Thursday, February 10, 2022

Groundskeeping - Lee Cole

 Groundskeeping - Lee Cole

He and she read

Publication Date:  March 1, 2022


Some describe this as a love story.  Yes, there is a romantic relationship around which the story develops.  But, it is so much more.  Well written, this is an engrossing story, with good insight into the the different Americas that have been ripped apart by the politics of our times.  Through Owen, Cole captures the culture of hard scrabble rural life while also, through Alma,  addressing the horror of escaping religious persecution and war and immigrants building the American dream. Along with this, we have a delayed coming of age novel!   His observations are poignant, real, complex.   What a stunning debut for this author!


I wasn’t thrilled with the writing style; but the story won me over. There were no quotation marks; it felt like I was reading stream of consciousness.


Spoiler alert:  The ending is a bit ambiguous and some might be disappointed with it.  But, if you look at this novel as slice of life, and we have just been give a small taste of it, it kind of fits.


*****

He really liked this book also

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