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Lone Women

Victor LaValle

Start date: August 1, 2024

Finish date: August 31, 2024

Discussion: Book Discussions

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Jan 04, 2025 Stormie ~ Book Dragon ~ rated it really liked it

(I am writing this after returning the book to the library.)This book was a bit confusing for me. I live close to Lucerne Valley, CA, and know some of its history, so it's nice to read about a place you know. They are still mostly rural and have a"General Store", Cafe 247, a library, a museum, and schools. So, the confusing part was what was in the "trunk." I am not sure I would label this genre as horror, but it was certainly horrific. Adelaide travels from Lucerne Valley to Montana because of (I am writing this after returning the book to the library.)This book was a bit confusing for me. I live close to Lucerne Valley, CA, and know some of its history, so it's nice to read about a place you know. They are still mostly rural and have a"General Store", Cafe 247, a library, a museum, and schools. So, the confusing part was what was in the "trunk." I am not sure I would label this genre as horror, but it was certainly horrific. Adelaide travels from Lucerne Valley to Montana because of what was in the trunk. Folks in the Valley called them "queer" because of how they acted, (this was in the late 1800s), not because of their lifestyle. They mostly kept to themselves, because of what was in the trunk. So what was in the trunk killed Adelaide Henry's parents, so she put them in their beds and set the house on fire. I think it took more than 6 hours to get to the Port of LA authority back then because all they had were the trails, but anyway, I will come back and add more on that later.
So she gets to Montana with the trunk, and this "demon" as they now call it, gets out sometimes and attacks people, but what can you expect, being locked in a trunk for about 30 years?
So she went from homesteading in CA to homesteading in Montana, and what happens there is where it becomes confusing. Part two of this book identifies the trunk's contents as a "demon", but it's not until Part three that we learn that this is Adelaide's twin sister, Elizabeth. Now, I don't remember if the book says what had happened to her, such as if she was disabled or whatnot, but I can imagine being locked in a trunk can make a person go crazy and do horrible things.
The place they were in Montana, Big Sandy I think it was, had a rich family with a controlling woman who was a feminist who thought it should be her way or no way and everyone should do what she wanted. Even though she led the suffragists, most of it was how "her town" should be run.
Elizabeth had escaped a few times and hurt and sometimes killed people, but Adelaide had a change of heart and started treating her like a person. but they wreaked havoc on the town and the goody-two-shoes there. A few of the women were on the side of the sisters and they all ended up going to another desolate area and becoming the "Lone Women."
This book is on my to-be-purchased list because I want to re-read and annotate it. If you like Historical Fiction, I would recommend this book as I found it enjoyable even though I was a bit confused in some parts. ...more

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