Catherwood

I highly recommend this book as a vivid, believable portrayal of the love of a mother for her young child. This--a skillful treatment of a rarely addressed topic--would be sufficient reason to read this marvelous book, but Youmans gives us more. Through the eyes and mind of her title character, a young woman embarking on a new marriage on a new continent, Youmans imagines the seventeenth century imagination. And still the book offers more: all of this is written in a poetic style that is nevertheless enjoyably easy to read.

The story starts in the late 1600's in England and ends in the wilderness of America, where Catherwood wanders lost with her small daughter. A perfect drama, perfectly written, and a beautiful love story. Every word seems exactly right. To me, this is a diamond of a book.

I absolutely loved this book. I am a mother of three children and I could not believe the strong emotions I felt when reading this. It touched me to the core!! I have purchased and given this book to three other mothers. It is still with me after reading it two years ago. I am a high school history teacher and I'm not sure about the historical accuracy but that seems irrelevant to the powerful emotions I felt while reading this gripping tale of a mother's love. Fantastic.

From the first gripping pages to the sad climax, this book carries you on a dreamlike wave through a more exciting life than your own. For those readers who have always hungered for the experience of living in another era, this book will transport you across the centuries. The depiction of the close love between a mother and her child is the most complete and viceral I have ever encounter. It is succinct in its perfection, and better poetry than most that is published under the name of poetry.

When Catherwood Lyte sails for America with her new husband Gabriel in the 17th century, you feel as though you're with them. It's like you've stepped into a painting, or a rare, old book. This work of lyric prose transported me across three centuries. I was astonished when it ended and the camera drew back, reminding me that it was a book, and not real. In one scene, Catherwood wanders through the woods with her small daughter, and some low-swooping birds become a makeshift meal. I remembered the Biblical story of manna from the heavens. The redemption here is subtler, though. In many ways it's a tableau vivant, where the characters step out of their own roles and become embodiments of other, more distant myths. I swear that Catherwood was alive. I saw her. This magical book will help you see her, too. The author is not just a writer, but a conjurer, a seer of visions who imparts them like a gossamer, waking dream. Youmans's background as a literary scholar gives her book substance, but her artistry stands foremost. This poetic second novel deserves a vast audience.