Official Review: The Anchor House by Spencer Margaret
Posted: 23 Apr 2020, 22:59
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Anchor House" by Spencer Margaret.]
The Anchor House by Spencer Margaret is a story of healing, redemption, and self-discovery. Winnie Spade is a young woman who sets out to find a new home—and ultimately herself—after her marriage falls apart. Hitchhiking across the country, Winnie is finally brought to Manitou Lake, a small Minnesotan town where she finds a fresh start and solace from her troubled past. The friends she makes there eventually become her family, and when their way of life is threatened, Winnie must find her inner strength and use the lessons she learned from her friends to not only fight back but help hold her surrogate family together.
Filled with timeless wisdom and beautiful prose, this is one piece of literature that will always hold a special place in my heart. It teaches many valuable lessons without coming off as “preachy.” At first, when I learned that one of the major characters was a preacher, I feared that the spirituality presented in the work would be overbearing. It wasn’t. While being an integral part of certain characters’ development, the spirituality was well-balanced with the other aspects of the novel. Furthermore, the various beliefs presented weren’t specific to any one religion or unveiled in a way that felt forced. It's possible that not everyone will agree with the philosophy and ideas shared in the book, but they felt very universal to me.
The characters were dynamic and well-rounded—Winnie more so than the others since the novel was written from her point of view. However, she was a very perceptive, thoughtful character, so the reader wasn’t inhibited by her. Rather, her insights into the other characters were enlightening. Winnie was the perfect character to narrate the story, as she was unique but still relatable. Even the antagonist was fleshed out, allowing the reader to understand the reasoning behind his actions. The dynamic between the central characters was absolutely stunning. It was refreshing to read about people helping to pull each other through the crises they faced rather than tear one another down. While The Anchor House might appeal more to women than to men, in general, because of the female main characters, the beauty of the writing and the philosophy found in this novel may interest a wider audience. One thing I found very interesting was that the author divided the book into seasons. In certain ways, each season reflected the challenges and changes the characters (especially Winnie) faced during each time.
For the most part, the prose flowed well and the events were in sync. The way everything came into focus at the end was miraculous. There was one scene that I found oddly placed, though, and that scene was Winnie’s first flashback. It came out of the blue. I’m not deducting points for that, as I understand that memories often surface at odd times, but that memory didn’t have a clear trigger, which made it feel disconnected from the rest of the story. As a result, I was somewhat lost while reading the scene. It further threw me when I discovered it was isolated. That flashback was so out of place that I expected more to follow, as its placement implied that the character was so traumatized that her memories would attack her at any time. Unfortunately, I also found several errors. Most were tense errors. Some were to do with spelling and grammar. Because the story was told in first person, some of the supposed errors I came across could have been the author’s way of making the narrator’s voice more authentic. However, when the author made a habit of using a certain style and then suddenly altered that style, I started wondering how many mistakes were really in the text.
Due to the inconsistencies and other errors I found, I am rating this 3 out of 4 stars. I’d give it 3.5 stars if I could for how well I connected to the plot and the characters, as well as all the other positive aspects I discussed. There were some mentions of drug use and domestic violence, but there wasn’t anything really graphic in the novel. Profanity was rare. While many children might not grasp some of the concepts discussed, young adults may still enjoy it. I’d say it’s suitable for those ages fifteen and older and for more mature kids down to the age of thirteen, perhaps. For some, The Anchor House might lead to a lot of soul searching while others might simply get wrapped up in the flowing prose. I consider this work to be literary fiction because of its focus and depth, and I believe fans of that genre will greatly enjoy it. That said, I usually prefer genre fiction and mainstream fiction and I still loved this novel, so this work may appeal to those outside the usual literary fiction audience.
******
The Anchor House
View: on Bookshelves
The Anchor House by Spencer Margaret is a story of healing, redemption, and self-discovery. Winnie Spade is a young woman who sets out to find a new home—and ultimately herself—after her marriage falls apart. Hitchhiking across the country, Winnie is finally brought to Manitou Lake, a small Minnesotan town where she finds a fresh start and solace from her troubled past. The friends she makes there eventually become her family, and when their way of life is threatened, Winnie must find her inner strength and use the lessons she learned from her friends to not only fight back but help hold her surrogate family together.
Filled with timeless wisdom and beautiful prose, this is one piece of literature that will always hold a special place in my heart. It teaches many valuable lessons without coming off as “preachy.” At first, when I learned that one of the major characters was a preacher, I feared that the spirituality presented in the work would be overbearing. It wasn’t. While being an integral part of certain characters’ development, the spirituality was well-balanced with the other aspects of the novel. Furthermore, the various beliefs presented weren’t specific to any one religion or unveiled in a way that felt forced. It's possible that not everyone will agree with the philosophy and ideas shared in the book, but they felt very universal to me.
The characters were dynamic and well-rounded—Winnie more so than the others since the novel was written from her point of view. However, she was a very perceptive, thoughtful character, so the reader wasn’t inhibited by her. Rather, her insights into the other characters were enlightening. Winnie was the perfect character to narrate the story, as she was unique but still relatable. Even the antagonist was fleshed out, allowing the reader to understand the reasoning behind his actions. The dynamic between the central characters was absolutely stunning. It was refreshing to read about people helping to pull each other through the crises they faced rather than tear one another down. While The Anchor House might appeal more to women than to men, in general, because of the female main characters, the beauty of the writing and the philosophy found in this novel may interest a wider audience. One thing I found very interesting was that the author divided the book into seasons. In certain ways, each season reflected the challenges and changes the characters (especially Winnie) faced during each time.
For the most part, the prose flowed well and the events were in sync. The way everything came into focus at the end was miraculous. There was one scene that I found oddly placed, though, and that scene was Winnie’s first flashback. It came out of the blue. I’m not deducting points for that, as I understand that memories often surface at odd times, but that memory didn’t have a clear trigger, which made it feel disconnected from the rest of the story. As a result, I was somewhat lost while reading the scene. It further threw me when I discovered it was isolated. That flashback was so out of place that I expected more to follow, as its placement implied that the character was so traumatized that her memories would attack her at any time. Unfortunately, I also found several errors. Most were tense errors. Some were to do with spelling and grammar. Because the story was told in first person, some of the supposed errors I came across could have been the author’s way of making the narrator’s voice more authentic. However, when the author made a habit of using a certain style and then suddenly altered that style, I started wondering how many mistakes were really in the text.
Due to the inconsistencies and other errors I found, I am rating this 3 out of 4 stars. I’d give it 3.5 stars if I could for how well I connected to the plot and the characters, as well as all the other positive aspects I discussed. There were some mentions of drug use and domestic violence, but there wasn’t anything really graphic in the novel. Profanity was rare. While many children might not grasp some of the concepts discussed, young adults may still enjoy it. I’d say it’s suitable for those ages fifteen and older and for more mature kids down to the age of thirteen, perhaps. For some, The Anchor House might lead to a lot of soul searching while others might simply get wrapped up in the flowing prose. I consider this work to be literary fiction because of its focus and depth, and I believe fans of that genre will greatly enjoy it. That said, I usually prefer genre fiction and mainstream fiction and I still loved this novel, so this work may appeal to those outside the usual literary fiction audience.
******
The Anchor House
View: on Bookshelves
It was a very interesting read. I certainly wasn't disappointed!