Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

read excerpt* *Different edition

Bloodroot

by Amy Greene (Goodreads Author)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 4,573 ratings · 1,105 reviews

Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about the legacies—of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss—that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today.

The novel is told in a kaleidoscope of seamlessly woven voices and centers around an incendiary...more

Hardcover, 291 pages

Published January 12th 2010 by Knopf

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Books Set in Appalachia

18th out of 219 books — 377 voters

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

2011 Tournament of Books

10th out of 16 books — 120 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 26, 2011 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

this was recommended to me in the RA group when i was whining about wanting more books like winter's bone and dogs of god and gritty appalachia stuff like that.

this is not as dark as either of those books, the stakes of survival are lower, but it is still a book i would recommend. as a readalike, it seems closer to Garden Spells, which i have not read, but have been assured is a contemporary magical realism masterpiece. there are definitely things that happen to characters in this novel that i...more this was recommended to me in the RA group when i was whining about wanting more books like winter's bone and dogs of god and gritty appalachia stuff like that.

this is not as dark as either of those books, the stakes of survival are lower, but it is still a book i would recommend. as a readalike, it seems closer to Garden Spells, which i have not read, but have been assured is a contemporary magical realism masterpiece. there are definitely things that happen to characters in this novel that i do not wish to happen to me, but this is more like dark women's fiction than the soul-crushing despair of the stuff i have been craving.

but again - i liked it - this will not be a negative review!!

i particularly liked the structure of it; each section is narrated by one or two different characters whose stories, when pieced together, reveal all the secrets of several inhabitants of the lonely mountains of tennessee, most of which revolve around one girl, myra lamb. the story weaves through four generations of magic and violence and madness, and provides plenty of atmospheric detail of the land and the people's relationship to the land.

some of the reviews on here complain that it is confusing. i don't know what to say to that. it's not really confusing at all. i shrug the same way i shrugged when oprah chose one hundred years of solitude for her book club. oprah - you are just gonna frustrate some people with that one. they have the same naaaames but they are different characters! it is not a mass-appeal book. it would be, if more people read more and were comfortable with the nonlinear and the trickery. but you can't go from recommending alice hoffman and bret lot and then go right into the marquez without pause. you are bound to lose a few along the way.

there is some great storytelling in this book, some lovely incidents that are all pretty much tinged with sadness. i look forward to whatever her follow-up will be and maybe it will be more desperate and more heartbreaking, the way it needs to be for cold coldhearted me.(less)

34 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2011 Janelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, favorites

I can only think to classify this as a story-tellin' fictional read. There isn't a whole lot of dialogue but there is a whole lot of storytelling from six different perspectives. You can't call it a novel, you can't call it fantasy, certainly not chick-lit or magical. It's downright good story tellin'!

It's a telling of people involved in the life of Myra Mayes-Odum. A wild and spirited mountain girl of the Appalachia region. We read about Myra from the perspective of a child hood friend who love...more

12 likes · like · see review

Feb 19, 2012 Chrissie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: text-checked, usa, relationships, fiction, kirkus, 2012challenge, magic

ETA: There is another theme central to this book – love. Love has violence imbedded in it. Love tears us apart. Each chapter is told from one character’s viewpoint. I gave this book three stars, yet it continues to occupy my thoughts.

**********************

I enjoyed this book for its ability to put me in in a place where I had never been before. It drew a picture of the South (Tennessee) during the 70s in a remote country town and in mountain-side communities. Superstition, belief in spirits and...more ETA: There is another theme central to this book – love. Love has violence imbedded in it. Love tears us apart. Each chapter is told from one character’s viewpoint. I gave this book three stars, yet it continues to occupy my thoughts.

**********************

I enjoyed this book for its ability to put me in in a place where I had never been before. It drew a picture of the South (Tennessee) during the 70s in a remote country town and in mountain-side communities. Superstition, belief in spirits and “mystical visions” were common place. I was drawn into the lives of people that are certainly foreign to my way of living and comprehension. I felt I was in another world. This world seemed, although very foreign to me, real. I was there and able to think as these people thought.

