Customer Reviews

The Quarry

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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This is absolutely one of the best historical fiction novels I've ever read. Beautifully written. The ending is perfect, and unexpected; it actually sent shivers up my spine, in a good way. This is a book I treasure and share with my friends.

As a Mildred Walker fan, I've read pretty much every one of her books. "The Quarry" isn't quite as good as "Light From Arcturus", "Winter Wheat", or "The Brewer's Big Horses", but I'd say it easily ranks with "Fireweed" or "Medical Meeting".

"The Quarry" is one of Walker's only novels to feature an African American character, and considering it was written in 1947, the handling of "Easy" (Ezekiel) isn't too offensive. He is a real person with his own desires and agency, not just a tool to represent race relations or some kind of saintly victim or crass caricature.

The central romance is a little strange, since it centers around cousins, which was apparently a-ok in Jane Austen's time and somewhere in the middle ground during the time-period of Walker's novel.

The writing in this novel is as smooth and polished as ever, the characters relatable and the era expertly evoked.

My only gripe with "The Quarry" is that it is somewhat emotionally frustrating, never quite offering the payoff I was hoping for in any of the central conflicts. I mean, I don't need a happy ending, but give me something Mildred! But I guess I should have learned by now that most of her characters lead rather aborted, disappointing lives, and are often consigned to exactly the fate they struggled so vehemently against at the beginning of the novel.