Thursday, May 17, 2018

How Sweet The Sound


How Sweet the Sound
By Amy Sorells


A truly Southern novel, How Sweet the Sound is a loose retelling of the story of Tamar, Amnon, and Absalom. The story is set in 1979-1981. It’s an unusual time period for a novel, but since I was close in age to one of the characters at that time, it kept me very interested. The Alabama Pecan Farm was a fascinating setting as well.

The topics of incest, family loyalties, and parenting mistakes are painful to read about, but the two narrators are highly sympathetic as they provide interesting points of view. I enjoyed the 12 year old’s perspective on family tragedy, and the way she perceived her family both before and after she learned each family secret.

The author embeds scripture seamlessly, and gives us an alternate ending to a disturbing Bible story. That’s not to say she tried to rewrite scripture, but she began with an horrific story and took it in a different direction, shedding New Testament light into the lives of Old Testament characters, in a way. The result is a luminous novel drenched in atmosphere, personality, and ultimately, grace. 

There’s a sweetness here, reminiscent of my mom’s pecan pie. What's your favorite way to eat a Pecan? Leave us a comment to be entered to win a copy of Cinderella's Boot by Darlene Franklin. 

Review by Jennifer Fromke, an aspiring novelist who writes from NC where she pines for colder temperatures all year long. Northerners by upbringing, she and her husband of 26 years have raised three Southern-ish children, much to their amazement. Jennifer also reviews books at Shetalksbooks.com. She writes contemporary women’s fiction and email. Lots of email.

3 comments:

  1. How Sweet the Sound is going on my TBR list. I'm always brokenhearted when I read Tamara's story in the Bible. Having work with children who has experienced abuse this book must be read to see how Amy Sorrells tied the story together with the NT. Thank you for the nice review.

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  2. I would love to read it! Reminds me of a song :)

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  3. Thanks for a great review. I need to read this book!

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