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Burnt Mountain
From one of our most acclaimed writers comes this dramatic tale of a well-born Southern woman whose life is forever changed by the betrayal of her mother and by the man she loves
Growing up, the only place tomboy Thayer Wentworth felt at home was at her summer camp - Camp Sherwood Forest in the North Carolina Mountains. It was there that she came alive and where she met Nic...more
Growing up, the only place tomboy Thayer Wentworth felt at home was at her summer camp - Camp Sherwood Forest in the North Carolina Mountains. It was there that she came alive and where she met Nic...more
Hardcover, 323 pages
Published
July 19th 2011
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published 2010)
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SPOILERS AHEAD
Sweet Mickey Mouse on a cracker. I don't even know where to start. This book is a mind-hump of crazy. Foreal.
Between Anne's:
incorrect use of the word "literally"
+ her endless descriptions of furniture and lawns (if I wanted that kind of shite, I'd be reading Better Homes and Gardens -- there is actually a full paragraph plus dialogue dedicated to a pot of fake flowers in a fireplace)
+ her inability to tell freaking TIME (h...more
Sweet Mickey Mouse on a cracker. I don't even know where to start. This book is a mind-hump of crazy. Foreal.
Between Anne's:
incorrect use of the word "literally"
+ her endless descriptions of furniture and lawns (if I wanted that kind of shite, I'd be reading Better Homes and Gardens -- there is actually a full paragraph plus dialogue dedicated to a pot of fake flowers in a fireplace)
+ her inability to tell freaking TIME (h...more
I think I have read almost everything Anne Rivers Siddons has written and liked all of it She always has some supernatural twist that seems superficial. In this book, it was ludicrous. The theme was the same as An Atlas of Impossible Longing-living a life where the prime concern is what other people will think of you. It was set in Georgia approximately the time that I would have been the same age as the main character. I could certainly relate, having grown up where it was a mortal sin to...more
This is the latest book by this author.
It is truly difficult now that I live so far away from the South to read some authors. Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons are two that come readily to mind. Anne’s South is often Georgia of the Fifties through the Seventies. I moved to Atlanta in the Early eighties and much of my heart is still there. This book is set right before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta – but looks back to Atlanta at the earlier times. Reading this book I could place or...more
It is truly difficult now that I live so far away from the South to read some authors. Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons are two that come readily to mind. Anne’s South is often Georgia of the Fifties through the Seventies. I moved to Atlanta in the Early eighties and much of my heart is still there. This book is set right before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta – but looks back to Atlanta at the earlier times. Reading this book I could place or...more
This book did not receive good marks by the Goodreads reviewers and I must agree that this was not one of Siddons' better works. Siddons is a gifted writer and out of the 17 best-sellers listed in the front matter of this book, I've read six of them. Poetic style like "I twirled around three times on my bare feet and toppled over into the cool, damp grass, head back, face tipped up to the sun, eyes closed under its gentle fist," causes me to return to her musical pages again and again...more
This is a book that can't make up its mind. Is it one of Siddons' typical (but well-written) Southern-family potboilers? Is it supposed to be a dark, Gothic fantasy, with little hints that Things Aren't Quite Right? Is it a romance, where the heroine mistakenly marries the wrong man, but her brilliant, ultra-manly true love shows up just in time?
The book reads as an awkward pastiche of many of Siddons' earlier works--people die by driving their cars off a steep mountain cliff. There's ...more
The book reads as an awkward pastiche of many of Siddons' earlier works--people die by driving their cars off a steep mountain cliff. There's ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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While I was reading this book I was also deep into my third rewatch of the brilliant show "Deadwood," so the overly elaborate, flowery language didn't bother me at first. About halfway through I belatedly realized that while the fancy language on "Deadwood" is f***ing poetry, the fancy language in this book is just silly. I think it was when her grandma gives our heroine romantic advice: "He'll depend on you to tell him who he is. Otherwise he'll be gone in a puff of ...more
Ahh, where to begin? Or rather which story to begin with? This book has some very lovely writing and aptly glimpses into the controlling Southern mother vs daughter relationship at times. Unfortunately, there is not enough of the lovely writing to make up for the peculiar mish-mash of storyline in this book.
I'm not sure if the editor actually read the whole book or if they just didn't have the heart to make Ms. Siddons pick a story and stick with it. When reading the book, it feels as...more
I'm not sure if the editor actually read the whole book or if they just didn't have the heart to make Ms. Siddons pick a story and stick with it. When reading the book, it feels as...more
This is not my usual genre but Burnt Mountain had gotten such great reviews that I wanted to try. I was hesitant when I read the description because I was really sure how this book was going to go and I was pleasantly surprised.
Thayer Wentworth's life was constantly altered by Burnt Mountain. It was there that her father and grandfather died. It was there that she discovered a new happiness and escape from her overbearing mother. It was there she found her first love and her first heartbre...more
Thayer Wentworth's life was constantly altered by Burnt Mountain. It was there that her father and grandfather died. It was there that she discovered a new happiness and escape from her overbearing mother. It was there she found her first love and her first heartbre...more
I’m not generally a fan of Anne Rivers Siddons’ work simply because the subject matter of her novels doesn’t really entice me, but I’ve always thought she was a very gifted writer. Burnt Mountain, however, promised to be a very different book than say, Peachtree Road. I knew, though, as soon as I read Burnt Mountain’s Prologue that I was going to have certain problems with the book. I chose to read on, hoping I was wrong.
The Prologue revolves around Thayer Wentworth and her husband, Dr...more
The Prologue revolves around Thayer Wentworth and her husband, Dr...more
I haven't read an Anne Rivers Siddons book since "Outer Banks," but upon realizing she wrote a new book, I picked this one up from my local library. I found the beginning to be quite slow, but by the middle I was definitely attached to Thayer's camp experience and her relationships with her grandmother (Grand) and her mother. I was drawn to Thayer, her wild personality, her red hair and exquisite eyes, and her uniqueness in the midst of "The Wentworths:- her mother and sister Li...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Doreen
rated it
Recommends it for:
no one that I like
Recommended to Doreen by:
everyone was raving about it
I'm so disappointed. I've never read this author's work, but know that others have enjoyed her stories. Unfortunately, this book did not make me a fan.
The first 250 pages or so are fine. I was enjoying the story, relating to the jealous, distant mother and the tomboy who was her daughter. Young summer love and the unfortunate chain of events that followed, had my complete attention. The maturing college student falling in love with an eccentric Irishman, was a fine progression...more
The first 250 pages or so are fine. I was enjoying the story, relating to the jealous, distant mother and the tomboy who was her daughter. Young summer love and the unfortunate chain of events that followed, had my complete attention. The maturing college student falling in love with an eccentric Irishman, was a fine progression...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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In Siddons' books, I am used to finding stories of family ties gone awry, love, and friendships (with plenty of Southern backstabbing.) My two favorites are "Outer Banks" and "Peachtree Road." "Burnt Mountain" was a book I eagerly awaited.
Sadly, this title does not reach the level of her earlier books. There is the dysfunctional relationship between Thayer and her beautiful mother. The mother, Crystal, wants desperately to belong to Atlanta society, muc...more
Sadly, this title does not reach the level of her earlier books. There is the dysfunctional relationship between Thayer and her beautiful mother. The mother, Crystal, wants desperately to belong to Atlanta society, muc...more
I have never read this author before but I've been intrigued by her. Her earlier work has been categorized as horror/supernatural but it seemed to me that her more recent work was more realistic. I thought that was interesting. But this book was not a good introduction to her work for me. And I hope it's not representative of it, either. I can't even really articulate what this book is about. I mean, it's about this woman, Thayer, and how she grew up and a lost love and her marriage now. But it'...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Siddons, Anne Rivers. Burnt Mountain. 8CDs. 9 Hours. AudioGo. 2011. ISBN: 978-1-6078-8553-5 $69.99. F
Thayer Wentworth's life starts fairy-tale like; beloved father and grandmother, rich family, idyllic-southern childhood, until her father dies in a terrible accident on Burnt Mountain. She discovers her first love at camp and loses him due to her mother's betrayal. She later finds solace in her Irish Professor at college, marrying him in spite of her mother. Thayer eventually aban...more
Thayer Wentworth's life starts fairy-tale like; beloved father and grandmother, rich family, idyllic-southern childhood, until her father dies in a terrible accident on Burnt Mountain. She discovers her first love at camp and loses him due to her mother's betrayal. She later finds solace in her Irish Professor at college, marrying him in spite of her mother. Thayer eventually aban...more
Thayer, unlike her genteel Southern mother and older sister is a tomboy through and through, especially when she's in her old hut on the riverbank. She connects more with her beloved father, busy headmaster at a boys' school and her grandmother, the lovely matriarch of the family. Several tragedies occur as she grows from childhood into a beautiful young woman herself and Thayer is betrayed by her mother, especially after an event that changes her life forever. After entering college she falls i...more
I have read all of Anne Rivers Siddons books, beginning with Outer Banks. Her best is Colony. I fear this might be her worst. As it started, there was the Ms. Rivers I know and love - her use of language is mesmerizing, her command of being southern is captivating. I was drawn in as always. I couldn't wait for time to read more.