What themes were focused upon? The first is a belief in magic and visions. I was tantalized. I tend to be very logical, and yet I was drawn to the possibility that sometimes strange things do happen. Is it correct to judge them nonsensical simply because we do not understand them? I am willing to believe that perhaps there is a dimension we today cannot fully comprehend. The book goes one step further. When are those who see visions actually crazy? When should they be put away in asylums? Of course if they hurt others that is a valid point supporting incarceration. When is it better for society to let them remain free and add to general group diversity? Such philosophical thoughts arise when reading this book.

Another theme is that of how important it is to each of us to make an imprint after we die? Are their familial characteristics that we want to preserve, to remain after one individual dies? Is it important that these characteristics be carried on to further generations? I must admit, that sometimes when a grandchild does something that is typical of one’s own behavior, you do crack a smile! So if I state that continuation is not important to me, is that true? Am I kidding myself?

So, I did enjoy being submerged in the “southern atmosphere”. I enjoyed the philosophical meanderings. BUT beware; the behavior of the characters was certainly extreme. Don’t think you will be served a typical southern family. Reading this book was for me a visit to a place “foreign” to my everyday life. It widened my perspectives on others’ lifestyles. The question is: should it? Are these characters too bizarre to draw any general conclusions? How many people chop off fingers? How many of us would really then save that finger in a box? There is rape and emotional abuse abundant in this book. Was it excessive? I wonder what the author was trying to say by including so much abuse and exaggeration. When you are reading you are drawn along with the events, but later one reflects – hey, aren’t those circumstances rather exaggerated?! Was this just a fun story? Should any real conclusions be drawn at all?

But then maybe I have found an answer to my question. Look at the title and see what I have added at the start of this review. (less)

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 28, 2010 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, four-star-fiction

Very nearly five stars. This is a slightly less gritty variation on the traditional Southern novel. It follows four generations of women in a Tennessee family. They are supposedly cursed because one of them was born with "haint blue" eyes, but the real curse is poverty and ignorance. Limited opportunities for girls in the rural South made them throw away their lives on the first boy who paid them any attention. There are Southern traditions and superstitions aplenty here, mostly of dubious origi...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 27, 2011 Melissa rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 04, 2010 Djrmel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: z2010-read, fiction, historical-fiction, southern-gothic

This book brought an interesting question to my mind: Do you blame bland story telling on the writer or the character when the book is told in first person? Okay, so I only entertained the question as a way of explaining how the first part of this three sectioned book could be so engaging, so vivid, and the rest of the book almost mind numbing, even with a plot straight out of my favorite genre, Southern Gothic. Yes, it is the author's fault if four of her six characters almost ruin a great tale...more

10 likes · like · see review

Oct 11, 2012 Gina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, contemporary-fiction, historical-fiction, family, fantasy, southern-fiction, 2012, ccc-club, challenges-2012, family-dysfunction, literary-fiction, mystery, relationships, stb-bookclub, traveling-books, 5-00-rating

This novel made me feel. I don't know what else to say or how to describe it. I felt the characters' love, fear, desperation, and dirt. This was probably the most moving story I have read in quite awhile. It is the story of a family from Bloodroot Mountain in Tennessee. It begins with Granny's story of where she came from in Chickweed Holler, her marriage, and the birth and death of her daughter Clio. We learn of Clio's daughter, Myra, and her twin's Laura and John and how their lives intertwine...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 05, 2011 TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-authors, contemporary-authors, family-dramas, literary-fiction, southern-authors

Despite the fact that the cover of Amy Greene’s debut novel, Bloodroot, is a dreamy, pastoral image, the story this book tells is dark, brooding, and at times, forbidding. Set in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Greene shows us a side of Appalachia that many readers would rather forget – a side beset by poverty so pervasive that it begets violence, a violence that spills over from one generation into the next.

