Review: A Long Time Gone by Karen White

A Long Time Gone by Karen White 

Published: June 3, 2014

Publisher: NAL

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

When Vivien Walker left her home in the Mississippi Delta, she swore never to go back, as generations of the women in her family had. But in the spring, nine years to the day since she’d left, that’s exactly what happens—Vivien returns, fleeing from a broken marriage and her lost dreams for children.

What she hopes to find is solace with "Bootsie," her dear grandmother who raised her, a Walker woman with a knack for making everything all right. But instead she finds that her grandmother has died and that her estranged mother is drifting further away from her memories. Now Vivien is forced into the unexpected role of caretaker, challenging her personal quest to find the girl she herself once was.

But for Vivien things change in ways she cannot imagine when a violent storm reveals the remains of a long-dead woman buried near the Walker home, not far from the cypress swamp that is soon to give up its ghosts. Vivien knows there is now only one way to rediscover herself—by uncovering the secrets of her family and breaking the cycle of loss that has haunted her them for generations.

My Thoughts

This book took me awhile to get into but once I did I really enjoyed it. It’s a multi-generational read, it’s told in different voices through alternating chapters. Although sometimes I had to keep straight what was what I loved how it almost read like two stories in one.

It all starts with Vivien who is coming back home after years of being gone. She comes to find her grandmother but finds out she has passed. Her family is basically at its wits end, her mom has her issues and her brother hasn’t been the same since she left. We slowly learn why she left and what has really brought her back home.

While I’m not usually fan of a slow read this one I really took to. It’s just slow enough not to get me too impatient, it pulls you in and as enough to keep me intrigued. The Walker women are one of best set of female characters I’ve read about in a while. I love a story that has layers upon layers plus add some long buried secrets I’m in! No to mention I love reading stories about the South; I love the rich history that it brings to the table.

This is one of those books that is perfect for many types of readers. It has mystery, secrets, family and forgiveness. The perfect read for a long hot summer day.