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Frances I. (Harlingen, TX)
The Long Ago
Michael McGarrity's novel The Long Ago nibbles for the reader's attention at the start, and then proceeds to chomp away chapter after chapter to involve the reader's curiosity and sleuthing. The missing sister, younger than her brother Ray Lansdale, the protagonist, feels safe when her brother is home, but once he leaves for the Army, she takes the brunt of living in the house of a dysfunctional and mercurial mother, and alcoholic father. Her running away secretly makes sense.
The novel moves the readers and characters in waves into the patriarchal, law-abiding circle of family who are sane and safe. They
…more provide a nucleus that allows and nourishes healthy growth and deep investigation by all the other characters involved in searching for
Ray's sister who--from all appearances--has simply vanished.
Primarily, author McGarrity 's writing is smooth, and provides easy transitions into the characters' lives and actions. (less)This book should engage anyone who likes mystery and romance combined. The varying locales and settings are interesting and should be known to many. A group of characters entwined through mishaps and misunderstandings kept me wondering to the end if the mystery would be solved. A quick read that held my attention throughout the different chapters. The author went from one area to another seamlessly. A good book to take on vacation. Not labeled as mystery but I found it to be so.
Barbara H. (Thomasville, GA)
Loved the story!
I really loved this story - the author had done well with character development - the reader really got to know each character and who they were. There were a few things in the story that made one pause and question what had just transpired (in order to not spoil the story, I will not elaborate) but those events were not enough to deter from the story as a whole and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It was one of those stories that you wanted to continue on to find out where the characters you had grown attached to ended up.
Hannah
The Long Ago
Good plot. The characters attitude seems very relatable to me. For me it's the best to read the book because of how it want us to remember what's in the past.
Jodi S. (Goldens Bridge, NY)
Just Okay
I liked the idea of this book, but I didn't find it to be particularly well-written, a lot of the dialogue was very simplistic. The premise of a bad family situation, with the brother enlisting in the army and then the sister leaving town seemed believable enough. But why didn't Barbara just move in with the aunt and uncle she loved so much? And why wouldn't she tell anyone she was leaving? And how could she have no contact with her family for years and not believe that she had worried anyone? And why would she put her aunt and uncle down as her address when she moved when she hadn't spoken to them in years?
…more These are just a few of the questions I had that made the story less realistic for me. I enjoyed the characters of Ray & Beth, and John & Neta. Also Steve, Dean, and Al. But many of the characters and situations just seemed to me to be flat and one-dimensional, like Manning & Culbertson. To me this book was just okay. (less)The Long Ago follows the lives of siblings from Montana in the early to mid 1960s. The brother leaves Montana via his enlistment in the Army. Two years later he comes back to find that his younger sister has disappeared and he tries to find her. We learn that the sister moved to CA and is married. But, in the age before police databases, cell phones and surveillance cameras existed, she is very hard to find - even though she is someone who was just trying to get away and not necessarily disappear. We follow the brother's and sister's lives for the remainder of the book.
The story line is well thought out and easy
…more to follow. The characters are developed. The writing is okay which is why I gave it an average rating rather than a higher one. I found some of the writing quite repetitious (for example, there are several pages where the brother is "snapping off a salute"). Otherwise, it is an easy enjoyable story to read.
If you're looking for a pleasant story where everything works out in the end, this is the book for you. (less)This novel is grammatically correct in every way. The sentences are written in a consistent subject, verb, object method. There is very little excitement or surprises in the construction of the body of the language.
The story line is how one would expect a memoir to be written with an up and down summary of events in the lives of major characters. Again, the story line is extremely predictable, the dialogue of a mundanity that is typical of a much less praises book.
I hesitate to call this a novel, but more a story about a couple of characters who are living in the time of an ill accepted war and the reactions
…more and events they face which are very much like many other Americans at this time. Nothing new here. (less)I didn't love or hate this book. I found it neutral others than a few moments here and there. The back cover said the book was gripping - I didn't think it was.
Barbara, the sister who ran away, wasn't particularly likeable and came across as quite oblivious. How could she think it was acceptable to run away and not let someone know she was ok.
Raymond, her brother who was trying to find her, was likeable and the characters he ran into and relationships he developed were the highlight of the book. I would definitely read more books focused around him.
The book is an easy read, decently written and will probably
…more be popular with a certain type of reader. (less)
