Customer Reviews

The Sheep Queen: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'The Sheep Queen' (formerly titled 'I heard My Sister Call My Name') is a beautiful story of a western family (Idaho and Utah) by a writer who grew in the West and later moved to the East Coast, where he wrote a number of popular novels - now mostly out of print. Savage's 'Power of the Dog' is another powerful novel (has nothing to do with dogs) which sends readers scrambling to rare book dealers for his other works. The two books are related in many ways. Read 'Power of the Dog' first.

These are not cowboy stories.

Both 'Power of the Dog' and 'The Sheep Queen' are popular book-club titles in our part of Texas. Savage's attention to detail and mood, make him one of my favorite writers. If I could give these books six stars, I would.

Thomas Savage is a discovery you'll savor and share.

Not very fast-moving, but oh-so-sublime in many ways. People don't think these days in the way that Savage writes, and it is to our detriment that we don't. The Sheep Queen: A Novel

Having read Savage's Power of the Dog, which was one of the most brilliant books of all time, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Sheep Queen. Oh it started off all right I suppose. Probably because I was still riding the wave of momentum from Power of the Dog. But towards the middle of the book, the wave had crashed and the sea went flat. I started to skip pages. The story wasn't all that interesting to me. I didn't really know who the Sheep Queen was and the story never developed her on a personal level. One page she's a young and naive girl then the next chapter she's a powerful woman owning over 1000 head of sheep. Huh? The writing is so so. But this book was indeed a disappointment after Power of the Dog, where both the story flowed, the characters were interesting and the writing captivating. I did like the title, however.

This was a very enjoyable book for me. It was told in a very classy way. I will be looking for more of his books.

I have read and enjoyed these books by Thomas Savage:

2242 The Power of the Dog, by Thomas Savage (read 25 Oct 1989)

2244 Midnight Line a Novel by Thomas Savage (read 6 Nov 1989)

2245 I Heard My Sister Speak My Name, by Thomas Savage (read 8 Nov 1989)

2250 A Strange God, by Thomas Savage (read 23 Nov 1989)

2251 For Mary, With Love, by Thomas Savage (read 25 Nov 1989)

2252 The Corner of Rife and Pacific, by Thomas Savage (read 25 Nov 1989)

I believe this book is a new title for one of those books, and I believe its prior name was I Heard My Sister Speak My Name. If I am right, this book is a positively absorbing novel, telling of a family in Idaho, with touches in Montana, of the "I" in Maine, and of Amy Nofzigar, who is seeking her mother. It is an extremely poignant book which I found memorable and unforgettable.