Open book, open eyes

The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Had my book club not chosen this book, I would not have read it. The genre is Christian romance, one I had rejected without ever giving it a try. To my surprise, I found the story engaging all the way through its 400 pages. Guess that rattles my biases.

This is a coming of age story of a 16-year-old Mary Swan Middleton whose mother is killed in the Orly plane crash which took over 100 Atlanta civic leaders in 1962. In her grief, Mary Swan turns to helping at a black church, becomes romantically attracted to a young black man, and then experiences a religous awakening. Thus, the story is set against the civil rights era in Atlanta and explores prejudice of race, religion, and mental illness.

I thought it read well, albeit the writing could have been tighter; the prologue and epilogue could have been omitted; and a few places seemed repetitious, as though they slipped past the editor. The story is told by an adult remembering her childhood, yet sometimes the voice sounded like that of the girl, so occasionally inconsistent.

I questioned whether the romantic attraction seemed realistic for the 1962 time period and whether such radical changes in racial attitudes would have occurred in the nine months of the book.

However, all the questions and objections are minor ones. The story holds together and holds the reader.



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