Official Review: Requiem's Echo by Julia Greenwood

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Requiem's Echo" by Julia Greenwood.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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First, let’s just get this out of the way. I loved this book. I inhabited the story and lost track of time. We all know the feeling we get from reading a very engrossing book. Requiem’s Echo by Julia Greenwood is a novel about domestic violence and its effects as seen from a child’s viewpoint. It is categorized in the General Fiction genre.

A man takes a look back at his childhood in 1960’s rural Australia. Four-year-old Sammy enjoys using his imagination based on his storybook about dragons, Rapunzel, Jack in the Beanstalk, and other fairy tales. There is a darker side to his real life, one that no child should have to experience. His father is a nasty drunk and often becomes violent toward his mother. The young boy witnesses his father's abusive behavior on a regular basis, the effects of which last for years.

Let me say it again. I loved this book so much. Seeing domestic violence through a child’s eyes was eye-opening, to say the least. The author’s choice of using the man’s flashbacks to his early years was a strong plot device. The reader can see firsthand what Sammy experienced at such a tender age. I particularly liked the fact that some sweet childhood memories were also included, along with the harrowing ones. This showed a realistic, layered set of childhood experiences; things are never all black or white. The light-hearted passages filled with wide-eyed wonder are a nice offset to the overall dark tone of the story.

The writing conveys a keen sense of what a child would think and feel. There is a palpable tension throughout the story. Even during the calm sequences, I felt a sense of foreboding as nighttime would eventually come with negative comments about the food served, shouting, and worse. Once the storyline moves forward to Sammy’s teenage years, the writing still evokes a subtle tension. Although most of the fighting is between the parents over money and drinking, the boy’s father is also nasty toward him; nothing is ever good enough. A typical battered wife, Mama takes turns trying to please Pa or fights back. Even wonderful days like Christmas at Grandma’s house inevitably end with yelling on the way home and beyond. All an innocent boy can do is witness the disturbances in a state of fear or try to hide for a while.

The descriptions of the triggers for the arguments and a father turning into a monster are vividly written. Sammy can recognize the signs; his father’s face changes and the boy views it as “a black poison inside of him that he is forced to let out.”

The author paints a clear backdrop of the rural Australian setting. The peaceful setting stands in stark contrast to the manmade dysfunction and violence. The imagery of the house after one of Pa’s rages is powerful – overturned furniture, every single piece of china smashed on the floor, the splintered bedroom door, etc. The shocking sections are narrated by Sammy’s younger self so there is a subtle yet matter-of-fact retelling of the harsh occurrences. I was horrified, but couldn’t look away from the pages.

A child’s perspective is evident in the story. There is sometimes no money for chicken feed since Pa spends it on alcohol. It’s sadly endearing that Sammy overhears his parents arguing about this and wonders if “booze” is a plant. He even speculates that the “booze” plant could earn them money on the farm. The passages about fairy tales are excellently written and show the way a child’s mind works when fantasizing. When contemplating “Jack in the Beanstalk,” Sammy figures “the clouds…strong to hold up giants and the water for rain as well.” The author skillfully ties in specific fairy tales with the main storyline, as the boy conjures up ways to resolve his father’s problems. With his thoughtful and often humorous reasoning, Sammy would be the perfect member of any present-day book club.

The story has a slow pace, but I didn’t mind. The pacing fit well with the descriptions of memories recalled in almost filmy, slow motion.

My criticisms are few. It doesn’t seem realistic that a man would recall so many minor details from his life at four years of age and, in one detailed memory of a wedding, three years old. Still, it’s a work of fiction and I guess certain liberties can be taken. An additional round of editing is needed as there are numerous grammatical and spelling errors, typos, incorrect dialogue structure, and incorrect tense scattered throughout the story.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I was blown away by the ending, but really I was blown away by the entire story. Still, as much as I loved it, the technical errors caused me to take away a star. I would recommend this book to people touched by domestic violence and anyone who enjoys a compelling plot. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to turn away.

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Requiem's Echo
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[gali]

Excellent review as always. I am glad you loved the book.

[bluemel4]

Fantastic review. This is not a book for me, but I did enjoy your review.

[bookowlie]

@Gali @bluemel4 Thanks. Believe it or not, my draft was even longer than the final review. When you love a book, you want everyone to know every little thing you loved about it! Hope I didn't put anyone to sleep reading my very long review.

[gran1990]

As always you did a wonderful review. I will put this on my reading list.

[bookowlie]

Thanks for the kind words.

[Levi]

Owlie, I also sometimes write reviews that I think are long, but it's because I want to convey the story perfectly to a passerby; that one last detail may be the thing that sways that one person. That being said I thought the review was great. It was long, but detailed and not boring by any means. It conveyed the story nicely. We are readers, we should be able to read a long review as long as the review is good. There are so many good books out there to choose from that I rely on details and or another reader's enthusiasm to help me pick. You showed both here. Great job! Congrats to the author as well.

[bookowlie]

Thanks Escape-y (you need a shorter user name!). It's true that there are so many books out there to choose from, so it's nice to have detailed user reviews to help people decide which ones to read.

[Levi]

You're welcome Haha I like Escape-y though.

[bookowlie]

The user name makes me think of someone who broke out of jail - a fugitive! I like Choppermaster better.

Back to the book...the review is very long, but it still doesn't convey all the little things I liked about this book. There are so many little nuances and scences where the little boy thinks of a favorite fairytale in terms of how his dad can be helped to stop his bad behavior. It's so creative. I don't want to give spoilers, but there are so many passages where the boy thinks of serious issues in just the way a four-year-old would think. The writing is just plain great.

[gali]

@Gali @bluemel4 Thanks. Believe it or not, my draft was even longer than the final review. When you love a book, you want everyone to know every little thing you loved about it! Hope I didn't put anyone to sleep reading my very long review.

Not at all. I found your review interesting.

[bookowlie]

You are too kind. I am going to make my next review so short that it will be 5 words above the minimum. Ha ha ha

[Grace_Alexander]

Thank you for your awesome review. By about half way through I was wondering if your word count would exceed that of my book. But I can see from your words that you loved it and for me that was the purpose in writing it. Unfortunately many of the stories come from personal experience. I am a grandmother now and the pain of my childhood is less acute than it once was. Writing the story helped to put many of the memories to bed. Now the book is out there for others to read .. particularly those who have also experienced domestic violence. For those wondering ... Grace is a pen name ... but I wanted this book published under my real name.

[bookowlie]

Thank you for your awesome review. By about half way through I was wondering if your word count would exceed that of my book. But I can see from your words that you loved it and for me that was the purpose in writing it. Unfortunately many of the stories come from personal experience. I am a grandmother now and the pain of my childhood is less acute than it once was. Writing the story helped to put many of the memories to bed. Now the book is out there for others to read .. particularly those who have also experienced domestic violence. For those wondering ... Grace is a pen name ... but I wanted this book published under my real name.

I am sorry to hear that many of the stories came from personal experience. At least, writing the book was somewhat cathartic for you. As for the length of the review, I wanted to give potential readers a flavor of all the things that made the book special. For me, part of that was Sammy's thoughtful reflections about the fairy tales and how the dragons, giants, etc. could improve the situation at hand. Those passages were so well done.