Violet

Product Information

Through her father's prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses all and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling. . . .

My first glimpse of this author was listening to the audiobook of her brief memoir "Soul of a Woman" published in 2020. I was fascinated with her life story, and her robust views on feminism, marriage and sexuality. English governess: "She had straw-like blond hair, and that skin as transparent as rice paper, that girls from cold countries sometimes have, which over time become spotted and mercilessly wrinkled."

Violet Book Issue 11

I was born in 1920, during the influenza pandemic, and I’m going to die in 2020, during the outbreak of coronavirus. What an elegant name for such a terrible scourge.” I listened to the audiobook narrated by Frances Riddle whose voicing skills are believable as she authentically becomes the character of Violeta. With 13 hours of listening time, it never feels too long, repetitive, or slow. Scott Thomas has it in for Kansas. His debut novel, the acclaimed Kill Creek, took place in a haunted house in Kansas' rural countryside, and the author has returned to his native Sunflower State for his second standalone novel, Violet. There, however, the similarities end. Where Kill Creek was a meta-commentary on horror authors and their chosen genre, Violet is a direct, affecting, and psychologically thrilling slice of Midwestern gothic. The song builds to a climax when Violet eventually reaches her limits, ending the song with a wet splat as purple goo and confetti rain down, imitating Violet's exploding body and insides raining down.

There were quite a few times that I was absolutely CERTAIN that I knew the direction this book was taking, only to be completely blindsided by the character's actions. (I loved it).

Everyone in Pacington has a realistic small-town vibe to them, which is accompanied by a mysteriousness that is quite subtle. As I read the novel, I got the sense that everyone seems to know more than they let on about the missing girls. That paranoia stoked in me as the reader perfectly mirrors Kris’s own paranoia and depression, as she spirals downward into her delusions (but are they delusions?). Love relationships- marriage - children - divorce- chaos - joy - growth ….a private detective named Roy Cooper - (an ex-co -who saved Violeta’s daughter) - secrets - economic ruin - global financial catastrophe - fraud - suicide- affairs - panhandling - communes -alligator infected swamps - a Jewish psychiatrist - and an array of many more humanizing experiential formidable years of one woman who lived long enough to pass on her stories.

What better way to heal this shattered family than an impromptu trip to the lakeside vacation home of Kris's childhood! The story is that of 100-year-old Violeta's life, written for her grandson. It takes us from her childhood raised by an Irish governess somewhere in South America (never said where but contains oblique references to pandemics and military takeovers) to her marriage, an abusive relationship and the arrival of her two children. This was a beautifully told story of motherhood and loneliness. The writing was very lyrical with snippets of poetry throughout. Violetta was born during the Spanish Flu pandemic on a stormy day 1920 and at 100 years old during the coronavirus pandemic she is writing to her grandson as her life winds down. In her writing, she tells of her childhood years, being the first girl born after five sons. She lives an affluent lifeImmersive, moving and insightful. A perfect blend of fact and fiction and of the ordinary and extraordinary events and people that shape Violeta’s life. Though the suicide of one's father, a whirlwind romance that turns abusive, and a child with a drug addiction are all horrific things for a person to experience, Violeta's narrative voice remains flat and unmoving from beginning to end. My favorite parts are when Kris and Sadie venture into town to get ice cream or make a trip to the bookstore—the encounters she has with the locals are like gathering up the author’s breadcrumbs. I savored every bit of mystery and intrigue. Anyway, to move on to a book that I did find time to read, let's talk Violet, a spooky and sad tale of a rotting house, a family trapped by grief, and an imaginary friend who will never leave you. Violeta del Valle was born in Chile during the Spanish Flu pandemic and she dies during the Coronavirus pandemic, but what an incredible life she lives between them! This work of historical fiction reads much like an actual memoir, written by Violeta in a long letter to her beloved grandson, Camilo. In it she details a life that sees prosperity and ruin due to the Great Depression, re-forging her own prosperity in a time where society frowned on women in business, marriages and affairs that range from sedate to tempestuous, the joys and sorrows of motherhood, war in the world at large and political upheaval and danger in her own country, a plethora of social issues, and ultimately finding new purpose in her later years.

This is a profoundly unusual novel, an intricately composed and thoroughly corporeal portrait of the intertwined lives of two women during the war. Hyde is clearly a writer of talent and ambition: Violets suggests a glittering career ahead. One thing that worked for me on all levels is the music featured. (Kris finds an old mix tape and plays it almost continuously when working on or in the cabin). For me, even when the music wasn't mentioned, I was still hearing it in my mind, playing behind the scenes I was witnessing. I thought that was done deftly and I appreciate the skill required for it to blend in the way it did. vibrant stars for 100 colourful years that defined Violeta’s life. A story of love, tragedy, abuse and survival that is interwoven with the real historical events in South America. She and Veruca also don't seem to get along, despite the two of them agreeing to be 'best friends'. The two glance at each other in a way that implies some animosity and that they both intend to outlast the other in the bid to win the special prize. When Violet inflates into a blueberry, Veruca is shown smirking, pleased that her opposing female competition has been eliminated. Well, I tried not to give away too many spoilers. If I did, blame it on my pills or the voices in my head.This was my first time reading Scott Thomas, but it certainly won’t be my last. I was very impressed by his storytelling abilities as he pulled me into this emotional narrative. I would highly recommend this one to readers who appreciate subtle psychological horror, fully fleshed out characters, and well crafted stories. Lucinda and Abel Rivas were the parents of the governess, Miss Taylor, who were kind to host the De Valle family….when they needed to ‘exile’ ….[readers will learn - why - and ‘what happened’ is interesting and compelling. What I liked most about Violet is the pervading sense of loss. Which typing it out feels depressing. But it's honestly not. It's about surviving loss, about life hitting you with the worst it has and finding a way to live on, to cope, to overcome. This sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.