Review by Vysaka1 -- American River: Tributaries
Posted: 08 Aug 2020, 12:18
[i][Following is a volunteer review of "American River: Tributaries" by Mallory M. O'Connor.][/i]
[rwc=id200399-125]4 out of 4 stars.[/rwc][i]American River: Tributaries[/i]
Author:[b]Mallory M. O’Connor[/b]
Reviewer: Lynn-Marie Stroman
What I liked best about this book is the subject, immigration and its outcomes. What I liked least about it was its lack of character development.
Three men came to this country looking for new lives. Three men succeeded in finding these lives. The book introduces us to the what their descendants created.
Cormac McPhalen came to the United States and went to California in 1849. In the Sacramento Valley on the American River he founded Mockingbird Ranch. Juan Morales was a rancher in California before it became a state in 1850. He lost everything when that happened and returned to Mexico. He later returned to California as a businessman. Frank Yoshinobu came from Japan in 1869. He was a young orphan and ended up in the first Japanese settlement in California, on the American River.
The book the[i]American River: Tributaries[/i] tells us what transpires in the lives of the inheritors in the 1960s.
Owen McPhalen, Cormac’s grandson, runs Mockingbird Ranch. He is gruff, dictatorial, bigoted, and very much in charge of the ranch. Marian, his wife, is leaving for Boston to paint. She is taking their youngest daughter, Alex, a 12-year-old girl, with her. Alex is a piano prodigy and has been awarded a scholarship to a prestigious eastern school. Kate, his teenage daughter, loves Mockingbird and wants to be a veterinarian and live on Mockingbird when she grows up. She is the golden child. Julian, the son, is considered by his father to be a hopeless loser. He is sixteen.
Alex is finally introduced later in the book in stunning fashion. There is absolutely no reason or explanation for what happens. The scene is just sort of jammed in. This is true of many of the things that happen in the book. No background, no explanation, little if any internal dialogue or thought is provided.
Head of the David Ashida family is a first-born Japanese citizen (Issei) married to Connie Yoshinobu. They have a son Tommy. David works as the foreman for the Mockingbird Ranch. Tommy works there also and is a good friend of Kate McPhalen. Tommy loves Mockingbird Ranch and wants to stay there forever. His options may be limited because of Owen's bigotry -- Tommy is falling in love with Kate.
Jorge Morales and Rose Fitzgerald have three children. Carlos Estevan Morales (known as Carl Steven Fitzgerald), Silvio Morales, and Allison (Ali) Morales. Carl uses his grandfather’s last name. He and his father are estranged. Carl is also very musically gifted.
There are some explanations in the book. We find out why Carl is estranged from his father. The reason for his estrangement is more than ten years old. Jorge had good reasons for what happened. Carl is an adult. Get over it Carl, grow up.
[b]Mallory M. O’Connor[/b] is also very gifted. Her descriptive prose of the American River, the Sacramento Valley, and San Francisco are some of the best writing I have read. She reads the river in all its many moods and stages. She translates them into memorable lines that take us there. It’s obvious she knows and has loved the Sacramento Valley for a long time through many of its changes. Her descriptions of San Francisco buzz with energy, although no mention was made of popular music of the period. Classical music was a part of the book but if you’re writing about the early 60’s you can’t leave out popular music. It was alive, loud, new, changing from music of the 50’s. It was totally ignored and considering the age of the characters that seems strange. The author did make passing reference to the draft and Viet Nam which would really heat up later in the decade.
Her physical descriptions of people are also good. The characters are unfailingly detailed. Everyone you are supposed to like is beautiful or handsome. People you are not supposed to like are ugly and distasteful. None of the beautiful people have any physical flaws. The 12-year-old doesn’t even have acne.
Her character descriptions are incomplete. We don’t know why Owen is so mean to Julian. We don’t know why Kate is the golden child. Alex is treated like a zero –- she’s there but you don’t know her. Even her siblings treat her like a nothing. Her mother Marian uses her as an excuse to paint, and to leave Owen. Mom is a little self serving. There is no explaining, no internal dialogue, little dialogue at all to justify the behaviors of people.
It was very hard to get to know the characters very well in this book. I could only get the surface reasons for what they did or why they were doing what they did. I didn’t notice a lot of second thoughts or hesitation about some big decisions being made.
This is a gorgeous book if you like scenic descriptions. You get a real feeling for where the story takes place. You do not not get a feeling of connection with the characters. I always want to know the why and wherefore of peoples' behavior. There just isn't a lot of that in this book. A lot of people say "I love you", some say "I hate you". I want to know "why?"