Spanning three generations, Bloodroot centers around the high spirited, blue-eyed, bla...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2011 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars

If I could, I think this book would be more like 3 1/2 stars. I was sucked into to the story of Byrdie, Myra, Laura, Doug, and Johnny, as well as the mystery of what happened to John. There were parts that I felt were a bit slower and I had to hold myself from rushing through. Overall, a very good story though.
It was told in such an interesting way. In some ways I really liked the style, but in others I found it allowed for holes in the story. I found myself going back and rereading sections, be...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 03, 2013 Mal rated it 2 of 5 stars

Set on the fictional Bloodroot Mountain in Polk County, TN, this novel tells the narrative of Myra Lamb's life, heritage, and posterity. The first section is told through the voices of Byrdie, Myra's grandmother, and Doug, Myra's childhood friend (which always feels somewhat unbalanced). Where Byrdie recalls the stories of her own grandmother and aunts, all known to be witches, and of her marriage leading up to Myra's childhood, Doug tells of his hopeless love for her all through their youth. In...more

like · see review

Nov 09, 2012 Ashley Tague rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bloodroot is easily one of my new favorite books. I picked it up expecting it to be way more whimsical and pleasant, which wasn't really what I was looking for initially. I thought I was "settling" on this book when the one I wanted wasn't at the book store, but Amy Greene tugged at my heart strings from beginning to end. This story is chilling, macabre, mad, and utterly engaging. There were parts that I had to put the book down and catch my breath, and other times when I came close to tears.

Amy...more

like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was not the biggest fan of this book right off the bat. I picked up this book because of anothers review. I have loved every book from this persons site that I have read, and this one was no different. BUT, I had trouble getting into it.

The story follows the main character Myra through the eyes of her loved ones in their own narrative. I did not find this distracting at all and found it to be the perfect format for my morning commute. Unfortunately, I also found this to be a problem in Part 1....more

like · see review

Jul 26, 2012 Gwen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book peeked my interest right from chapter one. Mind you there are only 3 chapters in this book, more like sections, each told by 2 different characters in the story. The author did a fabulous job at depicting life in the rural Appalachian mountains of Tennessee. So good that the slang and dialect soon became native and familiar to me. The story begins during the great depression era with the grandmother telling the story of her youth and the magic that has been cursed on her family. I foun...more

like · see review

May 22, 2012 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Narrated by six different voices, the novel tells the story of four generations of an Appalachian family starting from the era of the great depression to the present time. Said to be slightly “magical” due to their knowledge of herb lore and the secrets of the stunningly beautiful but often harsh mountain country that surrounds them, each member of the family must fight his/her own battle with tragedy, poverty, mental illness and domestic violence arising both from the circumstances they were bo...more Narrated by six different voices, the novel tells the story of four generations of an Appalachian family starting from the era of the great depression to the present time. Said to be slightly “magical” due to their knowledge of herb lore and the secrets of the stunningly beautiful but often harsh mountain country that surrounds them, each member of the family must fight his/her own battle with tragedy, poverty, mental illness and domestic violence arising both from the circumstances they were born into as well as the choices they have made. Centred around the character of Myra, a beautiful and mystical girl growing up with her grandparents in these wild and isolated Appalachian mountains, the book describes how her ill-fated love for a violent alcoholic ultimately leads to tragedy, breaking her spirit and shaping the lives of those around her, including her twin children.

Despite its often bleak and harsh subject matter, the book drew me in and captivated me to the very end. The author’s intimate knowledge of the countryside shows in her wonderfully descriptive writing style, aided by the different voices of her characters, who each bring a different perspective to the story. Whilst I suffered for Myra as I watched her independent spirit getting broken by her husband’s relentless violence, my heart went out to her twin children who have to grow up with the legacy of the choices she has made. Byrdie, the grandmother, was the hero of the story for me, with her endless love for her family despite the tragedies she has survived and her helplessness in the face of Myra’s choices. All characters are certainly unique and perfectly reflect the setting of the novel, to the point where the reader can almost feel the harsh mountain wind whistling around dark cabins and hear the mysterious screams of wild animals in the night.

This is not a feel-good book, but it tells of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy and how we each battle with the circumstances of our birth and the country we are born into. Whilst there is no ending as such, and it is largely left to the reader to imagine the fate of some of the characters, the final voice in the epilogue of the novel cleverly makes the reader reflect on previous emotions towards one of the central characters in the story and taking into consideration all circumstances rather than passing judgment on anyone.

