
Skillful, subtle, realistic sketch of the evolution of the relationship between a woman and a man. This was a thoroughly satisfying read.
timshel's review against another edition
4.0
Last year I had the great pleasure of reading C.E. Morgan's The Sport of Kings, an epic family saga that centers on horse racing. The Sport of Kings was my favorite read in 2016. It was so rich in language, character, and story. Once I finished it, I was eager to read Morgan's debut novel, a book that had been sitting on my bookshelf, largely unnoticed, for years.
At first appearance, All the Living is definitely a different sort of novel than The Sport of Kings. While The Sport... was a mammoth volume in weight and appearance, All the Living is a tiny thing, easily read in under six hours. The scope is much smaller, as well. While Morgan's second novel fills in backstory and spends considerable time with entire generations, All the Living jumps right in and most of the novel focuses on the couple, Aloma and Orren. Keeping that in mind, All the Living didn't have the punch that its successor had, but it had no problems standing on its own.
In such a small space, Morgan succeeds in forming a story that is full and enclosed in rich language. Despite the constraints, the story never feels rushed, neither does it feel incomplete or plain. I was surprised by how easily I was swept up into this tale with so little movement. Where the novel lacks, however, is in characters. These are great characters, but they're not as developed as I'd have liked them to have been. I don't really feel like I particularly understand either Orren or Aloma. When they make drastic choices, I'm not convinced that there actions are believable because I really do not understand the character. This is especially true with Aloma, a character that is extremely interesting, but not fully rounded. I'd have liked more time to get to know her and understand what she'd been through before page 1.
All the Living captures a distinct rhythm that was also present in Morgan's second novel. She builds worlds that you can see and feel, but also hear. Any well written book can transport the reader to another place, but with C.E. Morgan, it feels a little more vivid, as though maybe you'd actually been there. I look forward to visiting the next place she takes me.
At first appearance, All the Living is definitely a different sort of novel than The Sport of Kings. While The Sport... was a mammoth volume in weight and appearance, All the Living is a tiny thing, easily read in under six hours. The scope is much smaller, as well. While Morgan's second novel fills in backstory and spends considerable time with entire generations, All the Living jumps right in and most of the novel focuses on the couple, Aloma and Orren. Keeping that in mind, All the Living didn't have the punch that its successor had, but it had no problems standing on its own.
In such a small space, Morgan succeeds in forming a story that is full and enclosed in rich language. Despite the constraints, the story never feels rushed, neither does it feel incomplete or plain. I was surprised by how easily I was swept up into this tale with so little movement. Where the novel lacks, however, is in characters. These are great characters, but they're not as developed as I'd have liked them to have been. I don't really feel like I particularly understand either Orren or Aloma. When they make drastic choices, I'm not convinced that there actions are believable because I really do not understand the character. This is especially true with Aloma, a character that is extremely interesting, but not fully rounded. I'd have liked more time to get to know her and understand what she'd been through before page 1.
All the Living captures a distinct rhythm that was also present in Morgan's second novel. She builds worlds that you can see and feel, but also hear. Any well written book can transport the reader to another place, but with C.E. Morgan, it feels a little more vivid, as though maybe you'd actually been there. I look forward to visiting the next place she takes me.
featherbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't have the will to go and finish this bleak tale.
ofateaspoon's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
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