Customer Reviews

The Magic of Ordinary Days

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first glance THE MAGIC OF ORDINARY DAYS is a love story. Of the surface it relates the story of Livvy, who is pregnant and forced to marry a man that she does not know. The story focuses on the evolution of their relationship and the changes in Livvy's life. Her husband Ray, has the very appropriate last name of Singleton, because he is indeed a single, solitary man.

But on a broader scale, there are a number of underlying themes that the reader should be aware of. The first is the responsibility that people must take for their own acts and how what seem to be casual decisions about relationships can alter a person's life.

Issues of family relationships are also brought out in the book. Most people will identify in some way with the relationships between the siblings. Women will contemplate what they would have done had they been Livvy - pregnant and without a husband in the early 1940's - and how their own father would have reacted. The underlying issues of religion and a small community vs a large city are also present.

Author Ann Howard Creel masterfully deals with a subject that is popular among historians and this is women on the home front during the time of war. She also deals with men, such as Ray who does not go to war but still deals with issues of guilt.

Creel's handling of the issues of Japanese interment is excellent. It is a subject that many readers, espcially young readers will know little about. So her even handed descriptions are informative. In addition, most Americans have little knowledge of the German and Italian POW's that came to America.

The Hallmark Hall of Fame did a wonderful job with this novel, following almost exactly as Creel wrote it, although the did not use the first person. However, their ending was probably more acceptable to a general audience. The Japanese women in the novel to not fare as well as they did on TV. The sad part is that Rose and Lorelie were victimized by being put in the camp and then made bad decisions, just like Livvy, based on their desire to be loved.

Although this book is well suited for young readers, and could be a useful tool in an educational environment, it is also an excellent read for readers of any age. War has many ripple effects on the society and Creel deals with many of them. This book gives much to reflect on. I'm just glad that Hallmark brought it to light for millions of readers.

I originally purchased this book as a present for my wife; she couldn't stop talking about it so I read it for myself. Set in rural Colorado in 1944, the main story revolves around an educated, progressive woman forced into an arranged marriage to a farmer due to the result of a fling with a soldier leaving for the war in 1944. As the main character, Livvy, tries to cope with the disappointment and loneliness of her situation, a great love story unfolds as she begins to really know the man she married. This was my wife's favorite portion of the book, and I have to admit it was done extremely well. The spice in the story comes in a sub- plot which has Livvy befriend girls in a Japanese- American interment camp who become involved with German POWs assigned to work on the local farms. What I belived to be a great piece of fiction turned out to be based on actual events as recorded in the Denver Post in 1944. Livvy must make some difficult decisions and the result is my favorite part of the book. Well written and paced just right, the novel is balanced, informative and thought provoking. A great read.

The book opens with Olivia Dunne, a twenty- four year old with big dreams, being forced into an arranged marriage after succumbing to the advances of a handsome solder in 1944. It turns out her husband is a good man, but Olivia has nothing in common with the farmers that now surround her, and she befriends two girls, Japanese- Americans who were interned in a camp nearby. Their story culminates in a politically charged incident, based on actual events, involving the girls and German POWs from another camp. Olivia eventually begins to love her new home and even her husband, as she learns to make the best of what life has given her. Through Livvy's eyes, we feel the camp and the isolation of rural life only to discover an unexpected enchantment. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially the sweet, often heart- wrenching dialogue between Livvy and Ray, and the vivid description of life on a farm in Colorado in 1944. As I read I felt I was there; the author creates a strong sense of "place." The incident between the Japanese- American girls and the German POW's is a bonus and made me turn the pages even faster. From a historical perspective, I learned of Japanese internment camps and German prisoner of war camps in Colorado and the impact they had on the people there.

I loved this book when I first read it. So few love stories written nowadays take you through the true awkwardness of a forced relationship. This book does it slowly, building the love between two people like you normally would. Now Hallmark has made this into a beautiful tv movie, and sells the DVD through Hallmark stores and other online book stores.

