Customer Reviews

Sins of the Seventh Sister: A Novel Based on a True Story of the Gothic South

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I came across an incredible review by Kevin Allman for this book in last Sunday's Washington Post Book World. It described the book as "exceedingly readable, literarily suspect and highly entertaining in a scrape-your-jaw-off-your-shoes style" and went onto say that "Sins of the 7th Sister is like an extended visit from an eccentric uncle who unrolls all the best family stories like a fascinating patchwork quilt; no matter how many tales he relates and how far they stretch credulity, you always wish he would tell just one more. Like his celebrated mama, Huston Curtiss is too much pork for just one fork." Since the review was so great I decided to take a chance; I bought the book and read it in one day. The review was on the spot! This was an amazing read. I would highly recommend it to anyone, but especially to the more discerning reader.

I've spent most of the day reading this fabulous (and I mean that literally for once) book which is wondrously readable; it ain't just finest kind, it's beyond that. Mega superb, blast off your socks!

Rumor has it the book was originally written as a memoir; wow, that really knocks off socks! Memoir, novel, whatever, it's finest kind of reading bar none. I am talking the kind of reading that holds you glued to the chair and your fingers flipping pages. There's such a conflagration of action and compassion in this book, the reader doesn't know where to turn, except for MORE of the book.

Horse lovers will love this book, as will farm lovers; historians will have a veritable ball; students of political science will be enthralled; religious enthusiasts will have grist; as will cooks who love to cook and can; weavers and seamtresses who adore their art; orchard (especially apple) aficionados will be thrilled. I swear, everything in this book is up someone's/everyone's alley at least thrice or more. Finest kind, indeed.

I was at the book store, five minuets to closing, and i saw the title of this book and grabbed it in hopes that i did not choose a bad book. I have read books before, but never really got into them. After i started reading this book i could not put it down. The stories were wonderful, and the fun never stops, there were sad parts, funny parts, the whole book was great. it's the book that triggered me to read more often. I JUST finished it, and will read it again, i have my family reading it, i'll give it to my kids when they are old enough. My uncle lives where it took place, and i'm going to look for where the farm was and all the land marks, and the graves of the Curtiss family, if you read the book they talk alot about the graves. It's the best book i think i shall ever read. Highly recommend it.

This was a great Southern gothic read, audacious, full of the murder and mayhem that the description promises. What I've found most intriguing is the fact that Curtiss changed many, but not all, details about the people and events described, because now I'm curious to know what parts are real, and for those for which he took creative license, what the real details were. Figuring out the real story would be one great mystery to solve!

One thing I know for sure: Booklist's review is dead wrong on one account: it states that Stanely became the famous opera singer Stella Roman. Not true. Curtiss said in an interview with Wild Child Publishing that Stanley's real female name was NOT Stella, and that in real life she became a country-western singer. I could only imagine how they came to that conclusion.

Now, if I could only figure out the rest....

This book has been sitting on my wish list for well over a year. The whole 'Story of the Gothic South' thing was holding me back. I was expecting something dark and disturbing. Instead I got what is now one one of my all-time favorite books.

Huston Curtiss was 7 years old in 1929, living on a farm in West Virginia with his beautiful do-gooder mother, and about 15 other people that his mother took in to live with them in their huge home. What I loved about this book was that it has it all. Murder, suicide, love, heartbreak, trans-gender, racial tensions, mistresses, and good 'ol southern charm.

The fact that this is a true story is amazing to me. This is Mr. Curtiss's story of his childhood...and you couldn't make this stuff up. What these people had to deal with in those days...no thank you. While most of the story takes place in 1929, he does take you further into the future, up to 1967, and explains what became of everyone, which I appreciated.

In the end, I can't recommend this book enough. It was funny, sad, tragic, heroic...everything you could possible get out of a book, you get out of this one. I'm so glad I finally got this off my wish list and read it...although I am dying to know what Stanley/Stella's real name is!

I am 54 years old and this is the best damn book I have EVER read!! The ending will knock you out of your seat!! One question...WHY hasn't this man written a follow-up book?? I bought ten copies and gave them all as Christmas presents! Everyone loved this book!! What a film this would make!!!!

This was so eloquently written. It is so rare these days to find a great story with engaging construction. The story is riveting and only enhanced by the perspective of the writer/storyteller. If you love southern writers, you will find this a genuine treat. It was like a vacation, reading this novel. Thank you Huston for sharing your story! Would love to see you write another one.

When I saw this book I was intrigued, as I had gone to college in Elkins. It sounded a lot like "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", but purported to be true -- how could I know so little of it?

The story IS intriguing. The end was weak -- everything was rushed, and tied up too neatly. But that is a minor flaw: for most of the book you are entranced with the story and the characters. A "good read".

For those of you who have been wondering about how much of the story is true, I can offer a couple of tidbits:

**There is indeed a statue of a senator in Elkins, affectionately referred to as "the iron horse". The senator was Henry G. [Gassaway] Davis, who was also President of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway Company; he died in 1916, much earlier than in the novel.

**A college was indeed built on the senator's land: both Senator Davis and his son-in-law, Senator Stephen B. [Benton] Elkins donated property for the establishment of a college. The college, Davis & Elkins College, is associated with the Presbyterian Church, and was founded in 1904, again much earlier than in the novel [and before the death of Senator Davis or Senator Elkins (Senator Elkins died in 1911)]. The two properties, Halliehurst [named after Hallie Davis Elkins, daughter of Senator Davis & wife of senator Elkins] & Graceland [home of Senator Davis] remain focal points of the campus.

{As a humorous sidelight, in the late 60s, there were still aged residents of the area who swore that the James brothers weren't slain in Missouri, but hightailed it to West Virginia and assumed the new personae of Davis and Elkins.}

**There is an annual Mountain State Forest Festival held in Elkins since 1930, and is held on the college campus. Queen Sylvia is crowned [remember the Latin word for "forest" is "silva"].

But we're astray. Fiction, or exaggerated truth, this is a gripping read.

If only a fraction of this novel "based on a true story" is actually true, it's still a great read. Entertaining, well-written, lyrical, lots of action--one thing you won't be is bored. I'm tempted to say it must be a total fabrication, except for the fact that too many of the characters ring true to my own family! (no need to be specific about which ones). It's nice to see a strong woman character who takes care of her family and farm, is in control of her life and doesn't shirk her "duty" (whether it's getting the crops in or taking out a few Klansmen). There's also a good bit of interesting background on customs and a way of life in the rural South that is now gone. It's one of those books I approached with skepticism and ended up staying awake until 2:00 am to finish!

I am so speachless! I just finished the book today, and when I choose this book I knew I would end up loving it. I always depend on the first paragraph in a book to hook me, but the cover did it alone. I would love to meet Hughie and Stella, what a conversation! This book is so full of amazing history, I cried, I laughed. I am proud to add this to my bookshelf.