This is a beautifully written story. It really captures how hard Appalachian families had it. There were times it was so sad I had to take a break to read something else. ( )

I am trying to think what I can possibly say about this wonderfully moving novel by Amy Greene. If writing should show and not tell, Greene had perfected the art of showing to the point that it becomes living inside her characters’ skins.It is 1936, the TVA is about to flood the town of Yuneetah, Tennessee, and all its inhabitants must leave. Obviously, some are reluctant to go, but none as much as Annie Clyde Dobson. She determines to stay to the last possible moment and then her three year old daughter goes missing and cannot be found, and she may have stayed too long.

The cast of characters is so complete and so believable. The plot is tightly woven, with the anxiety at fever-pitch even for those above the line, who will be allowed to stay in the homes they know. Greene knows these people and this place, and because she does, we know them as well. They are depression era families, farming the land, living in the mountains, independent and strong. They are loners who don’t really want to be alone but don’t know how to be with anyone else. They are suspicious of outsiders, loyal to what they know, and superstitious because it is the knowledge that has been passed from the generations before that make them who they are.

I followed this story with an ache and a worry and a wrenching sadness. I cried (actual tears falling from my eyes so that it was too blurry to any longer read and I had to put down the book and walk away and dry up). I loved every inspired moment of this read and then I wanted to open the book and relive this again.

This is why I love Goodreads so much. I would never have found this book alone. I would have skirted over it and what a loss that would have been.
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The writing is beautiful but the plot left something to be desired. ( )

The story is set in 1936 when unemployment and rising water levels get even worse in Depression-era Tennessee. The town has started to evacuate it’s residents...and they all know that this is the end of the line…. rock bottom for most of them including the parents of the 3-year-old child who has disappeared. It’s an often familiar tale about the sacrifices people are expected and forced to make in the name of progress. Mystery...family saga...backwoods romance…it’s unforgettable. What lost it half a star for me was that after the author set the stage with the child’s disappearance the story moved forward at a snails pace. This will be fine with some readers but I found it a bit annoying...but nevertheless a good story. ( )

Wow! This novel just blew me away! Gorgeous descriptive writing of the Tennessee countryside, where I have lived for 53 years. The author describes the setting and the characters so vividly, you feel as if you are there, talking with them on the front porch. I listened to the audio book and I plan to purchase this in hardcover so that I can savor it in print. ( )