Customer Reviews

Touched

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

 

 

Touched is one of the most amazing books I have ever read! From the first page of this book I was drawn into Haines' mysterious, twisted Southern town of Jexville. A constant sense of tension pervades as the story unfolds, petal by petal, and the pages literally begin to turn themselves. The characters are wonderful, endearing people, and the intense relationships they share with one another are multi-dimensional. The twists and turns of the plot would cause me to freak out, then cry, then laugh, all in one chapter. This story gets under your skin in a way that will have you thinking about the characters while you are away from your book. I enjoyed Haines' other book, Summer of the Redeemers, but I thought that Touched was even better. In one word, "intense" best describes Touched. It has been three days since I finished reading it, and the world of Jexville is still in the forefront of my thoughts.

Through Ms. Haines' descriptive powers, you can literally feel the heat of 1920's rural Mississippi in this exquisitely suspenseful tale. Racial tension and small-town suspicion simmer beneath supernatural overtones that hang over the tale like the humidity of the deep south.

This story is told from a feminie viewpoint, and I've walked the landscape of Carol Haines'"Jexville" through the memories of my own mother on many occassions. Born in southern Mississippi and raised in the deep south by a woman who lived that time and place, I found humour, insight, compassion, and courage in the characters, and a reality that is perhaps more palatable when wrapped in the threads of mystery and the supernatural.

I loved it!

Carolyn Haines' descriptions are so vivid and powerful that I felt I was walking on the road or actually sitting in the room with her characters. There were times the hairs on my arms just stood up or my heart was breaking with them. If Carolyn Haines was attempting to reveal the narrow mindness of people in small towns of the South, my opinion is She Nailed It. If she was trying to awaken compassion in her readers She Nailed It. Her characters took my heart. I am having flashbacks of times in her story and I am in the exact same spot with them I was while reading the book. I would recommend this as a wonderful read. It hurts but it certainly makes one think. I am so glad I read it. I believe it awakened a compassion in me which will remain a lifetime.

This book is different than the Carolyn Haines mysteries I have read, and is just as enjoyable. Touched is written in beautiful language, and I felt as if I were right there in the thick Mississippi summer heat, felt the heavy air just before a thunderstorm would hit. She knows how to weave a story so that you just want to keep on going.

I am glad I stumbled across this author and her books!

Ya never know what your gonna get. Touched is one of those books you think about at work...because you want to get home and finish it. I love it when Southern authors can make you feel the heat and humidity with their words; parts of this book reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird (because of the place descriptions and the weather.)This is actually a quick read but you find yourself slowing down to savor the story. A five star book through and through!

Touched is a novel of small town Mississippi in the 1920's. The humid, atmospheric setting is invaluable to the novel. The narrator is a young girl who was sold to an older man as his bride. Their relationship is at first violently abusive. As the story progresses, relationships change, lives change, the town itself changes. It is a wonderful look at the best and worst of humanity. Carolyn Haines is a fabulous writer. Her characters become part of your life. What a gift!

I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a very long time! This is a period piece about a small town in 1920's Mississippi. I fell in love with all the main characters, expecially Mattie, who is the the storyteller and main protagonist. Others have written a synopsis, so I won't. However, I can tell you this. I was mesmerized by the characters, totally engrossed in the story to the point that I read this novel almost non-stop for 3 days while sick (I could have finished it in a day if I would have been able to read it uninterrupted). Do yourself a favor and read this book. You will not be sorry. Excellent read by an excellent author. I look forward to reading Summer of the Redeemers now.

I love Carolyn Haines!!! Especially when she writes in this genre. I do enjoy the Sarah Booth Delany books as well, but it is like comparing a fine wine to Kool-Aid!
When the author writes in this genre it is always tough, life then was never "pretty" or easy, yet she counters it with characters who are gracious.
The only critism was the ending, a bit too abrupt. Or perhaps I just did not want it to end??