Customer Reviews

The Wide House

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This book is about two cousins from Scotland, Janie and Stuart, who eventually end up emigrating to in the United States of America during the nineteen century some years before the Civil War. Stuart, the younger one, ends up coming first, while Janie follows later, together with her four children, once she is widowed. The seeds of Janie's discontent are sown shortly after she arrives at her cousin's home in central New York State, and she thereafter proceeds to make her children's lives a living hell. Stuart, on the other hand, is a kindly soul, given to great generosity but with a tendency to profligacy and dissipation. This book unfolds the story of their lives for the reader.

Unfortunately, this is not one of the author's best books. Filled with turgid prose and given to extremes in characterizations, the book, while entertaining at times, loses its charm fairly quickly and becomes somewhat tedious. Though the seven deadly sins are all a factor in this story, they are insufficient to maintain the readers complete interest, given that the characters in the book are mostly unlikable or unsympathetic due to their cartoonish quality. Still, fans of the author may derive some enjoyment from the book.

This is not one of Taylor Caldwell's best. Captain and the Kings, Dynasty of Death, or Ceremony of the Innocent are better ones. Basically, the story starts out very strong and interesting. We meet Janie, a very complex character. She is interesting, and we learn a good bit about her. Later, we meet her cousin, again an engaging character, very complex, very human. Then, half way into the book, the focus shifts to other characters. Caldwell never really develops some of characters toward the end of the book. They are good or bad, but very simple people. Most of them are shallow. Janie drifts into the background, and while her presence is there, her character is rarely seen. It is almost as if she was in a hurry to finish the book and wrapped everything up. Try the other book for characters you can care about.

I have lived this book, I have thought about it every minute I wasn't reading it. The characters are so real for me that I have almost made convesation about them to people who know nothing of this book. It is absolutely brilliant. It will break my heart to finish it but at least I can hold it and feel safe in the knowledge that I can read it again and again.

The book arrived in excellent condition just a promised. I would use this site again. Thank you. I am very satisfied.