I just finished reading The Quickening, an outstanding debut novel by Michelle Hoover. This is a lovely and harrowing book that is sure to appeal to fans of Kent Haruf (Plainsong) as well as to those who enjoyed Outlander, (Gil Adamson) and The God of Animals, (Aryn Kyle). Set in the farmlands of Iowa during the years of the Great Depression, The Quickening is the story of two women whose lives are intertwined through friendship, circumstance, and desperation. I once heard poetry described as the effort to convey the essence of a thing in as few words as needed. This serves as an apt description of this novel, whose pacing and prose are elegant, straightforward and elemental. Yet for all the spareness and simplicity, there is a richness and fertility here. The depth and intimacy with which this story is told can only come from someone whose roots extend deep into this soil. And indeed, Ms. Hoover seems to draw on her family’s farming history to deliver a beautiful and powerful book.
From the author’s website:
In the upper Midwest of the early 1900s, two women struggle to make a living on neighboring farms. For one, their hardscrabble life comes easily, while the other longs for the excitement of the city. Though they depend on one another for survival and companionship, their friendship proves as rugged as the land they farm. While the Great Depression looms, the delicate balance of their relationship tips, pitting neighbor against neighbor, and exposing the dark secrets they hide.
In The Quickening, Michelle Hoover explores the polarization of the human soul in times of hardship and the instinctual drive for self-preservation by whatever needs necessary. A novel of lyrical precision and historical consequence, this debut reflects the resilience and sacrifices required even now in our modern troubled times.