All in all I really enjoyed this book, though I found the subject matter of unrelenting violence and struggle depressing at times.(less)

like · see review

Mar 28, 2012 Book Concierge rated it 2 of 5 stars

Greene examines several generations of a family living in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee. I wanted to like this book. It has been on my TBR list for a while and I typically like books that focus on family dynamics and the individual's need to experience the world beyond their childhood framework. I was intrigued by the publisher's blurb – a story that explored family legacies of madness and magic (a healing “touch” that soothes both people and animals). The central character – Myra Lam...more

like · see review

Feb 29, 2012 Bonnie Brody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Somewhere, in the darkest and most remote part of Tennessee, lie hollers, ridges, and knolls. Set among them is a place named Bloodroot Mountain, home to Myra and her granny. The mountain gets its name from the bloodroot flowers that grow there. These flowers are so toxic that they can cause death. They are also so curative that they have amazing healing powers.

Myra's granny comes from a long line of women with special powers - empathics, visionaries, healers and witches. Myra is woven into her...more Somewhere, in the darkest and most remote part of Tennessee, lie hollers, ridges, and knolls. Set among them is a place named Bloodroot Mountain, home to Myra and her granny. The mountain gets its name from the bloodroot flowers that grow there. These flowers are so toxic that they can cause death. They are also so curative that they have amazing healing powers.

Myra's granny comes from a long line of women with special powers - empathics, visionaries, healers and witches. Myra is woven into her family history and into the seams of the mountain. She knows every creek and every trail. The mountain smells and essence sustain her and give her life. She is at home there and has known nowhere else nor does she want to leave her home. Bloodroot Mountain is her home.

For the most part, Myra is a good girl and loves her granny. However, she becomes smitten with a teenaged boy named John and all good sense leaves her. Despite the fact that he is no good, she runs off with him and finds herself stuck in a life of despair, abuse and entrapment. She can't return to Bloodroot Mountain because Johnny has threatened to harm her granny if she leaves.

Myra becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins, Johnny and Laura. A large part of the book is about them. For the first several years of their lives, Myra raises them alone on Bloodroot Mountain after having escaped from Johnny. She doesn't want anyone to know of their existence for fear they will be taken from her. She does her best to be a loving mother, but when a traumatic event occurs it breaks her already fragile being and she is no longer able to care for herself or her children.

Laura is quiet and reasonable. Johnny is bitter and acts out. They are placed in foster homes by the state while their mother is placed in an insane asylum. Johnny does not last long in foster care and ends up in one detention center after another. Laura is malleable and acts like a `good girl' so as to stir up no tensions.

The novel takes us through about thirty years, from Myra's childhood to her children's young adulthood. We go through their high points and low points and are surprised by how the children's lives intersect with that of their mother's. The reader is in for many wonderful surprises.

The book is written in a beautifully flowing narrative with shades of magical realism and fantastical imagery. The style works well. Characters in this book are reminiscent of Alice Hoffman's books and even Charles Dickens. They are looking for redemption, live in the most challenging of conditions and exhibit a true nobility of spirit.

This is a book to be cherished and read slowly, not at one sitting. There is so much beauty in the words that one must take time to take it all in and let it set slowly like a cautious breath. It is a wonderful book that will take you into the land, minds and hearts of characters you will never forget.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 21, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-appalachia

