Where the Lost Wander

Ahhh the sense of PLACE in this story is astoundingly well done. Remarkable, really, how Harmon makes you feel as though you're there in the story. Not a reader, not even a fly on the wall - immersed in the world, feeling that nostalgic sense for a time you've never actually lived in. As a reader, you follow people making their way from the Oregon trail to California (though, again, I say “reader” but I felt more like I was actually THERE, traveling with them). John and Naomi are wonderfully written characters with the layers I like to see and historical relevance (John is half Pawnee but has an English father), and Naomi is a young 20 something widow. There's something I really admire about books that contain relevance, yet to a time I don't live in. The same way stories about racism or sexism or struggling with identity feel relevant today, these stories feel relevant despite the fact that they were not written in that time. The romance was very organic and believable (i.e. restraining emotions, not being able to express themselves freely), and the other characters weren't merely in the background - they contributed. On top of that all, the book itself is haunting and beautiful all in one.

Books like these - the complex, deep, and eloquent kind - make me do a little happy dance when I finish.