I bought this book after seeing the Hallmark special on TV. I read it in one evening and really enjoyed it. I don't think the author is immature. I certainly wouldn't fault the author for not being Tom Wolfe! If I want that sort of challenge, I read Tom Wolfe, not a slim paperback that's been made into a Hallmark movie. This is the kind of book to read on the beach or sitting on your porch when you want a nice escape into another time.

That being said, I thought the book did a great job of showing how Livvy grew to care about Ray. It was better then the movie in that sense. The reader also gets a better sense of the fun they have together and how they grow to enjoy each other's company and trust each another. It has all the sweetness the movie portrayed and there were several touching scenes between the two of them. All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the movie.

Never have I read a book that so effectively portrays the lessons of growing up. There is a deep selection of "coming-of-age" books on bookstore shelves, but none of them captures maturation as Creel does in this gem.

During World War II, Olivia, a young woman from busy Denver finds herself pregnant and is shipped away to marry a lonely farmer in rural Southern Colorado. Seeking companionship, she befriends two Japanase-American sisters interned at a nearby internment camp. To give away more of the plot, ruins the excellent storyline.

Author Creel beautifully weaves a tapestry of Olivia's loss of childhood, her friends'loss of freedom and the loss of life created by war. She wonderfully depicts the limits that choices made in passion place upon those who act before considering all the consequences. She most effectively shows that facing life's challenges and learning from them brings about love and maturity.

The characters in Magic are not perfect but are truly noble. This is a true love story for men and women. It bears lessons for young adults and adult alike. It's message is one that we all need to read in this age of instant gratification.

Read this book!

The characters and descriptions in this beautifully written book are so clear that it seems almost movie like. I was totally absorbed from the very first page. The book simply transports the reader to another time and place. I am looking forward to Ann Howard Creel's next book. She is a gifted storyteller, and hopefully will be writing more.

Ann Creel's The Magic of Ordinary Days illuminates the impact of World War II on those left behind to sacrifice, monitor its blows, and help pick up the pieces through the story of a minister's daughter forced to face herself in unimagined ways.

Romance is the farthest thing from Olivia (Livvy) Dunne's mind when she trades her urban, educated, albeit sheltered existence for an arranged marraige to a simple farmer in rural Colorado. A proud woman who feels her shame and loss all too acutely, she hides behind layers of reserve, convinced she can and should insulate herself from her husband as she waits out the period of her perceived exile, ever focused on eventual autonomy. Ironically, she ultimately finds the freedom she craves in her spouse's patient, unassuming, accommodating eyes.

In spare, lyrical prose whose cadences echo the ebb and flow of life in the High Plains, Creel describes Livvy's "ordinary days" as she resists the seduction of the seasons and bucolic ways, only to find herself enchanted with their singular logic and beauty. Like the two, young, interned Japanese-American women she befriends, Livvy can barely endure the injustice of being banished for who she is. But, like the butterflies her friends so revere, she achieves transformation through a natural life cycle and, with it, unexpected, enduring love.

The Magic of Oridnary Days is a deeply satisfying book that will resound wihin the reader's psyche long after the last page is savored. I highly recommend Ann Creel's debut, adult novel.

Unable to sleep, I grabbed this little book and curled up on the couch. A couple of hours later, I was still up, and finishing a really fine novel. Quiet, thoughtful characters and a lonely setting, against the backdrop of war and prejudice, set the stage for this sweet, but in no way saccharine, novel. Other reviews have called this a romance, but it is not. It is a book about growth; about coming to grips with one's choices and finding happiness in life.

Usually I don't read romance, but I crave a good love story now and then and this book surpassed my expectations. A great read about the development of a real love between an unlikely couple, it has characters that are so diverse, well developed and interesting that I came to see their faces and hear their voices as they each traveled their own remarkable journey. I recommend it to anyone that wants to feel good about the human heart.