I've just finished listening to the audio version of Bloodroot; while the Appalachian accents were good, they sure weren't the Tennessee ones I've heard.
Still, Amy Greene's lovely story of several generations of the Lamb family's deep love of their mountain home and their close association with Nature-with-a-capital-N rang true to my recollections of my mother's people in eastern Ohio.
Myra Lamb grows up as wild as the blue-eyed paint mare named Wild Rose by her neighbors. The neighbor boy, Doug...more I've just finished listening to the audio version of Bloodroot; while the Appalachian accents were good, they sure weren't the Tennessee ones I've heard.
Still, Amy Greene's lovely story of several generations of the Lamb family's deep love of their mountain home and their close association with Nature-with-a-capital-N rang true to my recollections of my mother's people in eastern Ohio.
Myra Lamb grows up as wild as the blue-eyed paint mare named Wild Rose by her neighbors. The neighbor boy, Doug is destined to fall in love with her, but never to see that love returned. Myra, with her h'aint blue eyes, has a otherworldliness that is fed solely by her grandmother's love and the mountain's beauty until one day, on a rare trip into town, Myra sees the handsome devil John Odom.
John is similarly struck, and nothing will do until these two quickly run away to marry and set up housekeeping in a shanty house by the railroad tracks. Soon, Myra will find herself missing her granny, and even more, the mountains where she grew up. John, controlling and fighting a drinking problem, turns hateful and cruel. You know this won't end well.
While much of the writing, especially in the middle section, which describes Myra's twins, is ho-hum, Greene's descriptions of Myra's wild heart (which reminded me a bit of Wuthering Heights' Cathy) is dead-on. And her descriptions of the beautiful Tennessee mountains made me want to head there this spring.

My grandfather married three times, fathering children with all three wives. I had half-uncles my age. The one I was closest to, Joe, couldn't lick his drinking problem, so his wife left him, leaving him to raise his three children alone. Joe sucked it up, moved to Columbus where he worked nights at the same steel plant as my husband and cousin, gave up drinking and cigarettes, and was starting to turn his life around.
The last time I saw him, I told him how great he looked, and how proud we all were of him. He shook his head and told me that he hated living in the city. I laughed and said he and my cousin went hunting every weekend back at the old homestead; it wasn't like he never saw the country. "Everywhere I look here (in the city), all I see are buildings. I can't look anywhere without seeing a buidling. It's killing me. I can't get used to it. I need to see the old orchard, and look out at my land"
That was the last converstion I ever had with him. Shortly afterwards, he and my cousin were out deerhunting, and Joe shot a good-sized buck. Together, he and the cousin dragged the buck back to the truck. Joe said he didn't feel right. My cousin handed him some Tums, and suggested he go sit in the truck for a bit and rest. When my cousin finished tying up the buck, and opened the truck door, Joe was gone. He was forty years old.
I hadn't thought about that incident for a long, long time. But Bloodroot, and the character of Myra Lamb brought it all back. Not long after Joe died, the homestead was sold. The people who bought it knocked it down, and installed a double-wide trailer. I try to go back once a year, to check on the small cemetery, where half the inhabitants are my relatives, and always, while there, I look out at the land, and think of Joe.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 15, 2011 Rebecca Brothers rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Amazing read. This book has a wonderful misty quality about it as it meanders through time and mountain laurel. Greene uses multiple points of view to tell this sad story of Myra Lamb, a young woman whose haunted life begins, like ours all do, long before she was born. We get to meet Myra through the eyes of the boy-next-door who loved her and her deceased grandmother, a mountain witch in her own right. The story starts after Myra has married to man who we already know is no good for her, then s...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 02, 2011 Kimberly rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars: Honestly, I'm not really sure what to say. Overall, it was a good read. Great even - with one caveat. It's depressing.

The novel is set in the Appalachian mountains and tells the story of Myra Odom. It threw me at first because there are no chapters. The book is divided into three parts and an epilogue. The first part switches back and forth between Myra's grandmother, Birdie, and a childhood friend, Doug. The second is voiced by her twins, Johnny & Laura. The third belongs to Myra...more

1 like · like · see review

May 09, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. After the slightly mixed reviews from Goodreads and the kind of cheesy, vague (and somewhat misleading, I think) description on the front flap, I was expecting this to be a decent, folksy read. But I just finished it and I can't stop thinking about it.

