Between the Flowers

I want my review to make you want to read Harriette Arnow's work, and as the other reviewers attest, Between the Flowers is a good novel with powerful characters. Fortunately or unfortunately, it is not as skillful or as strong as her others. Written just after her first novel (the incomparable Mountain Path) Between the Flowers was more crafted than inspired, a common problem with "second" novels. Read, misunderstood, and rejected over and over by publishers, it was never finished. Not until after Ms Arnow's death in 1986 was this unpublished work rescued by Michigan State University Press editor Frederick Svoboda, cleaned up and put out in hardback in 1999. As a devoted fan of Ms Arnow, I was extremely pleased to be able to read another of her books, and am also pleased to see it is now also out in paperback, but sadly we will never know how Arnow herself would have resolved this story of conflict housed in two people, Marsh and Delph. While full of exotic imagery of a time and place that has virtually disappeared, swallowed up by national parks, highways and fast food joints, this volume is tame by comparison to Ms. Arnow's other books. This may be reason enough to start with Between the Flowers, but I would be sorry if you took this to be her best work and stopped there, discouraged that what you have heard about this writer is not quite true. The Dollmaker, certainly the most complicated of her work, may or may not be where to start. Mountain Path is sadly out of print, though easy enough to find at many libraries. (What a joy it would be if MSU Press would republish that gem!) Hunter's Horn is deeply powerful yet not as fatalistic as The Dollmaker. Her histories of Appalachia are rich texts. Arnow's recently published Collected Short Stories are a mixed bag, though invaluable for the reprinting of the macabre "A Mess of Pork" and for those wishing to get deeper into her development as a writer. I will say that Between the Flowers centers on a love theme that doesn't quite exist in her other works. Harriette Simpson Arnow was not one to delve into romantic themes. But, it is here that she explored sexual passion and her writing of the deluge scene is stunningly lyrical.

Between The Flowers by Harriette Simpson Arnow is an intuitive depiction of the cultural themes that dictate the lives of modern life, the appeal to traveling and the actualities of residing in a traditional community regardless of global positioning. Intriguing for its theme, Between The Flowers is an inspired and inspiring work of the earlier, realist based writings, informing the reader of the latent differences between men and women, and the difficulties in communication between them in both the artificial and traditional gender community. To be given high praise for its fundamental structure, storyline and content, Between The Flowers is strongly recommended to the literature enthusiast, particularly those in study of the realist mentality and influence.

After having languished unpublished for over half a century, Harriette Simpson Arnow's magnificent "Between the Flowers" will rightfully restore her reputation as one of the twentieth-century's finest writers. Compared favorably with John Steinbeck at the onset of her literary career, Arnow's second novel, "Between the Flowers," failed to inspire publishers. The novel's dark naturalism and intricately detailed descriptions of the Cumberland River region of eastern Kentucky, now seen as extraordinarily rich qualities, appeared excessively regional and fatalistic to editors in Depression America. Fortunately, the Michigan State University Press has brought this book to a new generation of Americans, a generation which can appreciate the feminist slant to Arnow's characterization of Delph, the anguished and inarticulate conflicts in her husband Marsh and the exquisite detailing of a region of the United States either ignored or stereotyped by modern society.Arnow's novel combines an overwhelming and frightening naturalism, two admirable, miserable characters who rage against their own flaws, social restrictions and elusive love and a sense of place that exalts the people who reside therein. Arnow's nature is not some beneficent prop; it is an indifferent overpowering force which mocks human attempts at control. Marsh and Delph's attempts to scratch out of a living in the midst of drought, heat and flooding appear small and futile in the face of the relentless battering factors of nature. One of the remarkable facets of this novel is the author's ability to make puny humans appear large in the face of overwhelming odds.The greatest achievement of "Between the Flowers," however, is the creation of one of the most tormented and sympathetic couples in American literature. Bound to each other by hunger -- a deep and unfulfilled yearning for completion and self-respect, Delph and Marsh are ironically ill-suited for each other. Their passionate needs, which kindled their romance, ultimately cripple their possibilities for mutual happiness. Delph, the orphaned child of a family known for its rebelliousness, yearns for pesonal libeation, for travel, education and experience. Frustrated by the isolation of the Cumberland, she envisions an unbound future, kissed by urban experiences and inellectual growth. Rootless Marsh, a wandering oil-man, seeks place, solidity and permanence; he senses that land -- owning it, bending it to his will, husbanding it to produce -- will be his salvation. "Between the Flowers" is brilliant in its rendering of these two complicated, sympathetic people. The conflicts and tensions over "the having of things or the holding" advance both the narrative and the philosophical underpinnings of the novel.Readers should not expect an easy time with this novel. Arnow's style is detailed, relishing in the opportunities to expound on the rugged beauty of the Cumberland, probing the consciousness and consciences of Delph an

Between the Flowers is one of the best books I have ever read! I came across it in a library, thinking I would take it home, read a little bit, and see how I liked it. From the moment I got into it, I was hooked! I think that part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was that I could identify with the characters. I am a young woman asking some of the same questions about myself that Arnow sets forth in her book. Another strength is that the characters and situations are totally believable. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, especially those who are interested in Appalachian literature.The main focus of this book is the conflict that exists between the appeal of a wandering life and the appeal of establishing roots. Delph and Marsh want different things from life, but they want each other, too. Delph wants to travel for once in her life and Marsh wants to settle down for once in his. As was typical of the time, the will of the husband wins out and Delph and Marsh settle down to a life of farming. I think one of the most heartbreaking aspects of this struggle between wandering and settling is how Delph and Marsh lose sight of each other. They throw themselves into the farming, Delph to forget what her life could have been and Marsh to make a success of himself. Between the Flowers is a story mixed with the triumps that Delph and Marsh have together, and it is also the story of how they fail each other. It is a wonderful study of everday life.