Monday, May 20, 2013
Ends well?
Title: The Fall of Alice K.
By: Jim Heynen
This is an American novel, but one with such a different point of view from most I am exposed to that it kept startling me. At first I wasn’t sure that I could get into the story, but something about Alice suddenly grabbed me, and I had to finish the book. Alice K. is a very intelligent and responsible high school student with a troubled family, living on a well-run farm in Iowa that is failing due to market conditions. The setting is a devout and traditional Dutch-settled area of the state. Alice’s cross-cultural friendships and intrepid character propel her into and out of trouble. The author really gets inside Alice’s teenage head in a way that does credit to his understanding of a young woman’s feelings, although there are a few passages that I find unrealistic. I love the way he describes her relationship with the big red Ford 150 pickup she drives. My only serious disappointment was how he chose to end the story. Read it yourself and see if you feel the same way.
View similarly tagged posts: fiction
Posted on May 20, 2013 at 1:46 a.m.