There's something haunting about the book. My heart just broke for all the characters. The writing was breathtakingly beautiful and the author even managed to weave in the accents and local ways of speaking without sounding contrived or making...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 12, 2011 Amygrace rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a wonderfully weaved story of generations. However it is depressing at times - whether you believe it be by curse, by God’s plan or just life. I felt a feeling of despair while reading it. I ended up staying up late just to finish so I could get to the end and leave the characters behind. There are still with me however and will remain. Don’t take that this was not a good book. Just the opposite. It was an incredibly well written book. It put me there on Bloodroot Mountain. For the last...more

like · see review

Mar 12, 2011 Greg Zimmerman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Don't be surprised if you see Amy Greene's Bloodroot make its way onto several of the literary prize short lists later this year. It's that good; a wonderfully engrossing story by a debut novelist who writes with amazing clarity, emotion, authenticity and beauty.

Bloodroot is a plant that has the power both to cure or kill; it's the central symbol throughout a novel rich with dichotomy (love and hate, life and death). Bloodroot is also the name of the mountain in dirt-poor East Tennessee where th...more Don't be surprised if you see Amy Greene's Bloodroot make its way onto several of the literary prize short lists later this year. It's that good; a wonderfully engrossing story by a debut novelist who writes with amazing clarity, emotion, authenticity and beauty.

Bloodroot is a plant that has the power both to cure or kill; it's the central symbol throughout a novel rich with dichotomy (love and hate, life and death). Bloodroot is also the name of the mountain in dirt-poor East Tennessee where the novel takes place. Much like the Mississippi River in Mark Twain's works, Bloodroot Mountain stands as both the setting for the story and a "thing" with which the novel's characters have a real, tangible relationship. The mountain itself is a character.

These tragic characters, all with an inseparable connection to Bloodroot, take turns telling this story about the importance of family heritage and the dangers of fate. Blue-eyed, beautiful Myra Lamb is the central character. She is her family's hope for breaking a century-old curse. But Myra herself seems also to be cursed, and marries an abusive jerk who does everything he can to sever her roots and destroy her sense of self. Her only saving grace is her hope of one day returning home to Bloodroot. "You might leave one day," Myra says, "but your blood will whisper to you."

Bursting with symbolism and Biblical allusions, but maintaining a wonderful sense of "country mysticism" and superstition, this novel is about as literary as literary gets. That's not to say the book is difficult — it's actually one of the most brilliant types of literary novels: Even if you don't get all of it, you're still totally engaged in the story and the writing, because the story stands strongly on its own merit and the writing is so fantastic. Taking time to think through and understand the "literary adornments" only adds to the enjoyment of the novel.

I'm not in a book club, but if you are, this would be a fantastic novel. It's one that begs to be discussed, and therefore, savored. (less)

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2011 Heather Adams rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bloodroot is spellbinding. I loved it. The different narrators didn't bother me; in fact, I enjoyed reading the various viewpoints. That's saying something, because sometimes that sort of thing does bother me. I thought it was really interesting how the character of Myra, who seems so compelling and magnetic (almost magical) when described by the other characters, seems so ordinary when we read her section. I recall one character saying “She’s made out of flesh and blood, just like anybody else....more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 15, 2011 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sorry I have to disagree with most of the reviews I read on this book. I just didn't hit the mark for me. I didn't understand any concept of family curses or magical notations at all in this book. I found I was interested in reading this book based on that. That said, it was nothing like that at all and I was disappointed. Tho it was a good story concept and well written I think readers would like reading it if it had been presented as just a story of a lot of superstitious dysfunctional people....more Sorry I have to disagree with most of the reviews I read on this book. I just didn't hit the mark for me. I didn't understand any concept of family curses or magical notations at all in this book. I found I was interested in reading this book based on that. That said, it was nothing like that at all and I was disappointed. Tho it was a good story concept and well written I think readers would like reading it if it had been presented as just a story of a lot of superstitious dysfunctional people. I feel the author did well writing this book but found myself skimming through a lot of repeated sections. This was like several short stories. I feel the author didn't tie these people to each other well enough until the end and for me that was too late. I never really "felt" what the family blood curse was. There was a lot of telling of a story but no showing or feeling or understanding the basis of this story. To me this is just a typical haunting tragic story of 6 people who based their lives on unclear superstion due to lack of education and dysfunctional parenting who just continued on in life with the same lifestyle that their parents had. In no way did this author make any sense to me what the title Bloodroot meant or tied it in any way to these people other than they all lived on Bloodroot mountain. I wish the author could have made clear that the bloodroot curse was what caused these tragedies. There were a lot of people in this book but just when I was beginning to understand towards the end the author stopped writing about them and left me confused. Towards the end when the son, John meets Imogene, Ford and Carolina the book picked up and caught my interest Ten Fold but as soon as it started the author ended that part of the story which to me seemed the most important part of the book. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they were interested in just reading a well written story of mountain people with dysfunctional lives and how through many tragedies life did go on.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2011 planetkimi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, magical-realism, tournament-of-books-2011

