Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Book Review: The Hinterlands

January 3, 2007

Robert Morgan is a master storyteller. His writing is poetic and his stories fascinating, especially for those of us living in the mountain country from which his tales are spun. This book tells the stories of three generations of a mountain family, starting with Petal in 1772 and ending with her great-grandson in the 1840s. While the second and third stories were interesting, it was Petal's story that most intrigued me. I would have loved to have read the whole novel about her. The second and third stories involve the process of building roads through the mountains, and anyone who has seen the mountains bleed red earth for a road to go through knows what a heartbreaking scene this is. An interesting twist, though, is that these stories are narrated by the roadbuilders themselves. I've never been disappointed with Robert Morgan and have at least a few more of his novels yet to read.

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