Customer Reviews

Sarah's Window

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This morning, I finished Sarah's Window by Janice Graham, and wish I could be reading it for the first time. While browsing at a bookstore recently I was attracted to this title by the lovely cover of the book. I quickly read the dust jacket and decided to purchase this book and couldn't wait to read it. But when I returned home and read about the author on the back of the book, I realized that I had read Janice Graham's first book, Firebird, and didn't much care for it. I really did begin to wonder how I would enjoy Sarah's Window. Well, I come here now to say that sometimes you can judge a book by its cover and always give an author a second chance.

Sarah Bryden is a young woman living in the area of the Flint Hills of Kansas. With dreams of studying art at the University, she's foced to return home when her grandfather suffers a devestating accident. Raised by her grandparents after her mother dies, Sarah works as a waitress at a local cafe, paitinting in her spare time and attracting the heart of a widowed high school teacher who once taught her. Unfortunately, an ill fated love affair a number of years ago has left Sarah resigned to the single life she now leads.

Into her midst comes John Wilde, a professor of physics from California, who will be working in the area for a couple of months. He also brings with him his wife, a former resident of the town, and their difficult adopted baby. When Sarah becomes acquainted with the family there is almost an instant bond between baby, Will and Sarah. It seems as though only she can quiet him down, feed him and put him to bed. When Will's mother is hurt in an auto accident she is only too happy to care for the baby. As the weeks go by, Sarah and John Wilde find their relationship slowly changing from friends to something more leaving readers to wonder how this wil be resolved in the end.

Graham, with beautiful words and pasages not only captures the landscape of this area but the interior landscape of these characters. I literally gulped this book down holding my breath till I read the last page. Not only was this a memorable read but again was a valuable learning experience. When a book beckons for whatever reason or you have a gut instinct while holding a title, do read it despite any previous experiences. You may be as suprised as I was with this book or another one. Now I am planning on reading Firebird again. I'm hoping that the second time around I enjoy Graham's first book as much as I enjoyed Sarah's Window.

I truly enjoyed Janice Graham's first novel, "Firebird" and eagerly awaited her second. "Sarah's Window" was well worth the wait. I started this last night and couldn't stop till the last page. It is the story of Sarah Bryden, an artist forced to give up on college and come home to the Flint Hills and care for her grandparents. She waitress's by day and paints in her room at night. A physicist, his wife and adopted son move to the area and Sarah is drawn to the family as a caretaker for the child. Sarah can get close to this child whereas the adopted parents have never been able to. John the husband is drawn to Sarah her beauty and talent. The story that unfolds is captivating in wanting to know how these people will come to find true love and their innerselves. "Sarah's Window" is the perfect love story to warm your heart.

Janice Graham has written a wonderfully touching book that will leave you both happy and,momentarily, sad. It is the story of Sarah Bryden,an artist and free spirit, living in a small Kansas town. A physicist,John Wilde,and his wife,Susan,move there to attempt to find a quiet place to raise their difficult adopted baby, Will. An accident leaves Susan unable to care for Will,whom she could never accept from the beginning. Sarah takes charge of Will,giving her a happiness that had eluded her for years. In turn,Will started developing in an unexpected way. John and Sarah soon become more than attracted to each other,falling deeply into a love that seemed hopeless to both of them. A flood,followed by a tragedy, seperates the two of them. What follows is the poignant story of seperation,unrequited love,attempts at a renewed life, and,finally,the joyous reunion that will leave you feeling so good that you read this book. Janice Graham takes you right there,whether it is Kansas,Paris,Greece or England. You feel a part of the locale. Her character development is excellent. Of the many characters in the book,you feel quite familar with them all. You will love Sarah and live with her through all of her pain,all of her joys,even sheding a few tears before you rejoyce at the ending. This book is so well written and a pleasure to read.

I found this book at a local bookstore and thought, hm, the cover sure is pretty! I also thought the plot of the story was interesting too. It's a good read ~~ but not one of the best ones I have read this year. It's a great book for those times when you're tired and don't need anything heavy to read! It is also a quick read too ~~ I managed to finish this in two days ~~ which is a record for me lately!

This book is about Sarah who lives in Kansas. She dropped out of college to take care of her grandparents. After suffering a broken love affair, she has closed her heart to any kind of relationship. A secret artist, she ends up taking care of John Wilde's son, who is severely undernourished and refuses to go near his mother, Susan. Sarah and Will developed a strong bond and in the process, Sarah and John falls in love.

It is written beautifully ~~ and harshly. It is a look at love in all shapes ~~ love of one's child, love of one's friend, and love between lovers. It is about dreams that have been broken only to be found again. It is about secrets. It is about life.

If you're looking for a good book to read ~~ someplace to carry you away ~~ this one would be a good one to start with. If you're looking for something more substantial ~~ this one would not be the one.

10-14-05

I was mesmorized and smitten by Janice Graham's romantic novel, Sarah's Window. John and Sarah's journey into each other's hearts transcended their invidivual stories yet brought these stories in the soul regions of their pecular and definable histories. Both were wounded by tragic events in their lives and found healing in a remarkable way that brought their love completely together at the end. Written with the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas as a backdrop, this reader felt himself in the very spots that forged the beginning of John and Sarah's story. This is a quick "feel good" read that nourishes the soul.

Beautiful, talented Sarah Bryden shelved her dreams of earning a degree at the university to return home and help support the family after her grandfather's debilitating accident in the local quarry. She works at the local café and lives a quiet, lonely life, painting the wildflowers in the solitude of her attic room with the window overlooking the prairie. Her social life consists mainly of shared banter with the owner and employees of the Cassoday Café and the many steady patrons. She has finally begun a relationship with Billy Moon, widowed high-school art history teacher whom she'd had a crush on year ago.

John Wilde, brilliant physicist and mathematician from Berkeley moves temporarily back into the local Blackshere mansion with his recently adopted son, Will, and wife Susan, whose mother owns the mansion. Will has recently had surgery and is suffering from a "failure to thrive", and they hope that a sabbatical in Kansas will help the baby recover and bond to them. Their babysitter, Amy, calls Sarah frantically one evening because she is unable to sooth Will. When Sarah arrives, the boy is instantly calmed and she is irresistibly drawn to the small, frail boy. When John returns home to find Sarah and Will asleep on the couch in his study, he is moved by the serenity and composure of this beautiful, shy woman.

Susan cannot cope with the shrill, non-stop wailing of Will and is increasingly depressed at her inability to properly mother the boy. After a car accident leaves her with a broken wrist, John asks Sarah to watch Will until Susan heals. Susan admits to John that she doesn't want to keep the boy, but John loves him deeply and is unwilling to give him up. John is increasingly drawn to Sarah, who seems the perfect mother for Will. Since John refuses to give up the boy again, Sarah reluctantly gives Will back to Susan and John. After a tragic flood, both Sarah and John move away from the area and are separated for some time, but can't stop thinking about each other.

There is much sadness and happiness in this book. The conclusion, although somewhat contrived and manipulative, is a satisfying finale to the romance that had begun so innocently and touched so many lives.

The plot has been well summarized below, so I'll just do a quick sketch. Sarah has been living in a small Kansas town after suffering her own personal tragedy, painting, waitressing and basically dreaming her life away. Then Susan and John Wilde come to town with their newly adopted frail baby. Susan can't bond with the baby and John brings Sarah the baby to tend while Susan goes into therapy and they try to patch up the marriage. Of course Sarah bonds with the baby, but has to give it back. John is an intellectual physicist who is touched by Sarah's love for the baby and begins to feel strongly towards Sarah. The feeling is mutual, but he's married. After a horrible tragedy the story starts to take a different path.

I found John to be an atypical romance hero, but a realistic one. Not every guy is drop dead gorgeous and a millionaire or Duke. What touched me about him was his love for the adopted son, and how it opened up both he and Sarah to the possibility of love for themselves. John and Sarah have been two misfits, but they go together beautifully, connecting on a spiritual and intellectual level. It was a pleasure to read about a couple with such knowledge of both science and art, and how life weaves into both.

Yes, the ending was a bit soapy, but I liked it. It was beautiful to see John and Sarah share their own miracle after so much pain in their lives.

I've just read Janice Graham's "Sarah's Window," which I find to be a disappointing portrait of the Flint Hills, where I happen to live. I'm familiar with many of the places mentioned in the book -- I've visited the house where Susan and John supposedly live and I've eaten at the Cassoday Cafe. Graham is inconsistent in her depiction of the people of the Flint Hills. When we first meet Billy, for example, he speaks like a cowpoke; within two pages, his vocabulary has shifted to that of an intellectual. You'll find both types in the Flint Hills, but you likely won't find such drastic shifts in the same person. I know a university professor who's an expert on Flint Hills cowboy folklore, but his vocabulary and demeanor are consistent, unless he's in character to tell a story. For those of us who know the places -- and some of the people -- Graham is presenting, I think she's done a disservice to her readers who think she has captured this unique part of the world.

Other reviewers mentioned the intriguing cover. Yes, it is (both versions I've seen), which proves the adage you can't judge a book by its cover. This novel started with a promise but soon grew stale, soap opera, unlikeable characters, a throw-away child, and by midway through, simply boring. The author used a distracting and annoying mixed point-of-view, even within the same paragraph, and a poor use of dialogue structure. Characters smiled, grinned, laughed their lines. One can't smile, grin, laugh a sentence.

Disappointing.

There is obviously something about Janice Graham's writing that keeps me coming back for more, although Firebird and The Tailor's Daughter both made me kind of angry when I was done reading them. I am glad that I gave this third book, Sarah's Window, a chance though. Out of the three, it was by far the best read, and so I am giving it 5 stars compared to the other two. At no point in this story did I feel frustrated or disgusted... it was just a nice escape.