Reviewed by Katie
I admit, I'm jaundiced about
Westerns these days. Too often they're
more about re-writing history than they are about telling the story. Ms. Lynch was all about the tale. Silver is a delight to
savor. It's more fun when you read it
out loud - tryit!
First off ... I LOVE
the cover! It's like a movie poster
folks pay big bucks for on e-bay. I
instantly felt Jerry Goldsmith style theme music rumbling through my head and
was ready for an adventure. FINALLY
a cover representative of the author's hard work! The blurb is a bit scattered,
but I was too busy scrolling through the credits to notice.
Adelaide Johnston is a
character. Originally from Indiana [as am I] she brings her practicality along
with her books, her optimism, a piano and that unconquerable romanticism
Hoosiers aren't really known for and would earnestly deny if confronted openly;
but it's there, trust me, and Ms. Lynch captures the voice/ tone perfectly! She leaves behind three spinster aunts and
the flatlands, traveling far to find her self and a home where she truly
belongs.
Arriving in Silver City to
retrieve her father's remains, Miss Addie was surprised to find a "bustling
and efficient town not ramshackle cabins and derelict taverns." Since she had no idea what to do with the
mine her father named in her honor, and seeing a need, she offered to become
the town's school teacher. Persuading
the Mayor and other important folks to claim an abandon house, she proceeded to
put her education to good use for the benefit of others. A schoolteacher she may be, but she's no
trembling miss or prune-faced dragon. On
the side, she is fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer by reporting for the
Idaho Garnet, a local paper that is published when the owner, Mr. R.E.
Smythe can do so. She hopes to be a
woman of letters, facts and inspiration to her fellow citizens of Silver
City. Of course, she makes mistakes,
alarming and unintentional, but her earnest spirit smooths the rough edges of
her humble beginnings and eventually folks accept her ways, even if they don't
always understand them.
Sheriff Daniel Forrester is
a remarkably level headed, easy going man with a firm commitment to law and
order; he doesn't generally see the need to make a production of it. A native of Minnesota, veteran of the Civil
War, he served with the Army after the war then followed friends West when the
loneliness got to be too much for him. With his boon companion, an over sized
mutt named Yankee, and Deputy Jonathon Hastings, one of the brothers he
traveled West with, he keeps the peace in Silver City. If only Addie would realize how perfect
they'd be together, his life would be just about perfect. Alas, Miss Addie doesn't realize this because
every time she is near and he looks directly at her, his brain freezes and his
tongue gets stupid. It could demoralize
lesser men, but not Sheriff Forrester.
He keeps on trying and does manage to converse and become a good friend
as the months go along.
Each chapter opens with an
article for the Garnet, a hint of things to come or interpretation of
what just transpired. These articles are
wonderful and anyone that has dug through old newspapers from Back in the Day
will see the attention to detail in Ms. Lynch's research. Her phraseology is so well done, you can
*see* Miss Addie chewing her pencil and furrowing her brow over every
sentence. The tid-bits of news, opinion
and yes, at times, admonishment that is sprinkled in each report is a story all
on it's own. The action in between is
delightfully narrated with delicious elements of quirk and fun, balanced by
just the right amount of boring old reality and sad truth to vindicate the time
you spend reading instead of attending to - well whatever you should be doing
instead.
The dialog is in keeping
with the tone of the time without murky dialects or regional slang. You hear it though it isn't making your eyes
cross as you read. Secondary characters
are as interesting as Miss Addie and the events unfolding before our eyes
familiar enough to be comforting, strange enough to be refreshing. This is not a hot and heavy romance and it is
blessedly far-far removed from chick lit.
It is a courtship of characters, town and reader. We're wooed by the discovery of more than
silver and gold in the mountains, more than rough beauty all around us, more
than compatibility of soul between Miss Addie and Sheriff Forrester - it is an
awakening of that pioneer spirit we have buried in our ancestral past,
somewhere, that rises [somewhat indignantly in my case] and says,
"Ha! You think standing in line at
Wal-Mart is a hardship!"
With a lively tune, the plot
unfolds, plausibly. Silver is without
apologetic political correctness that re-writes the Western, leaving the facts
in the dust with the burden of hingsight robbing us so we can't see the truth,
can't truly admit our mistakes or feel the sorrow, won't ever learn there's
more to us than we ever thought; especially when we're starting with nothing
but dreams. The minor notes of villainy
is a haunting harmony that brings out goosebumps, without one graphic
description or word that would offend your sainted grandmother, but the point
gets across all the same. Youth,
impatience, anger, greed, lust, envy, and vengeance create a story between and
in the Idaho Garnet's Addie's Attributions that is worth sharing with
others, knowing you'll re-read the book again and again.
Best part? No epilogue.
An author that trusts her readers to carry on because the personal
answer is sufficient. I eagerly recommend Silver as a savory anytime,
anyplace read. Be careful though, if you read it while commuting or sitting in
the dentist's office, you might make friends explaining why you were laughing!
