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Jeff M. (Somerset, NJ)
Home Sweet Home
"Home Sweet Home" begins as if it is going to be a murder mystery as the story moves back and forth from the 1950s to a hospital in 1985. In the end, the mystery as to who brutally attacked Jo's brother and his family. is just a resulting outcome of the entire saga of the Kusek's family move from New York City to the open plains of South Dakota. The effect on people and industries (e.g., Hollywood) of the communism "Red Scare" in the early 1950's, led by Sen Joseph McCarthy, is generally well known. What the book dramatically brings to life is the impact of the "Red Scare" in a place like rural South Dakota,
…more where liberal democrats and others were viewed suspiciously by their neighbors and it took years for trust in newcomers to be built up (and then broken in a moment's notice). April Smith's book describes the Kusek's family move and how they tried to fit in and grow over a 35 year period. The book is filled with vivid descriptions (e.g., sudden storms and wind that come out of nowhere) and good character development. It made for an interesting read, although sometimes the story moved a bit slow in spots for me. (less)Putting down roots, and creating a home aren't always easy to do. April Smith shows that in Home Sweet Home. The Kusek family moves from New York City to Rapid City, South Dakota in the fifties. They create a comfortable life through hard work and perseverance. However, a youthful indiscretion follows the family, and shines a light on how communities can be close minded, mean-spirited, and hateful to their own.
Grace W. (Corona del Mar, CA)
Home Bittersweet
Home Sweet Home by April Smith is well-written. Yet, the first 125 pages of detailed vignettes about the various characters made me wonder if the multitude of story threads would come together. Satisfactorily, the threads did became woven. The book captures the bleak scenery of the South Dakota prairie and the paranoia formed in the McCarthy years of communist smear campaigns. The story portrays well the tension between the urban, more Eastern-elite and the rural Midwest farm communities.
Virginia M. (San Antonio, TX)
A good historical novel
The Library of Congress data for this book categorizes it as "family life, romance, western" and the preface to the book ends with two questions that hint that maybe it was written as a "who dun it" book. I think both of these things are misleading to potential readers. I think that those people who pick this book based upon a hope it will primarily be a mystery with a touch of romance will likely be somewhat disappointed while those who start reading it as historical novel based upon a true story will find it quite satisfying; but that is just my opinion. However, I received this free book under the First
…more Impressions program of Book Browse in exchange for my honest opinion so I want to comply with that commitment.
The book is decidedly full of history about the McCarthy trial era in our nation's history and it is based upon an actual event where a man and his family are viciously accused of being dirty "Commies". His reputation is ruined and later his family is murdered by a man who was so influenced by the call to rid this country of people with Marxist leanings that he committed murder. Home Sweet Home pretty much used the specific details of that true story as the basis for its plot – changing only the family's name to Kusek and the location to South Dakota.
My favorite type of novel is historical fiction and I applied for one of the free books for that reason. I graduated from college in 1956 so I lived during the McCarthy era but I thoroughly enjoyed how the book helped me to remember the paranoia that existed in our country at that time. I also found myself comparing how similar the incidents in the book were to the 2016 election where both sides used lies and smear campaigns in an effort to sway the public.
Like so many books I have recently read, the book switches back and forth from the 1980s to the 1950s but I found it easy to follow – the publisher even printed the 1980s episodes in a different font style to help readers keep it straight.
Although my political leanings are definitely on the other side of the aisle from Mr Kusek, I identified with their concerns, longings to find a peaceful life style, and love for each other. The drama of the family life added to the historical aspect of the book.
I definitely would recommend the book for people who enjoy dramatic historical fiction. (less)Set against the darkness of the scare tactics of the McCarthy era, the concerns raised in this book resonate today and make this book worthy of a read. If you didn't live through the McCarthy era, it may be easy to dismiss this book, but if you did, you know that the intensity of the unrealistic hate based on inference and unproven information that the period generated is a very real one. Based loosely on a true story, the author writes of decent people trying to make the world a better place who must come to terms with deep-seated and often unwarranted prejudice, all of which are based on unproven and distorted
…more information. There are reaffirming moments in the book when good people realize that what bad people do should be countered. The chilling ending is haunting and that it occurred almost 30 years after the original events of the story is intensely thought provoking. The book's structure, however, sometimes got in the way of the story line and its conclusion but nonetheless, I would still recommend the book. (less)Not as good as I had hoped but interesting anyway. I think the author did a good job of showing the very large differences in city and country living. Also the ability of people to turn totally against a person even though the cause may have been minimal or happened a long time ago. This was particularly true during the McCarthy era but to a large extent true today. I guess for me, it would have been better if the characters were a bit better developed. I understand it was a true story so it is possible that this is difficult to do without taking "creative license "
Karine R. (Highland Mills, NY)
Disconnected
I enjoyed the story of a family heading west to make a new life. I felt connected to the Kusek family and found myself rooting for them along the way. I did not feel the connection of the story to the ending. It was a bit of a slow read. I didn't have the pull to hurry back to this book. I was disappointed with the way it ended.
Kathryn B. (Bronx, NY)
Home Sweet Home
I have mixed feelings about this book. The character development was excellent. The struggles of the Kusek family in adjusting to the prairie and cattle-ranching was well-defined. The threat of McCarthyism was palpable.
However, I found the wording excessive and unnecessary causing me to lose interest. The ending seemed rushed and abrupt.
