The Frozen River: A Novel

January Book - Ashley

Interesting, violent and twisted, but good.

Loved this book, strong bonds, strong women doing what women do...bringing life, and living with life...lyrically written. Historical (non) fiction..if you don't know Martha yet, you will wish she were part of your inner circle by the end.

“Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists” (39). “Time is a thing we feel, and our days are ordered accordingly “ (42). “You’ve been reading Shakespeare again” . . . “I like the way he delivers an insult” (89). “That clay-brained guts, that knotty-pated fool, that whoreson, obscene, greasy tallow-catch” (89). “The joy of having sons is that they worship their mothers. Until they don’t” (202). “Then that boy — once small and sweet — begins the long, hard process of separation, until at last he rips the seam. But the holes where mother and son were once knit together remain” (202). “How many worries would you have me carry today, love?” (318). “. . . because wisdom is not a thing you can acquire for your children” (357).

Loved this one! Historical fiction done right. So many characters but Lawhon makes them all accessible and memorable! Loved Martha Ballard and so happy to know about her.