Tragedy strikes the four Morrison children in the first pages of this book when their parents are killed in a car accident. How the two teenage boys and their quite-small sisters cope and survive is both heartbreaking and heart warming.
The older of the two sisters -- now 20 years older and an associate professor -- is our narrator. She tells the tale in flashback and always from her perspective, which is the most unusual thing about this book. She was a child watching very adult things unfold...and although I wouldn't call her "unreliable," I would say she's both limited and prejudiced.
The way the book wraps up, with us finally seeing the story from another perspective, was almost a letdown because I'd conjured something so much more horrible in my mind. That said, it was also a relief. I came to truly care about the people of Crow Lake and to see them content was a gift.
I can't believe this is a first novel -- it's magnificent.
A