The plot would do justice to a good soap opera. I rated it 2/4 because it has some wonderful scenic passages. It is extremely well edited; I only found one typo. The story is weak. We don’t really get to know the people in any meaningful way. The book is the first book of a three-part trilogy. I am not inclined to read the second part.
******
[i]American River: Tributaries [/i]
View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=200399]on Bookshelves[/url] | [amazon=B073V1SHZF]on Amazon[/amazon]
[rwc=id200399-125]4 out of 4 stars.[/rwc]
Author:
Reviewer: Lynn-Marie Stroman
What I liked best about this book is the subject, immigration and its outcomes. What I liked least about it was its lack of character development.
Three men came to this country looking for new lives. Three men succeeded in finding these lives. The book introduces us to the what their descendants created.
Cormac McPhalen came to the United States and went to California in 1849. In the Sacramento Valley on the American River he founded Mockingbird Ranch. Juan Morales was a rancher in California before it became a state in 1850. He lost everything when that happened and returned to Mexico. He later returned to California as a businessman. Frank Yoshinobu came from Japan in 1869. He was a young orphan and ended up in the first Japanese settlement in California, on the American River.
The book the
Owen McPhalen, Cormac’s grandson, runs Mockingbird Ranch. He is gruff, dictatorial, bigoted, and very much in charge of the ranch. Marian, his wife, is leaving for Boston to paint. She is taking their youngest daughter, Alex, a 12-year-old girl, with her. Alex is a piano prodigy and has been awarded a scholarship to a prestigious eastern school. Kate, his teenage daughter, loves Mockingbird and wants to be a veterinarian and live on Mockingbird when she grows up. She is the golden child. Julian, the son, is considered by his father to be a hopeless loser. He is sixteen.
Alex is finally introduced later in the book in stunning fashion. There is absolutely no reason or explanation for what happens. The scene is just sort of jammed in. This is true of many of the things that happen in the book. No background, no explanation, little if any internal dialogue or thought is provided.
Head of the David Ashida family is a first-born Japanese citizen (Issei) married to Connie Yoshinobu. They have a son Tommy. David works as the foreman for the Mockingbird Ranch. Tommy works there also and is a good friend of Kate McPhalen. Tommy loves Mockingbird Ranch and wants to stay there forever. His options may be limited because of Owen's bigotry -- Tommy is falling in love with Kate.
Jorge Morales and Rose Fitzgerald have three children. Carlos Estevan Morales (known as Carl Steven Fitzgerald), Silvio Morales, and Allison (Ali) Morales. Carl uses his grandfather’s last name. He and his father are estranged. Carl is also very musically gifted.
There are some explanations in the book. We find out why Carl is estranged from his father. The reason for his estrangement is more than ten years old. Jorge had good reasons for what happened. Carl is an adult. Get over it Carl, grow up.
Her physical descriptions of people are also good. The characters are unfailingly detailed. Everyone you are supposed to like is beautiful or handsome. People you are not supposed to like are ugly and distasteful. None of the beautiful people have any physical flaws. The 12-year-old doesn’t even have acne.
Her character descriptions are incomplete. We don’t know why Owen is so mean to Julian. We don’t know why Kate is the golden child. Alex is treated like a zero –- she’s there but you don’t know her. Even her siblings treat her like a nothing. Her mother Marian uses her as an excuse to paint, and to leave Owen. Mom is a little self serving. There is no explaining, no internal dialogue, little dialogue at all to justify the behaviors of people.
It was very hard to get to know the characters very well in this book. I could only get the surface reasons for what they did or why they were doing what they did. I didn’t notice a lot of second thoughts or hesitation about some big decisions being made.
This is a gorgeous book if you like scenic descriptions. You get a real feeling for where the story takes place. You do not not get a feeling of connection with the characters. I always want to know the why and wherefore of peoples' behavior. There just isn't a lot of that in this book. A lot of people say "I love you", some say "I hate you". I want to know "why?"
The plot would do justice to a good soap opera. I rated it 2/4 because it has some wonderful scenic passages. It is extremely well edited; I only found one typo. The story is weak. We don’t really get to know the people in any meaningful way. The book is the first book of a three-part trilogy. I am not inclined to read the second part.
******
[i]American River: Tributaries [/i]
View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=200399]on Bookshelves[/url] | [amazon=B073V1SHZF]on Amazon[/amazon]