...this is Kim's third and latest work of fiction. I've read them all.
My first insight: Her words are nothing less than poetic...She sculpts her words with texture...a true artist indeed. I read her stories and absorb the beauty of each word...they hang in midair, then slowly and softly fall between leaves to an earth as warm as her voice.
My second insight: She doesn't write for the faint of heart, this story is not a story to be reading at night. There are scenes that are alive with ghosts...the past haunts Ebenezer Road; and the people who traverse this road, which passes by the once old dwelling that harbored it’s secrets, are deemed to regret their actions.
My third insight: I've been reading this story slowly, mainly trying to go with the flow of language steeped in Kentucky bourbon vernacular - sometimes easy to grasp, sometimes hard, sometimes just curiously mysterious. I was about half-way through last night and couldn't put it down...but I did, three times! Each time the light went out I found I couldn’t sleep, then turned the light back on and read further.
My fourth insight: My heart twisted like a corkscrew at times, I cried at the hurt these people felt; I hurt easily from the words that Kim puts in her character’s mouths. Touching and gentle at times, I cried...then harsh and hurtful, or caring, or hateful...these are the people of Glass Ferry, Kentucky.
Lives matter, people matter, but lies and gossip cultivate hate, and disquiet the memories of those we love in this small community. Kim finds these memories and puts this mixture into a story of Literary Fiction that is not for the faint of heart.
My fifth insight: Kim pokes and prods at these memories and emotions until I cry again...the mystery that is contained in this story, and of her characters, are ominous and compelling until it came to an end. It’s one story my emotions got the better of me. She left me wondering throughout each page...who did what to whom and why? The “why” is what I wanted answered on many occasions.
Of course characters have a mind of their own, they aren’t you and they aren’t me, and their actions and reactions aren’t always ours. Yes, I questioned their motives, and impatiently waited for the answers until I found them.
Like I said, lies are a mainstay in this story...we tell them, we complicate life with them, and we end up digging our own graves with them. Kim doesn’t fool around, she cuts to the heart of the matter, and takes your heart along with these characters', and with her's.
I recommend this book to those who love words, loves an emotional challenge...but there are the gentle sway and tilt that leads to the harsh realities of life; all of which creates a complex story in a mystery of two sisters and the people they touched - and All is ultimately left to the eye of the reader.
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