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A review by greybeard49
The Town by Conrad Richter
4.0
I really enjoyed the first 2 books of Richter's trilogy. The author is so good - he writes in the vernacular, a really difficult thing to do convincingly, and he does it amazingly well. The history of the early United States is skilfully rolled out through the actions and ups and downs of the people who populate the books.
'The Town' carries this off really well and gives the reader a real insight into the problems faced by those earlier settlers and the adjustments over their lifetimes they had to cope with. His main character, Sayward, the family matriarch, is a masterpiece in every way. It is on her shoulders that the the three books are carried.
My only scruple with 'The Town' is that centres around Chancey, Sayward's youngest. As a character he is not appealing - deeply selfish, always dissatisfied and pervasive and at the centre of nearly every chapter. I willed myself to be sympathetic but to no avail. He lessened the book for me and tainted the last section of the tale. A PITY.
'The Town' carries this off really well and gives the reader a real insight into the problems faced by those earlier settlers and the adjustments over their lifetimes they had to cope with. His main character, Sayward, the family matriarch, is a masterpiece in every way. It is on her shoulders that the the three books are carried.
My only scruple with 'The Town' is that centres around Chancey, Sayward's youngest. As a character he is not appealing - deeply selfish, always dissatisfied and pervasive and at the centre of nearly every chapter. I willed myself to be sympathetic but to no avail. He lessened the book for me and tainted the last section of the tale. A PITY.