Customer Reviews

Two Thousand Minnows: An American Story

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two Thousand Minnows is a completely enthralling story - I just couldn't put it down. There are moments in the story that are totally unbelievable, when I just had to shake my head in disbelief. Thank you for writing such a beautiful book that touched my heart, made me laugh and helped me remember what it was like to be a young human-being in this unpredictable world.

This story is unadulterated honesty. A treasure and a joy to read - I was thoroughly charmed by it. The author has chosen a unique and brave voice with which to tell her very personal story. I'm thrilled to say that I've never read anything like it - what a rarity today - and I applaud her conviction to her own individual style because the rewards are abundant. Though it is a clever and different approach, you immediately have the impression that there would be no other way to tell it so tenderly.

Her depiction of a young girl catapulted into adulthood before her years, who meanwhile masterfully protects the child within, reminds us that profoundness often spills from the mouth of a child. Young Sandra's tiny hopes and fears, wrought through moments of deep pain and exuberant joy, become one's own and for nights which stretched into the early morning, I abandoned my own life and traveled with her through hers. Upon turning the last page, I am left with the experience of an alternate life - an experience not to be missed.

Two Thousand Minnows is an amazing story about family, about hopes and dreams, and about never giving up. This book made me laugh and cry and reminded me that we should always follow our hearts! Thank you Sandra for writing such an extraordinary book.

"In Two Thousand Minnows the words used to describe the story, kept me locked away in the book. Leigh painted a searing and sometimes unforgettable picture of life.
With profound and moving insight, she shows how determination to overcome adversity allowed her to become a woman of great stature. Seldom has anyone written so poignantly about the hopes and disappointments in life. Two Thousand Minnows is one of those rare books that as a reader you search for.

Sheldon

Okay,This is this best book I have EVER read! I could relate so well to this book because I grew up poor myself.My mom and I actually had to sleep in a car because we had no where to go.I read this book a few years ago and I still think of this book all the time.I had to struggle with buying it because when you grow up poor,you cant fathom spending money on something like a book.I may be 33 yrs old now and not the poor teenager I once was but my poor conscience kept telling me "25.00$ for a book? you could buy 3 days of food for that" Well the adult me won out in the end and it was the best 25.00$ I ever spent on myself.I would rush through my job just to get home a little earlier,to have more time to read this wonderful book.I cant recommend it enough.I cannot wait for more books by this talented storyteller and author,hopefully I wont have to wait for long!

I was so very moved by this book. I am an avid reader and I found myself right smack dab in the middle of this story, from beginning to end. Rarely have I felt as I was actually experiencing this young girl's struggle with life, as I did in this book!
Sometimes when I read a book, I know that I will immediately reread it. That is this book. I am delighted to hear that Sandra wrote another book and I will purchase that also. Sandra has a real gift and has portrayed the story of her life with utter clarity and simple and moving honesty.

This book moved me to tears and I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone.

From the time I started this book, I could not put it down. I usually have several books going at the same time but I read this start to finish uninterrupted. What a wonderfully personal story of a girl growing up in America. For me, it elicited the full spectrum of emotions. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

When the smiling younger woman in my porcelain doll making class answered my question, "I'm a writer," I already wanted to read whatever she had written. I was not disappointed. The third doll-maker was Sandy's mom who figures strongly in the book. The family dysfunction painted in the book is familiar, although it will enlighten anyone who still isn't clear on codependency and what children do to be perfect and thereby smooth out family trouble. I wanted to lay the book down when it seemed they had to move yet again, or when the father was particularly cruel. I wondered how on earth the mom kept them all in clean clothes or fed, considering the dramatic ups and downs. The papa was a seeker of instant riches, pie in the sky schemes. Evidently he was also a charmer. Mom and kids followed. At one point they drive off into the sunset to pursue an unlikely plan; hours later they have returned to the home they had abandoned, finding the dog hungry and watching for them. Sandy interweaves great beauty with the difficult passages. She paints the natural scenery, idyllic summer afternoons, love among siblings and mom -- and even the dad at times. They were dreaming such elegant dreams and a few mistakes pushed them into humiliating squalor more than once. There's a hilarious passage involving a snake that the editors wanted cut from the book. I was very glad for the laugh. This isn't just a "how I found my lost sister" story; it's a pithy growing up story about a girl who had stars in her eyes -- and still does. The other reviewers have said it for me, but I wanted to add 5 more stars and say I look forward to whatever this talented writer does next.

Leigh's book is simply put, a long vibrant poem. She brings the hills of West Virginia and the housing of Northern California to life in a way that puts the smells in your nostrils and an empathy for the people in your hear. The characters she creates sourround you and for a moment become your family. I say creates because, though they are born out of reality, Leigh breathes new life into the ghosts of the past allowing all of us a glimpse into her unusually large heart.

She writes in the present, a task that many authors attempt but few succeed, which draws the reader into the story and makes them grow with Sandra and her siblings. Her diction is astounding as she recreates the voice of a young girl. In fact, her words grow with the character and by the time Sandra is a teenager, Leigh no longer uses heck and darn but hell and damn.

One truly astounding realization is that this book is for all people. It is not the cryings of one person for their hard life but a look into human nature and the awsome power that is born out of adversity. We all have ghosts in our past, this book allows us to look back with a fresh perspective and see our own lives for what they are.

From the moment I read the blurb inside the front cover, I was hooked! I laughed, I cried, I cheered for Sandra when she stood up for herself, and cried when she did what her mother never had the strength to do - find her sister. This book touched me in so many ways. Ms. Leigh succeeds in drawing the reader into her very soul, and I am sure every reader will see a little bit of themselves in one of the members of the family.

When I finished it, I was sitting in Pep-Boys, waiting for my car to be repaired. I am sure all those waiting there with me thought I was crying over my car! I have never written to an author before, but when I finished this wonderful book, I wrote to Sandra Leigh. She very kindly answered with a personal letter. Thank you, Sandra, for sharing such personal memories with us.