Bloodroot is a dark, dark story about a family perhaps cursed by supernatural means, but definitely cursed by psychological damage that replicates through generations.

The novel is composed of different sections of first-person narration that reveal the characters' backgrounds and the relationship they had with the heart of the story, Myra Lamb. Her family believes that she will break a curse, but instead Myra makes a critical choice that sets off a new round of misery. Its unclear if the curse...more

like · see review

Jan 22, 2011 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

This story will stay with me forever because Amy Greene has made her characters so vivid and real that they are inforgettable. The rural setting in her native Appalachian mountains is so far away from the world that most of us are familiar with that the story she tells is riveting, albeit heart-wrenching. Something I read that Amy said in an interview was, "Living in Appalachia feels like being quarantined from mass culture in a way." That is exactly how I felt while reading her book. The story...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 21, 2011 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Bloodroot is a penetrating look at the often hard, yet enduring life in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee for multiple generations of the same family. Starting with great-grandmother Byrdie around the time of the Great Depression and cycling forward to present day, the author does a good job of developing characters who you can relate to in one way or another. Their relationships with each other and with Bloodroot Mountain, the home they either cling to or long to escape from, are the...more

like · see review

Jan 14, 2011 Sheela rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read about this book from Amazon's top fiction list and chose to read it because it had a "Bastard out of Caroline" feel to it (I loved that book). I would give this book 3.5 stars in truth.

The story is of a family from a very rural part of Tennessee. Family history is passed from generation to generation with story and folklore and you uncover their story from some unique voices and perspectives as the book is in 4 sections told by different narrators and brought together in the last story -...more

like · see review

Nov 21, 2010 Marya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-lit

Bloodroot follows three generations of Appalachian women over the course of the 20th century, all of whom call Bloodroot Mountain their home. In the beginning of the century, these "witch women" have an almost fable-like quality to them. As time progresses, they lose this power, largely to men who literally keep them down (and locked under the house on one memorable occasion). What's unusual here is the women themselves don't seem to change; they all act the same way and make the same choices, p...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 24, 2010 Jbsfaculty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bahe-selections

Great story of generations of one family in Appalachia. Heartwrenching. This synopsis is accurate:

Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about the legacies—of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss—that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today.

The novel is told in a kaleidoscope of seamlessly woven voices and centers around an incendiary romance that consumes ever...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Southern Lit Lovers: Bloodroot by Amy Greene - March 2012 group read (Spoilers Likely)	36	54	Apr 26, 2012 09:55am
Around the United...: Bloodroot by Amy Greene	1	5	Oct 27, 2011 01:55pm
I like this book	1	21	Oct 21, 2011 06:11am

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Historical Fiction

61 users

Book Club

42 users

American > Southern

20 users

Literary Fiction

18 users

Magical Realism

17 users

Adult

13 users

Family

13 users

Adult Fiction

13 users

Contemporary

12 users

Mystery

11 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Amy Greene

Amy Greene's debut novel, Bloodroot, will be available in Vintage paperback on January 4, 2011.

More about Amy Greene...

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Bloodroot

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Bloodroot

“It's not forgetting that heals. It's remembering.” — 71 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Bloodroot
avg rating	preview: Bloodroot Goodreads rating: 3.74 (4573 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6595962-bloodroot?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320495722l/6595962.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6595962-bloodroot?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Bloodroot by Amy Greene[/url]

Bloodroot

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website