Author: Christina Meldrum
Pages: 384 pgs
Reading Level: Adult
Published: February 8th 2011
Review Source: Gallery Books
The novel depicts a family of 6 , the parents and 4 daughters, a dysfunctional nucleus at its best. The Dad tries to fix his and the family’s problems by running away, he makes them move to Africa. The Mom resents that she is forced to do this and constantly hides behind her fantasy world. And the girls all have their unique kind of problem. The novel is not an easy read, it is told using the characters point of views as well as jumping back and forth in time. The author ties together the themes at the end but the story line is hard to understand and follow. Sorry to say I did not enjoy the book.
Summary: (from goodreads) In the stirring tradition of The Secret Life of Bees and The Poisonwood Bible, Amaryllis in Blueberry explores the complexity of human relationships set against an unforgettable backdrop. Told through the haunting voices of Dick and Seena Slepy and their four daughters, Christina Meldrum's soulful novel weaves together the past and the present of a family harmed--and healed--by buried secrets.
"Maybe, unlike hope, truth couldn't be contained in a jar..."
Meet the Slepys: Dick, the stern doctor, the naive husband, a man devoted to both facts and faith; Seena, the storyteller, the restless wife, a mother of four, a lover of myth. And their children, the Marys: Mary Grace, the devastating beauty; Mary Tessa, the insistent inquisitor; Mary Catherine, the saintly, lost soul; and finally, Amaryllis, Seena's unspoken favorite, born with the mystifying ability to sense the future, touch the past and distinguish the truth tellers from the most convincing liar of all.
When Dick insists his family move from Michigan to the unfamiliar world of Africa for missionary work, he can't possibly foresee how this new land and its people will entrance and change his daughters--and himself--forever.
Nor can he predict how Africa will spur his wife Seena toward an old but unforgotten obsession. In fact, Seena may be falling into a trance of her own. . . .
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