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Summary: New Meaning to Historical Fiction
Review: Durban's insightful and often haunting descriptions of personnal relationships and struggles to overcome ingrained prejudices elevate this novel to a great read for all ages. Her character development is exquisite, and the subjects of aging and racial relationships are daunting but sensitively portrayed. A definite book club choice for me, this novel gives new meaning to historical fiction.
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Summary: SUPERIOR LITERATURE!
Review: Even if you are from the north - or a transplant to the south from the north as I am this book is a MUST READ. I live near Charleston but travel to Columbia and Savannah also - and this depiction of the push/pull between the races is an amazing truth. Ms. Durban has become the skin of southern life and takes you back to the origin of today's feelings between the old white and black feelings. There is an understanding in her writing that tears the heart and opens the valve of communication for today. Please read this book - if you read no other this summer. You will be rewarded for the time spent and will "crave" more.
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Summary: SUPERIOR LITERATURE!
Review: Even if you are from the north - or a transplant to the south from the north as I am this book is a MUST READ. I live near Charleston but travel to Columbia and Savannah also - and this depiction of the push/pull between the races is an amazing truth. Ms. Durban has become the skin of southern life and takes you back to the origin of today's feelings between the old white and black feelings. There is an understanding in her writing that tears the heart and opens the valve of communication for today. Please read this book - if you read no other this summer. You will be rewarded for the time spent and will "crave" more.
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Summary: great story of charleston
Review: I really enjoyed this read. I've read a lot about charleston, been there several times and had one of my most memorable(!) ghost experiences there ! This ghost story was to me utterly believable, and i loved the history of the two families intertwined over 200 years. The tourists usually see the beauty of charleston, the historic district, the antiques, the culture, the flowers, etc. This author reminds us that there was a not so beautiful side of life in this city, whether one was black or white. She brings to life the horrors of slavery and lynchings, as well as the killer climate with its heat and dampness, hurricanes and storms, poisonous snakes, the epidemics of diseases like yellow fever that struck year after year when there was no cure or treatment, and the deaths of many, including children and babies, from causes such as kitchen accidents, ulcers, and other then-unknown reasons. This gives the book a balance and makes it realistic. The main character learns to look a little deeper, and so will you. And i'm cheering for Diana--read the book and find out why.
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Summary: So Far Back - Disappointing!
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this book and was sadly disappointed. I love books that mix history and fiction but this book did not live up to my expectations. I felt that it was a slow and tedious read. When the main character, Louisa Hillard, discovers and reads the diary from one of her ancestors in the 1830's, I thought it would never end! This story really just didn't go anywhere and I found it difficult to keep track of the many generations she attempted to introduce to the reader.
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Summary: My reading group loved this one
Review: So Far Back is the story of two women--one a contemporary Southerner, the other her 19th century ancestor--and their shared history. When Louisa Hilliard discovers a long-buried journal of her slaveholding ancestor, she begins a journey into the past and learns about the life of Diana, a slave whose descendants have continued to work in some capacity for the Hilliard family. This novel is a rich, thought-provoking book about race, class, and the lives of women who "keep house". Our reading group chose this on the recommendation of a bookseller, and a number of us found it relevant to our own lives and to those of our grandparents and great-grandparents. Recommended for reading groups who want a book with some issues and historical backdrop.
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Summary: PLEASURE!
Review: The combination of an exquisite writing style and the story that was both historically informing and sweetly dream-like, enthralled me.
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Summary: Another Great Southern Story
Review: This book is recommended for those interested in family history, historical fiction and life in the South during slavery. Ann Culp tour guide for the Hilliard family house summarizes what the book is about when she says, "It's getting harder and harder to keep them apart, the black story and the white one: they pull toward each other, merge, and tangle." Louisa Hilliard's life and the life of her ancestors represent the white story and Evelyn Pope and the life of her ancestors represent the black story. The two stories merge into a ghost story. Diana the defiant slave and gifted seamstress is equally defiant in death as she angrily destroys items in the Hilliard house and forces Louisa to dig deep into the family history to find a way to appease the angry ghost. Diana is angry because when she ran away from the Hilliard house and disappeared, Eliza Hilliard took credit for the christening gown that she (Diana) had helped to create. Generations of Hilliard babies had been christened in the gown that she put so much skill and effort into. It was up to Louisa the family historian to make things right with Diana's descendant Evelyn Pope. Louisa however keeps making these faux pas with Evelyn. The story takes us into the past when Louisa was in her 30's, the present when Louisa was in her 60's, the distant past long before Louisa was born and back again to the present after Louisa's death. The voices in the story are of Louisa, Evelyn , Eliza and finally Ann. The different voices and perspectives is what makes the book interesting. My favorite part of the book was when Louisa reminisced about her love affair with a catholic priest.
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Summary: eloquent and haunting
Review: This is one of the best Southern novels I've read in years. In some ways, it is like a feminine _Absalom, Absalom!_, but more immediate and contemporary--especially in its dealing with race relations. The writing is lyrical, at times poetic, but never overdone, and the many distinct voices Durban uses remain in the mind long after the book is finished.
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Summary: My reading group loved this one
Review: What continues to bind two old Charleston families, one black and one white together after so many years? This is the basis for Pam Durban's book So Far Back which I recently read. And while I looked forward to this book and am a lover of historical fiction, I found this book limited in describing the present and certainly the past.
At 60, Louisa Hilliard is the last descendant of a once proud Charleston family. In her mothers stately home there are still day workers who are descendants of a local black family who have worked for the Hilliard family for almost a century. When Louisa's mother dies and Charleston is hit by a terrible storm and then flood, Louisa is forced to clean out the ancestral home. Going through years of family memorabilia, Louisa chances upon a diary left by the slave Diana. Louisa curious to know about her ancestors reads Diana's diary she learns much about her family's history which before this had been a well guarded secret. In addition, she learns that Diana was not a typical slave, had a mind of her own, was severely punished for her behavior and eventually ran away from the house, possibly from the South all together. As Louisa continues to read, suddenly objects are missing and then moved to other parts of the house and Louisa wonders if Diana has returned to the house as a ghost. The more Louisa reads, the more she becomes aware of how her own life is entwined and deeply entangled in her family's haunted history. While this book was well written I didn't find it particularly interesting. It was a story which began slowly and never really took off anywhere. The characters never were more than names on a page and and overall I found this to be a disappointing read.
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