Harkening
Carolyn Howard-Johnson (Guest Reviewer - Judith Woolcock Colombo)
2002 AmErica House
ISBN: 1591295505 Amazon's price is: $19.95
Harkening is a superb collection of tales from the pen of Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Each story recounts a childhood memory, some shocking & scandalous, others beautiful & poignant. Together, the stories form the history of one family, flawed yet perfect in their humanity.
Guest Reviewer Judith Woolcock Colombo writes:
We stroll through a garden, we take a museum tour, or we look through a friend's family album. These are all quick glances at the bits & pieces that make up the whole. Each story is like the petal of a rose, perfect & unique, an entity unto itself. When merged together each petal becomes more than itself. It becomes the rose, superb & perfect.
Harkening are memories emerging from a woman's mind, recollections of her childhood or of stories handed down to her. Each unique perspective of the people telling the stories colors them with love.
There are stories that shock us. In Legacy an aging woman recalls discovering, as a small child, that her youngest aunt had syphilis, a legacy from one of her many lovers. She also discovers that her mother had an illegitimate child who disappeared. Stories such as Mama's Depression move us with the triumph of the human spirit over poverty. In Child's Play, Neighbors, What isn't Lavender, & Remembering Winter, religious intolerance mars a child's life. We are left stunned at the stupidity of an intolerant society & awed by the resilience of children to surmount hate & prejudice, to survive intact.
In Harkening, we relive childhood hurts & disappointments & revel in its triumphs, like learning to milk a cow. We wince in recognition of the mother/daughter conflict, yet it intrigues us, & we wonder where the next story will lead.
Throughout the pages of Harkening, another story emerges. It is the story of Utah, the land of towering mountains, glorious lakes, gray desert plains, & shimmering white salt flats. It is the story of a land whose soil, according to the author, sustained the pulse & throb of her heritage. This land nourishes, comforts, & punishes. It is part of its children's lives. Utah is in Howard-Johnson’s blood. She cannot escape her great mother whom she both praises & damns. In her dedication, she salutes Utah as “this nurturer & devastator.” Without Utah the stories would lack their beauty & majesty.
Harkening is a must read for anyone who loves the written word or wonderful stories told well. If you have read Howard-Johnson's first novel This Is The Place & loved it, you will also love Harkening because these are the experiences from which the novel sprang.
Judith Woolcock Colombo: Author of The Fablesinger, a fantasy set in the Caribbean & Night Crimes, a tale of mystery & suspense.
(02/09/03)
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