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There are currently 53 member reviews
for Sweeping Up Glass
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Deanna W. (Port Jefferson, NY)
Not What I Expected
I was looking for a novel that explored mother daughter relationships. This novel had too many story lines and complex characters that I could not relate to. Yes, it was well written but it was not the story I expected. I would not recommend it to my book group.
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Sadie Portland OR
The Gifts of War
I really enjoyed this story! The characters are strongly drawn, and the pacing was satisfying. My only critique? This good story could have been made great with more editing. Choppy transitions interfered with the overall flow. Nevertheless, there really is something compelling about Olivia and her community.
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Vicki (York PA)
Good read once the action starts!
In my opinion Sweeping Up Glass was a good read but not one that I would highly recommend. The plot seems somewhat disjointed and we never get to really explore any one issue very deeply. The relationships between the characters also seem to be a bit unreal and that may be because we never get to delve too deeply there either.
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Cynthia (Aurora CO)
Swept Up
I was swept up by the force of Wall's protangonist, Olivia Harker. Gritty, combative, dirt-poor, this back-woods Kentuckian is both blessed and cursed with an innate and absolute sense of right and wrong. That's not to say she doesn't do wrong, she just knows what she's doing is wrong. Olivia is brutally honest about her life and her relationships - her love for her "Pap" and the boy Will'm, the hatred of her mother, her friendships with the "coloreds" of her hometown and even in her protectiveness of the silver-faced wolves that live in her mountains. I'd like to think that Olivia and I would be friends.
However, the book is flawed by its ambitiousness. Wall has too many stories to tell here - the life and relationships of Olivia, the plight of the blacks during the early decades of the 20th Century, and the mystery - and they can't be told in 278 pages without neglecting one or two. I think it's the mystery which is the most cheated. The actual mystery isn't presented until the last quarter of the book - although in hindsight there were clues of an upcoming mystery, they were too subtle to put me on alert. By the time the mystery is presented, it's too late and the ending feels rushed and unsatisfying. Which is unfortunate because the storyline is interesting and the characters well worth knowing.
I wouldn't have classified this book as a mystery, but as a woman's book. For a book club that likes strong women heroines, this would be a good read.
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