Where the Crawdads Sing meets The Four Winds as award-winning author Donna Everhart’s latest novel immerses readers in its unique setting—the turpentine camps and pine forests of the American South during the Great Depression. This captivating story of friendship, survival, and three vagabonds’ intersecting lives will stay with readers long after turning the final page.
It takes courage to save yourself…
In the dense pine forests of North Carolina, turpentiners labor, hacking into tree trunks to draw out the sticky sap that gives the Tar Heel State its nickname, and hauling the resin to stills to be refined. Among them is Rae Lynn Cobb and her husband, Warren, who run a small turpentine farm together.
Though the work is hard and often dangerous, Rae Lynn, who spent her childhood in an orphanage, is thankful for it–and for her kind if careless husband. When Warren falls victim to his own negligence, Rae Lynn undertakes a desperate act of mercy. To keep herself from jail, she disguises herself as a man named “Ray” and heads to the only place she can think of that might offer anonymity–a turpentine camp in Georgia named Swallow Hill.
Swallow Hill is no easy haven. The camp is isolated and squalid, and commissary owner Otis Riddle takes out his frustrations on his browbeaten wife, Cornelia. Although Rae Lynn works tirelessly, she becomes a target for Crow, the ever-watchful woods rider who checks each laborer’s tally. Delwood Reese, who’s come to Swallow Hill hoping for his own redemption, offers “Ray” a small measure of protection, and is determined to improve their conditions. As Rae Lynn forges a deeper friendship with both Del and Cornelia, she begins to envision a path out of the camp. But she will have to come to terms with her past, with all its pain and beauty, before she can open herself to a new life and seize the chance to begin again.
“Fans of Sarah Addison Allen won’t be able to put it down.” – Booklist
Victoria Phillips
This book was recommended by a friend and was a delight to read. The main character is a woman lexicographer in England. The reader is drawn into her life when she is a child working alongside her father, one of the lexiographers responsible for creating the dictionary that determined which words would describe the English world. As a historical novel the work is laudable. The narrative is engaging with a sub-text that philosophical calls into question the early practice of letting only formally educated white men catalog which words were historically worth preserving and passing on into common usage. A sheer delight for the manner in which it uncovers and sheds light on how the words, and therefore the worlds, of women, the poor and the pedestrian among us, became distorted or lost (hence the dictionary of lost words). Oe of the best books of the decade, IMHO.
Mercedes Brauchle
Unparalleled: having no parallel or equal; exceptional.This book covers a gap in history that is truly astounding. The concept (which is based on very real events and mostly real people) is so intriguing, and Pip has fastened it all together with such literary grace. I WILL SAY, that for the first half of the book I was considering giving it a 3 star rating. I liked the storyline but it was a bit slow paced for me. KEEP READING. It really picks up and by time you get to the end you will “get the morbs” (a definitions stolen from the book, which means you will be struck with melancholy) due to the beauty and truth of Esme’s story. So many times the endings of stories disappoint, but not this time. If you love a healthy dose of feminism, are intrigued by words, or just want a good story that will suck you in, then you should most certainly order this book.
