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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than I expected, September 7, 2009
As twenty-year old Harriet Sherwood sits in jail, she ponders the irony that she has been arrested for transporting liquor at the advent of Prohibition, the very cause her grandmother has advocated for more than forty years.
Lynn Austin skillfully weaves a multi-generational tale set between 1848-1920 introducing us to Hannah, Beatrice, Lucy & Harriet, their choices and the resulting challenges facing them throughout their lives. Set amidst the national themes of Anti-slavery, Civil War, the Temperance movement, and finally Women's Suffrage, the attitudes and expectations of men toward women may surprise those unstudied in America's history. Each woman's attitude and reaction toward their situation is compelling and varied.
The book is particularly powerful in its faith message of turning to and trusting in God during desperate times of trial. When Beatrice leaves her husband, her mother firmly counsels her to return to her husband and fight for him through prayer for God to help her husband overcome his weakness. That their bond was a vow made before God for better and worse, and that times of trial do not mean quitting and giving up. In today's casualness of marriage and vows, Lynn Austin's characters demonstrate to the modern woman how to turn to God for strength in seemingly impossible moments. The rest of the counsel might surprise and anger you, as it did Beatrice, but in following Beatrice through her journey, we recognize the strength and power within ourselves by allowing God to work within us to change our circumstances through His will. As each character discovers this is not an easy choice, but a difficult, daily, conscience decision worth making.
Other themes include the relationship between mother and daughter, social classes, marriage, love, business. Characters demonstrate that making the right decision is often the more difficult path to follow. The author does not ignore her characters weaknesses, but allows them to learn from their mistakes. The reader shares their love, frustration, anger, and other emotions as they share their lives. The trials faced by each character are similar to current situations we all face today.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This book was so-so compared to Lynn's others, October 12, 2009
I have read all of Lynn's other books and loved them tremendously. They're very catchy and full of historical facts that make you feel like you're a part of action. I have recommended all of her books to many of my friends and family because they were so well written and captivating.
When I started reading Though Waters Roar, I had all this in mind. However, I found this book to be very slow in the beginning and kind of confusing if you are trying to follow the story line (she starts in present time and jumps back to the past without giving hardly any explanation in the beginning). Personally, I think there were too many characters stories to keep track of throughout the whole book.
Despite the slow and confusing start to the story, it does liven up a bit in the middle and last part of the story. This wasn't one of Lynn's better books, but it will not deter me from reading her new books in the years to come.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Four generations of heroic women ..., December 5, 2009
"As I said before, Grandma Bebe never did tell a story in a straight line like the chapters in a book. Following the thread of her sagas was like chasing a startled rabbit through the woods -- you never knew when it was going to turn and head in a new direction."
This novel's main character, Harriet, spends the majority of the story reflecting from a jail cell on conversations she's had throughout her life with her mother and grandmother (whom she feels will be particularly disappointed in her reasons for being incarcerated). As she states later in the book, Harriet comes from a long line of heroines that have fought for various causes. She harbors the desire to be a heroine herself, but feels like all the battles have been won by the generations before her.
Covering the topics of slavery, the underground railroad, the civil war, alcoholism, depression, prohibition, women's suffrage ... and more, this book spans four generations of women and the struggles they faced in their society and in their marriages. Masterfully woven into their lives is the analogy of water. The beauty of a waterfall reflects the "swept away" feeling of a young couple from two very different lives caught up in love. Unfortunately, the destructive force of water breaking apart a dam - long been beaten against by too much rain ... seems to greatly match the turmoil within the civil war veteran husband. Beautifully done!
Along the way, the three generations of women before her have found peace with their circumstances by trusting God to lead them in the right way to help others, and to face their own fears whenever bucking the system became necessary. Harriet has the desire to follow in their footsteps, but does she have the right motivation? And will Tommy O'Reilly help to change her mind about men? (I won't spoil the fun of finding out on your own.)
This is a wonderfully written book, and one I would highly recommend to others!
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