Customer Reviews

Swan Place

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up Swan Place without ever hearing of Augusta Trobough before and I have to tell you I fell in love with the writing stlyle and the main charactor Dove right from page one. Swan Place is the story of Dove, an almost 14 year old girl who has a tough road ahead of her. Doves loving Mamas death causes her to be the one left to take care of her two younger siblings, Molly and Little Ellis while her step-father is out working double shifts and clubbing at the local honky tonk. Dove was raised right by her mama and stands up to the challenges ahead of her including having a new step-mother who is only a few years older than Dove herself, children making fun of her at school for wearing second hand clothes, and a secret about her true parentage.
Trombough has a wonderful flow to her writing that just draws you into this story and doesn't let go even once you are finished. This is a must read for all the southern fiction and coming of age readers out there.

Completely fascinating, this book was full of surprises and wonderful displays of genuine family love. The strength of 14-year-old Dove is remarkable and the caring nature of so many of the characters is something I found pleasing. I reccommend it to anyone looking for some insight into Southern traditions and the true power of prayer.

I loved this book. It was so refreshing to find another work of original southen fiction. This book was different from the Secret Life of Bees. Yes, there are a few similarities but it's a stretch to say they are alike in plot.

This is the first Augusta Trobaugh novel that I've read. I am looking forward to reading others. This is a great little story. Young Dove is a darling character. This novel is an easy read with some real substance. It's great summer reading. I could not put this book down. I highly recommend it.

Ms. Trobaugh just keeps writing these great southern stories. I've read & enjoyed all her books & eagerly await her latest in 2004. She surely knows her south & all about southern charm, grace & beauty.

Swan Place is the fourth of Augusta Trobaugh's novels I have read, relishing every sentence. The author continues to give us lovely stories of Southern women and their courage.
Dove, the protagonist of Swan Place, is a charming adolescent who has not yet come to realize her strength; she just does what has to be done as one challenge after another enters her young life. I would love to read of the grown up Dove to see what she becomes as an adult! Told with a strong sense of the importance of family support and love and sprinkled with southern idiomatic expressions, Troubaugh's novels show me glimpses of my own upbringing.

Coming of age story. Dove loses her mother, (step)father and stepmother. Story has twists and turns with an overall good unity. Beautiful southern fiction at its best.

Swan Place is an amazing southern read, and a true comfort book.
It is true that you will fall in love with the main character, 14-year old Dove, right from page 1. The story centers on Dove & her family as they try to rise above one unfortunate event after another and maintain survival.

When Dove & her siblings become orphaned, their Aunt Bett steps in to help the children, even though as a widow, she has a home full of her own children to care for. Dove & the kids find themselves at Swan Place, where a strong, generous black woman named Buzzard steps in and brings a sense of comfort & stability to these children who are in a state of chaos. Swan Place is a story of the deep ties of family, the power of love, and the strength of women.

I would have felt differently about this book had I not first read "Secret Life of Bees". The first few pages nearly made me put it down, feeling that I knew the whole story already. And in truth, I did know it, although the details were different enough that I kept reading. "Bees" was a a much better book in terms of writing and character development, telling the age old story of making sense of the complexities of life. Trobaugh's "Praise Jerusalem" left me with the same sense of almost being memorable, but ending up being more of an also-ran. Copied or simply a variation on a common theme, there are worse ways to spend a few hours.

This book is eerily similar to The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, which was one of my favorites from earlier this year. There are so many similarities that I have a hard time believing Swan Place is someone's original idea.