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Title: Devil's Dream by Lee Smith ISBN: 0-345-38291-9 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.12 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A wonderful, but somewhat familiar read...
Comment: "The Devil's Dream" was a wonderful read. The book flowed along just marvelously over 150 years of the lives of an Appalachian family (a family tree is provided at the front of the book and should be referenced often to keep names and lineages straight). It begins and ends with a popular Nashville star, holding a press conference announcing a reunion album featuring her musical family. Between these "bookends" lies her family's story, beginning with a nineteenth century backwoods woman who hides her fiddle-playing from her fundamentalist husband. Down through the generations, the music of the Appalachian region impacts the family members in various and great ways, and much of the story is told through the eyes of these characters. While many authors would not succeed at making so many characters distinctly different, Lee Smith does. Such vivid pictures are painted that it is easy for the reader to picture Grassy Creek and all its residents in their mind. Even for those who are not "country" fans, the music of the Bailey family will come alive through the lyrics, song titles, and references that are scattered through the book.
On a sourer note, I found a few parts of this book extremely familiar - for example, many details of R.C. and Lucie's courtship very nearly mirror those surrounding that of A.P. and Sara Carter, of The Carter Family. Other events, details, and characters may also bear strong resemblances to "real-life" ones. This doesn't really take AWAY from the book unless you notice these "coincidences," or unless you've read this review and I've ruined it for you. So, I recommend also reading "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone," a wonderful biography of The Carter Family.
Rating: 5
Summary: Vividly written and alive
Comment: This book is, along with P. F. Kluge's novel "Eddie and the Cruisers," possibly the best novel about what music means and where it comes from that I've read. The sense of time and place is unerringly evoked, the characters are simultaneously archetypal and idiosynchratic, and the overlap of both generations and musical styles makes a rich, rewarding experience. Really, really top-notch stuff.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fabulous Book
Comment: What a wonderful book. Quite often, a book is real good until the ending, and then I'm let down, But this has a really good ending too. This tale is really excellent: a verbal piece of art. I liked all the lineage and interconnections in this large musical family. I learned what it's like to have mucic within you -- to write as well as perform. I liked the character developments -- no one all good or all bad, but all very interesting. I recommend this book highly. One learns about US history, country music, human nature, and it's entertaining to boot!
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Title: Saving Grace by Lee Smith ISBN: 0345403339 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 23 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Family Linen by Lee Smith ISBN: 0345410602 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 27 August, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith ISBN: 034536208X Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 13 August, 1989 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Black Mountain Breakdown by Lee Smith ISBN: 0345410319 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 27 August, 1996 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Fancy Strut by Lee Smith ISBN: 0345410394 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 29 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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