As I went along, however, I began to notice a great many things that her editor should have caught early on. It was as if we are in a time warp. First, i...more
As I went along, however, I began to notice a great many things that her editor should have caught early on. It was as if we are in a time warp. First, i...more
Part romance, part melodrama, and part family saga, Burnt Mountain is narrated by Thayer Wentworth, whose upbringing by her spiteful mother, Crystal, leaves her rudderless, without any ambition other than to find lasting love. Set in Georgia, summer camp looms large as a theme in this novel, and most of the pivotal points in Thayer's young life (still in her 20's) occur there. In the summer before college, she falls in love for the first time with fellow camp counselor Nick Abrams. Thayer become...more
In the well-known style of Anne Rivers Siddons, "Burnt Mountain" begins in the slow, somewhat dreamy way that illustrates Southern life and traditions. I could almost feel the humidity and see the lush trees and old houses that typify Atlanta.
Childhood moments, trauma, and a devastating love affair carry Thayer Wentworth, our primary character, into a love match and marriage with Aengus O'Neill. What begins as a happy love connection turns suddenly, and almost inexplicably,...more
Childhood moments, trauma, and a devastating love affair carry Thayer Wentworth, our primary character, into a love match and marriage with Aengus O'Neill. What begins as a happy love connection turns suddenly, and almost inexplicably,...more
This book touches your memory. Your memories shape who you are. Me personally I enjoyed the main character in MOST ways portrayed. She makes lots of different choices. By that I mean you can walk in her shoes and feel the choices she makes. The core of this book is reveled in the end. Frankly I was dissapointed in the ending. Way too tragic for the hopefulness you were strung out to believe. The ending is wacked out in my opinion and could have been done as well as the first 3/4 of the book. E...more
Anne Rivers Siddons has always been one of my favorite authors, a master of the southern novel. But I think this may be like the star athletes that try to keep going past their prime. More power to her if she can still make money this way. But the quality of this novel is just nowhere near that of her earlier works. This is no "Peachtree Road" or "Colony".
This book had a lot of potential. I was interested in the story and the characters, but then it seemed like the author just sort of decided to wrap things up, so she hurriedly came up with an ending that was not satisfying at all. If she had further developed the story of the main character's adult life and marriage it would have been a better book.
I love ARS writing style. It is beautifully descriptive without being overburdening. I love how she selects words and phrases not seen very often--sniggering, a veritable statue of biddability, the pallid ice tea in her sweating glass. I love how her characters are so richly developed.
In this book, the main character Thayer Wentworth struggles with her mother while finding comfort from her paternal Grandmother (Grand). Thayer experiences her first love that ends with enduring he...more
In this book, the main character Thayer Wentworth struggles with her mother while finding comfort from her paternal Grandmother (Grand). Thayer experiences her first love that ends with enduring he...more
Burnt Mountain started out strong with a good story of the expectations of Thayer's mother, the southern setting, the love between Thayer and Nick and her realationship with her grandmother. Siddons captured the tension between Thayer and her mother quite well. The supernatural aspects tossed the novel off the realistic road. I also find fault with the timeline. The University of the South went co-ed in 1969, Roe vs Wade passed in 1973, the Atlanta Olympics was 1996. Angus's bizarre presentati...more
This classic Anne Rivers Siddons - and I mean classic. She's back to settings in and around Atlanta which are my favorite stories of hers. This one reminds me a bit of King's Oak which she wrote decades ago.
Thayer, born and raised in a small Georgia town outside of Atlanta. Her mother always wanted to be part of Atlanta society, but her mother-in-law nixed that. Thayer is much younger than her sister Lily, who is a carbon copy of their mother. Thayer is red-headed and tomboyish and very c...more
Thayer, born and raised in a small Georgia town outside of Atlanta. Her mother always wanted to be part of Atlanta society, but her mother-in-law nixed that. Thayer is much younger than her sister Lily, who is a carbon copy of their mother. Thayer is red-headed and tomboyish and very c...more
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![Burnt Mountain [With Earbuds]](http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328009507s/11826246.jpg)
Feb 06, 2012 06:54am