The Memory Weaver

It isn't often I give up on a book, but I did this time. I really don't like not reading all the way through and finishing the story, but I felt lost in everything I read in this book.

Jane Kirkpatrick writes historical fiction that encompasses real events, and generally she makes dry history incredibly interesting. Some of my favorites of Jane's books are: A Flickering Light, An Absence So Great, and The Daughter's Walk. I think Jane has a compelling writing style, but this time her writing left me more confused than able to follow the plot of her book.

I saw a friend reading A Flickering Light and she told me she had read The Memory Weaver and she had a hard time getting through it as well. I respect her opinion. She reads as much as I do, and she knows her stuff. We both agreed The Memory Weaver is not Jane's best offering.

Eliza Spaulding is a young lady who was a captive of the Cayuse who massacred the Whitmans in their mission. Her father is a hard/harsh man who insists that Eliza testify against those who held her captive. He is unwilling to allow her court or marry, because she needs to take care of him and her younger siblings. She has found a young man whom she would like to marry, especially since her father has remarried. The only problem is that the new wife has no homemaking skills at all.

About every other chapter is a piece of Eliza's mother's diary, so the story is being told from two different perspectives. This is where my confusion comes in. I can follow the diary, but Eliza's narrative jumps from past to present without a lot of continuity.

Someone else may truly enjoy this book, but I did not. Two Stars.

My thanks to Revell Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book in exchange for my honest opinions.