I was looking for a Big, Fat, Novel usually the reputation of the
writer is enough for me to select a novel, this Author has sold 40 million
paperbacks and her work already translated into 12 languages, the size of
my book is 521 pages the above few were reason enough for me to purchase
the book .
The Maltese Angel (By Catherine Cookson)
Hayward Gibson (Ward) is 24 when the novel starts and he is the master of
a country farm owned by his grandfathers and now it is passed on to him , he
falls madly in love with a petite dancer of a stage play in the empire theater,
she is beautiful, Stephanie Mcqueen (Fanny) the genius of the Author begins with the 2 sketches, she chiselles here, highlights there, sharpens
here , touches up there these characters, before the end of the book
the characters become so complete and become so real, you can touch them,
feel them, they are leaping out of the pages, they are plain as day
in front of you.
This is how powerful this lady words are (Ward’s) side of canvas there is
Annie housekeeper, Billy, Carl, Parson, Daisey Mason, her 2 brothers, blacksmith, Ramsmore and a village full of people, this novel passes thru 30 years of lifes
of people connected to Ward & Fanny, their children, grand daughter, their neighbours, farm hands, fights in the village, people rising in bitter enemity
against ward because of his marriage to an outsider, meaning a girl from
out of their village. Fanny’s side there are Mr.Killjoy Mrs.Killjoy, Juggler and
a few other stage performers.
Its amazing the sketches are believeable, real , vivid, amazing, I finished this
novel in 1 sitting, it took few hours I could not believe the SADNESS, a very
real true SADNESS this book brings to your heart, there is a stretch of
SADNESS, I am myself a very jolly person, it takes a lot to instill SADNESS
in me, page after page, till the last page there is SADNESS, they are
only characters in a novel, evolved out of the mind of a very fertile
imagination and this could bring so much of SADNESS , its surprising, even
after I finished the book whenever I look at it lying in my shelf, it evokes
SADNESS in me, its uncanny and real a 521 pages of SADNESS back to back ,
cover to cover that are my feelings towards this book while I turned pages anticipating a lighter mood or a release from the painful grip of SADNESS a
reader feels. it is not there.
The events are Marriage, Love, Birth, Farming, Church, Parties, Babies, Working
all every day life activities of people in the book even all these diverse happennings
bring SADNESS strange. even after closing it you feel it.
I experienced in life laughter, fun , joy, adventure, challenges, deceptions, tough times good times and this experience of extreme SADNESS has made me complete.
Now I can safely say I have experienced all emotions a heart is capable of. I am
complete reading this book.
There you have it good people, somehow sharing my thoughts about this book with you a burden feels like lifted from my heart.....
THANK YOU ALL.........PHEW !!!!!!!!!!