The Roots of the Olive Tree by, Courtney Miller Santo
narrated by, Karen White
This is a story of family, resentments, age and secrets. It
shows how resentments affect generation after generation and in this family
there are 5 generations of first born women with a 6th generation on
the way, the oldest being Anna who is 112
and strives to become the oldest living human being, especially since
she still has her mind and her body is still pretty spry too. Then there is Dr.
Amrit who is on a mission to find out more about super-agers and thinks he has
hit pay dirt with the The Keller women but with his research secrets are
uncovered that the women would all rather stayed buried.
I really liked this story even though the ending was a bit
rushed and not as satisfying as I had hoped. The Keller women are not always likable but
you still can’t help falling in love with them, flaws and all. Every mother and
daughter has had their share of troubles some more than others, however they
all still live in the same house which has become tense as these women move
about their days without ever really connecting with each other. The quote below summed up perfectly what it was like for them all to live together.
"I’d put more distance between us. Having us here, always together hasn’t allowed for any fondness to grow between us."
But with the youngest
coming back home with problems of her own and Dr. Amrit’s research dislodging
lost (or best forgotten) memories these women are all doing some soul
searching.
Karen White’s narration was fantastic all her different
voices and accents were spot on; you always knew exactly who was talking. Her voice took on so many different
characteristics of each of the women as they told their story and her delivery
held my interest all the way through.
I thought this was a great first novel it is set in
California but has a southern fiction feel to it so I think if you are a fan of
Southern Fiction I would suggest giving this one a try.
4 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment