Grist by Linda Little Review!

Publication Date: April 15, 2014
Roseway Publishing
Paperback; 234p
ISBN 13: 9781552665992

“This is the story of how you were loved,” Penelope MacLaughlin whispers to her granddaughter.

Penelope MacLaughlin marries a miller and gradually discovers he is not as she imagined. Nonetheless she remains determined to make the best of life at the lonely mill up the Gunn Brook as she struggles to build a home around her husband’s eccentricities. His increasing absence leaves Penelope to run the mill herself, providing her with a living but also destroying the people she loves most. Penelope struggles with loss and isolation, and suffers the gradual erosion of her sense of self. A series of betrayals leaves her with nothing but the mill and her determination to save her grandchildren from their disturbed father. While she can prepare her grandsons for independence, her granddaughter is too young and so receives the greater gift: the story that made them all.

Praise for Grist

“An epic story by a gifted writer. There are moments in Linda Little’s Grist that are breathtaking in both thought and lyricism.” — Donna Morrissey, author of The Deception of Livvy Higgs

“Linda Little lays bare the hard joys, grit and heartache of women’s lives in the rural Maritimes before and during the Great War. Her writing is exquisite. Gripping, gorgeously imagined and positively haunting, Grist is a tour de force—a novel not just to like but to love. I couldn’t put it down.” — Carol Bruneau, author of Glass Voices and Purple for Sky

Buy the Book

Fernwood Publishing

About the Author

Linda Little lives and writes in the north shore village of River John. Originally from the Ottawa Valley mill town of Hawkesbury, she lived in Kingston and St. John’s before moving to Nova Scotia in 1987.

Linda has two award-winning novels, Strong Hollow and Scotch River. She has published short stories in many reviews and anthologies, including The Antigonish Review, Descant, Matrix, The Journey Prize Anthology, and The Penguin Book of Short Stories by Canadian Women.

In addition to writing, Linda teaches at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and is also involved with River John’s annual literary festival, Read by the Sea.

For more information visit Linda Little’s website.

                                                    

My Thoughts

"Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding."

Thus the title as it refers to the life of Penelope McCabe in Nova Scotia in the late 1800's. Penelope meets and marries Ewan MacLaughlin, a miller. Ewan is a no nonsense controlling sort of a man and Penelope soon realizes that life is not going to be easy for her. Ewan wants a son to eventually take over the running of the mill but Penelope produces daughters. Dealing with a man like Ewan is not easy for Penelope but she perseveres and also learns the running of the mill at Ewan's insistence. She grows to be a very strong woman in certain ways but I feel maybe she should have stood up to her husband more but that was not a normal thing for women to do then. As a result of his cruelty, Penelope suffers heartbreak after heartbreak but in the end she knows that she needs to do what is necessary to protect her grandchildren from the menace that is their father. 

This novel is short but packed with emotion and lets us know how life was for women of this time. I found the milling process interesting and things that we may take for granted now, was the lifeblood of the times. "This is how you were loved...." describes the life of Penelope McLaughlin to her granddaughter Rachel and a fitting end to a unique story. A wonderful historical novel that will be appreciated by fans of this genre.

I received a copy for review and was not monetarily compensated for this review.

Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/gristtour

Tour Hashtag: #GristTour

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, April 14
Interview & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, April 15
Review at Reading the Past
Guest Post at Closed the Cover

Wednesday, April 16
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Thursday, April 17
Guest Post & Giveaway at Confessions of an Avid Reader

Friday, April 18
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict

Monday, April 21
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Tuesday, April 22
Review at A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, April 23
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Thursday, April 24
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Spotlight & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Friday, April 25
Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection