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The Valley Below
A first novel about Nambe' New Mexico. We have a friend who lives there now. Nambe' is a very small community a few miles north of Santa Fe, NM. Charming.
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 7, 2010
DEEEE-lightful. Really. Witty and sweet and very much from the 40's. I found this in Box #1 from my Owen's Library adventure (read my blog: www.eveapple.blogspot.com for that story) and am so very glad that it was the first book I picked up.
The Valley Below is the story of two single women who move to the desert on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico and the people who make up their new community. The narrator, Alice Lee Marriott, was an ethnologist, a person who studies the activities of living social groups, who moves to Round Valley to write a biography of a native potter. Her roommate is Martha, a landscape painter and textile designer. This book is made up of little narratives, describing in sweet detail the people, animals and weather they come to know as their own.
What surprised me the most about this book was how funny it was. When Alice and Martha want to add a room to their tiny adobe home, Marriott describes her one requirement as wanting "space enough to swing at least three cats simultaneously." (Marriot, 114) I don't know why that made me laugh so much, but darn it, it did. I giggled pretty much the entire time I read this fabulous little book. This book is definitely worth keeping an eye out at the used book store or the library book sale.
The Valley Below is the story of two single women who move to the desert on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico and the people who make up their new community. The narrator, Alice Lee Marriott, was an ethnologist, a person who studies the activities of living social groups, who moves to Round Valley to write a biography of a native potter. Her roommate is Martha, a landscape painter and textile designer. This book is made up of little narratives, describing in sweet detail the people, animals and weather they come to know as their own.
What surprised me the most about this book was how funny it was. When Alice and Martha want to add a room to their tiny adobe home, Marriott describes her one requirement as wanting "space enough to swing at least three cats simultaneously." (Marriot, 114) I don't know why that made me laugh so much, but darn it, it did. I giggled pretty much the entire time I read this fabulous little book. This book is definitely worth keeping an eye out at the used book store or the library book sale.
February 28, 2008
A first novel about Nambe', New Mexico. We have a friend who lives there. Nambe' is a very small community a few miles north of Santa Fe, NM. The community was settled by the early Spaniards who came north through Mexico as they claimed much of the Southwest. This was a charming book.
January 1, 2011
Nice story from the perspective of pioneering women in the 40's. The last few chapters created a more intense ending, which I liked.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews