It's not a five, but I'm not sure why. Androgyny abounds in this all too bright narrative. The story is driven by details as sharp as stone with characters who block out the sun, carrying hopes too big for their own good and crushing fears that linger with the reader. Volmer's art seeps through skin and colors our vision like the California dreamscape she paints in this breath-taking debut novel. Sep 27, Acaprice20 rated it it was amazing.
I really enjoyed this book. I usually have particularly genre I stick to, but this was well worth the venture outside my norm. I loved the language and speech of the book. It truly was reminiscent of another time and culture. All the characters were so amazingly crafted and unique.
Jul 17, Nick Leither rated it it was amazing. A deep, rich, and compelling novel by a friend and colleague. Apr 04, Anara Guard rated it really liked it. Oh, Mary Volmer, what have you done to me? Two sleepless nights because once I picked up your first novel," Crown of Dust", I had trouble setting it aside.
And even when I had laid it to rest on my nightstand, your characters continued to roam around inside my mind with their weighty secrets and their perilous endeavors in Motherlode. Gold fever created this town: Holes dug with pickaxe and shovel in search of gold were always prone to cave in, threatened further by the hasty blasts set off upstream. Another kind of explosion was set to devastate the lives of secretive Alex, haunted David, stalwart Jed, and Emaline, who was the queen of Motherlode, its own mother, its very heart. And now, I can't wait to dive into "Reliance, Illinois" to see what you have made of this prairie town and its residents.
Aug 09, Gwen Clayton rated it really liked it. Female characters in the Old West are frequently portrayed as either prostitutes or teetotalers. That's why it's so refreshing to read a book about a young woman during the California Gold Rush who struggles just like the rest of the boys to handle her pickax and jug of moonshine. Jun 17, Audrey Terry rated it it was amazing Shelves: Or at least, they didn't die in Motherlode.
One of the best historical fictions I've read this year. Jan 16, Diane rated it liked it. I would never have sought out this book but when "Crown of Dust" was chosen to be the January selection of my local-library-sponsored book club I decided to give it a try. But this year I live in Central California, so my interest in this story was piqued a bit more, especially when it became apparent "Crown of Dust" was set close to the not-too-distant-fr I would never have sought out this book but when "Crown of Dust" was chosen to be the January selection of my local-library-sponsored book club I decided to give it a try.
But this year I live in Central California, so my interest in this story was piqued a bit more, especially when it became apparent "Crown of Dust" was set close to the not-too-distant-from-my-house cities of Sacramento and Grass Valley. And whether you are interested in history or not this author did a wonderful job of making her story live. There are no cowboys in this western and nobody is particularly a hero.
In the beginning of the story everybody in Motherlode, California, the very small and fictional town at the center of this tale, is poor but Gold Rush dreaming of future riches. There are likeable guys and not-so-good guys and there is a woman at the center of the story. Well, really two women but nobody knows that at first. For me the setting itself is a fascinating character in this story because Ms.
- December Book Selections.
- Things to think, and see and do?.
- Le bal du gouverneur (Littérature Française) (French Edition).
- Crown of Dust.
- BESOS oder Jaime: 101 Gedichte (German Edition)!
Volmer chooses simple but effective verbiage, constructs just the right sentences, to portray a dusty, dirty, dangerous and utterly delightful place to be at a frustrating, lawless and totally exhilarating time. I could just see Motherlode and found it was sometimes disgusting, sometimes exciting. The reader is introduced slowly to Alex short for Alexandra , who has her reasons for passing as a man. We come to understand her loneliness and guilt and realize Alex suffers from what today we would call post-traumatic stress disorder. But they are also companions who share a passion for gold dreaming and gold hunting.
Several things are never explained fully but the story was handled so well that this lack of understanding never felt frustrating to me. Rather, the unknown just added to the mystery. Very un-Western-like topics are woven into the story. Inferences of homosexuality are made way back then!
Crown of Dust
At least one inter-racial love affair is prominent. She relates her story with rich detail and provides a satisfying ending while, at the same time, gently holding back, inviting her reader to decide some of the nuances of the story for themselves. I would recommend "Crown of Dust". It was a very nice surprise for me. Mary Volmer has crafted a book that captures the feelings and textures of the old west, and living in CA during the gold rush.
She has created a strong woman, Emaline, that runs a bar andeven though she is not attractive and has a self-claimed mustacheshe services most of the men in the area. Into this very small town arrives new prospectors every dayone being a young boy, Alexshy and trying to keep himself invisible from everyone else. We soon learn that this person is a woman, wh Mary Volmer has crafted a book that captures the feelings and textures of the old west, and living in CA during the gold rush.
We soon learn that this person is a woman, who is running away from her pastand has to struggle to survive this strange land. I have always been intrigued by this choice of some women to become menjust to survive. In those days, there were only three types of women: Prostitutes, married women, or those that disguise themselves as men to protect themselves. There was one such true story that I had read once about a man that lived his whole life on his ownvery sheltered and away from everyone.
It wasn't until he died, and people came to prepare his bodythat they find that he was really a woman. The writing in this book is amazing and draws the reader in. I was prepared for it to be a bit of fluff, but since I was intrigued, I decided to give it a try. I was very surprised by the results! The author draws you in, and uses her writing to take you backreally experiencing the look, smell and feel of what it must have been like to live during the gold rush.
