The Singing Trees

Boo Walker Just Has A Way With Words. That's really all there is to this one. The story is emotional yet also one told in so very many ways by so very many people. The story of the late 60s and mostly early 70s (with prologue and epilogue in 2019, and penultimate chapter later in the 70s), of a pair of star crossed lovers in that perilous time, of loving someone yet having goals of your own. Walker walks into this well-worn area and even era, and owns it in a way I've only seen one other book do in all of my vast and diverse reading - Laurie Breton's Coming Home. That book was an absolute gut punch that left you absolutely devastated for days. Walker's is one that will slap you in your face several times, feint to the groin, and then land a hay maker right in your solar plexus at the end, right when you thought you were already completely spent. Truly a beautiful story, superbly crafted. Very much recommended.

⭐⭐⭐

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the big Italian family. The setting. The time period. A lot of the characters were very likable. All positive things. However, I found the writing to be simplistic. The pace incredibly slow. The book overly long. And the biggest issue was it contained one of my biggest pet peeves...lack of communication. Nothing annoys me more than when a simple conversation would clear the air, thus avoiding all the drama and long separation.