Amazon Customer
📚Esme’s life which her Godmother aptly points out as being ‘anything but ordinary’ practically revolved around the Scriptorium and luckily for her, the Scrippy felt “magical”- despite having spent most of her childhood under the table waiting for a slips to get to her. Growing up with her dad, who was devoted to the Scriptorium, it’s “slips” and words, he strived to be both a mother and father to her, according to Ditte, Esme’s wise and worldly godmother.📚Ditte was not only a counsel to Esme over the years but was also a confidante to Esme’s dad. She was also a great believer of his unconventional parenting. Did you know Ditte was based on a real person, Edith Thompson who was involved since the first word was published to the last one in 1928?📚Esme’s unlikely friendship with Lizzie, the maid, and the many deep conversations with her are thought provoking. One particular thought that struck me was Lizzie’s insights that words mean different things to different people. Esme held on to “bondmaid” as a word that was derogatory but to Lizzie, it was a matter of great joy- to be a bondmaid to Esme.📚the book describes the period between 1887 and 1928, poignantly capturing the various milestones and celebrations along the way, in completing the arduous task of publishing the 20 volumes of the Oxford Dictionary. Pip Williams beautifully weaves key events such as the women’s suffrage movement and WW1 during this time.📚Reading the book also led me to do my own research on the history of the dictionary. It has come a long way since Samuel Johnson first published his back in 1755. The dissatisfaction in the dictionaries to date, the quest for obsolete and less common words and quotations and lack of consistency in definitions and synonyms led the Philological society to compile a comprehensive dictionary, telling the history of each and every word in the language📚I have been amazed by the sheer magnitude of the task, the contribution by thousands of people sending in quotations and words, the jobs of the many staff sorting through these “slips” diligently and finding common ground📚While crediting the invaluable contribution made by the Dictionary’s editors starting with Dr James Murray as it’s 1st editor and his incredible teams over the years, the author in portraying Esme’s journey, draws attention to the fact that the dictionary as we know it was mainly the perspective of educated white men, (despite the valuable contribution of women) thereby making Esme’s pursuit for words spoken by women and the marginalised members of society so critical📚the book aptly points out that not only do words mean different things to different people-(brought out in the use of the words bondmaid and “mother”) but also that Of some experiences, the Dictionary would only ever provide an approximation such as sorrow📚the dictionary like the English language is evolving with the second edition having been published in 1989 and the third having commenced in 2000!
Kindle Customer
This deeply affecting book had me seeing the world through Esme Nicoll’s eyes and thinking of words and language in a much deeper way. Williams’ book made me realize how much we take for granted– such as which words are included in a dictionary and which are not. The story of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary is extraordinary to begin with, and I love how Williams wove Esme’s story into its history. (Read the Author’s Note!)I became Esme as I read The Dictionary of Lost Words. I felt what she felt. I saw the world through her eyes. The most important people in the world to her (her Da, her Aunt Ditte, her surrogate mother Lizzie, the compositor Gareth) became all-important to me, too. I don’t often have this strong of an emotional response to a book, and when I do, it leaves me a bit discombobulated (in a good way).Williams wove just enough of the actual putting-together of the Oxford English Dictionary into this book to make me feel as though I had a hand in making it, too. Esme’s life spanned the women’s suffrage movement and World War I, and each event in her life shaped her outlook and her dedication to rescuing “lost words”.Character. Story. Time period. The power of words to shape our world. As I read The Dictionary of Lost Words, I thought of words and phrases I’d grown up hearing all the time that are no longer commonplace. I pondered their demise… and wondered what Esme would make of it all. The world Pip Williams created made me think, and it made me feel. How marvelous!
2B
I’m not sure what I expected at the beginning of this novel … ask interesting story perhaps. But it turns out this story is much more. A walk through history; through language; through words and their meanings. So much was left out of the original dictionary … words that were not ‘proper’ or those which were not contained in literature. The women who were left behind so many years, who were expected to do the necessary tasks, but were never acknowledged and never included. Read it for the story; drink the words like warm tea and think on those lost words, their meanings and the women who labored to bring the spoken words to light.
Tannis K.
I just finished reading the book and I’m ready to start reading it again. That rarely happens for me. Of late I’ve read a number of period and historic novels with female protagonists. They were well written, but none of them reached in and grabbed my heart as this one did. It is a book about words, and those who love words, and the writing style is both poetic and succinct. Visual. Visceral. Glorious use of words to tell both the history of the Oxford Dictionary and the complex life story of Esme. What a wonderful film or limited series this would make, and I can imagine a sequel. Looking forward to more novels by Pip Williams,
renee
Did not have any idea what to expect,but my reading tends to lean towards history and any knowledge about books and book writers of old. Great entertainment and a story I think all would enjoy and gain history they may not have known.
Amazon Customer
A beautifully written historical fiction. The characters are interesting and the story depicts challenges faced by women in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many which continue today in various ways. A very good and enjoyable read!
PatVJ
What a beautiful and unexpected structure! I enjoyed this novel more than anything I have read in the longest time! A gift.
Ga. Hair girl
Great story and very well written!If you are a lover of words and their meanings and a story that wraps around you and takes you back to a time none of us experienced, read this book.