Wednesday, February 5, 2014

#11: Roses by Leila Meacham

I was born in Dallas, Texas and while I don't recall ever even living there I think Texas is in my blood.  I love hearing about Texas, reading about Texas, and secretly long to be a ranch wife (hence my fascination with The Pioneer Woman).  So, when I stumbled upon Roses at the bookstore, even the 609 pages didn't deter me from picking up this book.  Now, it did sit on my shelf until the recent snow, because, quite honestly, lugging a 609 page hardcover book around isn't something I like to do every day.  But, the size and weight of the book isn't so noticeable when I am sitting on my sofa and reading during a snow day. 

It is really hard to summarize a 608 page book, so I won't even attempt it. What I will say is that Roses is the interwoven story of three powerful families (The Warwicks, The Tolivers, and the DuMonts) who founded a town in Texas called Howbutker.  The main characters are  Mary (the Toliver daughter), Percy (who is in love with Mary), and Rachel (Mary's niece) and each character tells a part of the story.  Percy's section was my favorite.  

It is a beautiful, yet complicated, story although at times I felt as though I was reading a Texas styled soap opera.  There were times when I gasped out loud or shouted a "No Way!" that reminded me of the days of watching soaps (or "Dallas") with my mom, and that got me strange looks from my family.  It was a fantastic story with a clear warning to anyone who puts more stock into work than they do love, or anyone who believes that people will love you no matter how you treat them.   Watch out...you might become rich, lonely, and cursed Mary Toliver.

Sounds juicy, doesn't it? 

It's a good read.  Don't let the size of the book scare you! 

Happy reading!
-Dodie



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