This books seems to be a culmination of a bunch of books I just finished: The Sisters Brothers takes place around the same time period. The Sisters Brothers Touch which is about a town that was founded during a gold rush but went on to become a lumber town. Touch and Blindspot, which takes place in the late 18th century Boston but is about a girl who dresses like a boy to become a painter This books seems to be a culmination of a bunch of books I just finished: Touch and Blindspot, which takes place in the late 18th century Boston but is about a girl who dresses like a boy to become a painter's apprentice, and the painter falls in love with him despite struggling with the idea of loving a "boy".
Man discovers boy is a girl and can safely love, the end. Blindspot Not that this book wasn't original; it's just ironic that I recently read several books with competing plotlines. I did enjoy the characters and wish the story was a bit longer. Aug 13, Emma Louise rated it it was ok Shelves: I can't really fault the book or the writing but it just lacked Before you argue that maybe it was the subject or the plot, it wasn't. It was something I wanted to read and I'm interested in but across the board it just didn't have that sparkle.
Alex was of course the most interesting character. After a miscarriage, she ditched her overbearing and religious Grandmother and landed in the small mining town of Motherlode. Except she decides to disguise herself as a man and h I can't really fault the book or the writing but it just lacked Except she decides to disguise herself as a man and heads to hard work with the other miners, searching the rivers for gold.
Throughout the book you're always wondering when she's about to be found out and of course it's not til the end, really. Okay so it was interesting enough and I didn't hate it but, like I said, it just was missing a bit of pizzazz. I just joined the previous month, so skipping over this selection seemed out of the question to me. These facts should be taken into consideration while reading the review that follows.
Nov 14, Lauren rated it it was amazing Shelves: I thought that this was one of the best books that I've read in a while. I enjoyed the setting and the characters very much. Alex, I thought, was a very deep character with a past.
See a Problem?
I think not finding out about that past until the middle was what kept me hooked. Then there was that hidden love with Alex and David that kept me interested for the rest of the novel. It is written very well and the descriptions are fantastic. This book definitely changed how I felt about wild-west books.
I hilly rec I thought that this was one of the best books that I've read in a while. I hilly recommend this book. I have been drawn to wild west, gold rush type stories quite a bit lately, and most of them have been pretty good. Jun 23, Maureen O'Leary rated it it was amazing.
This book is a time machine to the Gold Rush days in Northern California. The author gives the reader a degree experience in what it felt like to live and work in that time and place. I could not put this book down. This is a deeply human story about a young woman hiding her identity behind the guise of a man in order to escape a brutal past. The story is meticulously researched, beautifully written, and a thrilling journey into the past. Our book group received this novel free from bookmovement. I gave it three stars because the subject matter was not a total loss.
I found the writing very awkward. There were times I felt a little voyeuristic, like the narrator and I were floating above Motherlode as unwelcome participants in the lives of these California Gold Rush pioneers. I would not recommend this book to any one. Nov 14, Kathy Patterson rated it it was amazing. I love to read historical fiction and as a California native, I found Crown of Dust a gripping read from beginning to end.
Characters are well developed and easy for the reader to relate with. Historical details are cleverly woven into the story in such a way that the reader is seamlessly drawn into the time period and allowed to focus on the characters and the story. Very well-written and difficult to put down! I was hoping for a little less of a love story in this historical fiction that takes place during the California gold rush. I figure the author didn't want to get too bogged down in historical details but I would've liked some more. Isn't that what historical fiction is for? Not bad but a little flat despite what should've been very colorful characters.
Set in the California gold rush, a young woman, disguised as a young man, comes into a little settlement of gold miners. Quiet and shy "Alex" is the first in the community to find a gold nugget, which attracts more people to this small group of people who were functioning quite nicely without the newcomers, thank you very much. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Dad taught high school Special Ed.
Crown of Dust by Mary Volmer | theranchhands.com: Books
Mom was a librarian, a second grade and then a middle school English teacher, so most of my early memories feature blackboards, books, dusty, deserted playgrounds, and bigger kids who were mostly tolerant and kind, in a dismissive sort of way. Crown of Dusk is a Helms in Dark Souls 3. It is part of the Antiquated Set. Feathered crown bestowed upon the princess of Oolacile, land of ancient golden sorceries.
- CROWN OF DUST.
- Mi último recuerdo (Spanish Edition).
- Crown of Dusk.
- .
Through the guardian Elizabeth's blessing. If your name is not on THIS list, please do not post videos here. If you wish to post videos, please click the link and apply in the thread. The crown doesn't boost the damage of dark Sorceries. Already tested too, so if you need to try it too to test, try it.
You know what would have been actually cooler , if this boost was on sage's big hat or karlas pointed hat or all of them cause they are hoods anyway. Directions to items shouldn't be given in terms of cardinal directions. There's no unambiguous "northwest" without an accompanying map. So how's this sound for a maximum-magic-destruction setup? In the 4th slot i would probably equip ROSP, lloyd's sword ring, or chloranthy. Hold Scholar's candlestick in your offhand for another I'll be trying this setup on my current character as soon as I have all the items still need to farm concords for DMB.
To anyone who's already tried setups like this, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Edgy, dark and climate veils, hoods, crowns, diadems or great mage hats.