Thread of Gold

This book is complex, with a plot executed so intricately, so ruthlessly, that the reader’s emotions are in a constant stress and flux. Sexual encounters have seldom been done so adroitly, so richly. The feminine points of view are immersive.

It is fortunate that chapter titles are names, months, and years, as the tale is so rife with names, sometimes two (given and familial) for the same individual, within a couple of paragraphs, and some are employed again after only a brief introduction chapters earlier. Being able to retrace personal origins is thus essential.

Protagonist conflict is established and maintained with perhaps the most thorough set of evocations I have ever read: sleep and food deprivation, employment stress, body image problems, change of life, familial alienation, unexpected connection–and reportorial intensity. There is no ease here. That is not a reviewer complaint but high praise. Inescapably engaging!

Sensory immediacy is rendered with fine detail, ranging from crumbs on clothing to the embarrassing mess of first (untutored) menstruation.

Period family dynamics and social imperatives show this writer’s excellent grasp on the sociology/local customs of her chosen population and region.

Interwoven personalities, places, families, times, and world events (from war to plagues to depression) make an astounding tapestry spread over a century.