Mary Toliver DuMont knows she is dying. When she looks back on her life and reflects on all the mistakes she’s made, she chooses to sell her family’s huge farm rather than leave it to her great-niece as Rachel is expecting. In this multi-generational saga, the characters take us back through their lives to the beginning of many of their problems so that the conclusion becomes understandable. This family has experienced it all, and their mistakes may prevent the happiness of the newest generation.
I often love sagas of this variety and Roses was not really an exception. There’s little better than investing yourself in several hundred pages of a fictional family’s complicated and generally tragic life. Here the central tragedy is that Mary Toliver and Percy Warwick don’t marry, even though they are clearly the loves of each other’s lives, due to misunderstandings and mistakes. Those resonate throughout the book and influence decisions made by all the characters throughout.
These families are descended through Lancastrian and Yorkist immigrants to the United States and as a result use a system of roses to signal forgiveness (and unforgiveness) to one another. I have to admit I rolled my eyes a little at this, as it just seems way too sentimental for real life, but it works really well as a device within the story, so I got used to it very quickly and appreciated how the author wove it in, making the title perfectly appropriate for the book. I also really liked the characters for the most part, especially Percy; Mary and Rachel were slightly too abrasive for me to love them, but I still liked them.
Despite the fact that I was swept up in the story and really enjoyed it, I have to say I had an issue with the central reason for frustration. Everyone blames everything on Somerset, and it seemed to me what really happened was that the characters made bad decisions. Getting rid of the land would not have solved their problems, talking would. I could definitely understand the issue an early twentieth century southern magnate would have had with his wife out in the fields all day, but I do think there’s such a thing as compromise. Mary and Percy are just too stubborn to have things their own way.
Roses is a saga in a great tradition, but it’s not a perfect one. Still, if you enjoy reading about strong characters and don’t mind a little bit of tragedy and suspending belief, this would be a wonderful choice. I’d also suggest it to people who enjoyed Dallas on TV – the Texas feel is so similar here.
I am an Amazon Associate, so if you purchase books through my links I will earn a tiny percentage of the profit at no cost to you. Thanks! I received this book for free from the publisher.
Great review! I have been eyeing this one for awhile now and I think I would really enjoy it.
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Book Review: Goldengrove =-.
Hmmm…I lurve Texas, but I read a novel set in Texas written by a non-Texan last year and hated it. So I just looked Meacham up, and as soon as I saw her author picture, I figured she was Texan! And she lives in San Antonio! So now I’m putting this on the TBR list.
.-= Eva´s last blog ..Library Loot: January 13-19, 2010 =-.
Your review is spot on. I really enjoyed this book, too, but didn’t love it.
.-= Kathy´s last blog ..Wondrous Words Wednesday =-.
Great review. I can’t wait to read it! I grew up in Texas for part of my childhood and loved Dallas!
I’ve heard a lot about this one lately and I’m leaning toward reading it.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Versailles =-.
I haven’t read a family saga for ages! This one sounds interesting.
My requested copy of this from the library just came in, and your review made me excited to get started. I’ve been intrigued by this book ever since I randomly stumbled on the cover (having never heard anything about it up to that point) in the bookstore. Thanks for the review!
.-= Dana´s last blog ..My Life in France, by Julia Child =-.
I’ve heard this book as being described as the modern “Gone with the Wind” (which I LOVE). What do you think of that description?
I love Gone with the Wind too! I don’t think this lives up to it, in all honesty. It’s a nice read, but I don’t think it has the same resonance of a vanishing culture. It certainly tries, in that the characters are upset with the switch from cotton farms and the takeovers by Northeasterners, but doesn’t have that special touch to it that GWTW maintains despite its racism and problems. Mary and Rachel have nowhere near the staying power of an enchanting, selfish Scarlett O’Hara, and the whole thing is neatly wrapped up rather than left open for readers to continue dreaming about.
I am hoping to get this one soon. A couple of weeks ago I hadn’t even heard of it, and suddenly it is being mentioned everywhere. And I do love a good saga!
.-= Marg´s last blog ..Better late than never: Bloggiesta wrap up =-.
I am looking forward to this — even if it turns out not to be the best book I ever read, I still think I’d enjoy it.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Weekend Cooking: Chocolate by Max Brenner =-.
I’m looking forward to getting my eyes on this one!
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..The Husband, by Dean Koontz =-.
I love sagas, so I can’t wait to read this one!
.-= Anna´s last blog ..SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters =-.