Roxa: Voices of the Culver Family (American Poets Continuum) [Paperback]

William B. Patrick (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Patrick, author of a book of poems, Letter to the Ghosts , blends seminal and sensitive verse and prose in a potent novel about a New York State farm family that braves illness, natural disaster and personal strife in the 1840s. Though the brutal realities of farm life are convincingly delineated, readers will be more intrigued by the cadences of multiple narrators and the diversity of their perspectives. These include the thunderous voice of matriarch Hannah, who calls on her kin to "confess," "repent" and "prepare" for an impending Judgement Day; the hopeful adolescent Amelia, ever responsive to her physical surroundings ("I shiver and wait; I feel like the grouses are coming for me, only for me, as if I had some secret that they needed, and at dusk, as they fly, they seem big enough sometimes to lift me"); and Roxa, the youngest Culver, who anxiously describes the bad times in nursery rhymes ("Who let the dark and the snow begin? / I, said the wind" refers to a freak June snowstorm that killed the Culvers' sheep).
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Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: BOA Editions Ltd.; 1 edition (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918526698
• ISBN-13: 978-0918526694
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,611,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling, heart-touching tale., October 19, 1997

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[e-mail] (Albany, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roxa: Voices of the Culver Family (American Poets Continuum) (Paperback)

(This review is for the Oprah Book Club recommendations)

I can't believe that more people haven't read this book, but it could be because it is published by a small press, BOA Editions. Patrick won the 1990 Great Lakes Colleges Association Award for this moving first novel, the year after Jane Hamilton won the same award for "The Book of Ruth," a previous Oprah Book Club selection.

"Roxa" is the story of the Culver family, set in mid-19th century, upstate New York. Their powerful story is told in the intense, passionate voices of each of the seven members of the Culver family and combines monologues, newspaper excerpts, journal entries, and poetry.

In the midst of their day-to-day farmlife experiences, each of the Culvers painfully grapples with their interior struggles and personal tragedies, under the shadow of the Millenialist beliefs which were dominating their remote rural town.

Although all of the Culvers' stories are richly told, Amelia Culver's coming-of-age really resonated for me.

James Dickey is quoted on the back of the book: "Roxa is a daring, go-for-broke experiment that works." For readers who like their books to touch their hearts and spirits, "Roxa" is a must!