All We Know of Heaven

I'm grateful this little-known book reached my hands. It's set in the southern U.S. during the depression. The author has a stong sense of place and the book seems both driven by the character of the town and of the individuals depicted. Its told in different voices (1st person) and its greatest strength is the compassion and fullness with which the author has treated even the worst of characters. This is a dark love-story. A good choice for a book club because it addresses (without being overly topical) several issues such as domestic violence and how childhood experience may inform adult choices. This is no "clicheish" southern novel. The author writes the accents with the perfect pitch. Her skill at creating a "voice" reminded me a bit of Zora Neale Hurston, although for the most part the voices are of a white southern dialect.

Bethany is fortunate to have relatives who care for her so much but she fails to appreciate their advice to her as she plunges head-long into a relationship that is doomed from the start. The sad part is that this could be the story of many young girls who are blinded by a love so powerful that they disregard opportunities that seem at the time to be less exciting. If the story had ended a few chapters earlier, I couldn't have stood it but fortunately the reader is left with a feeling of hope for Bethany's future.