22 Feb 2013

THE RAGING QUIET.

The second book to be read and reviewed for .....


You can see the review of my first book, Weirdo. Mosher. Freak: If Only They'd Stopped At Name Calling by Catherine Smyth HERE.

THE RAGING QUIET by SHERRYL JORDAN.

Warning .... The book synopsis below may contain, if not exactly spoilers, too much information and I've therefore left it up to the individual whether or not they wish to hi-light it or not.

Marnie and Raver are both outsiders. Each is set apart from the community around them: Marnie because she is a newcomer, having been brought to the seaside village by her new - and much older - husband; and Raver because he is the village lunatic.

The distrust surrounding Marnie increases when her husband suddenly dies. Her subsequent isolation pushes her towards Raver - and an important discovery: the villagers have mistaken his deafness for madness.

The two outsiders soon develop a rudimentary sign language. But their precious new friendship is cut short when the villagers misconstrue their strange, private communication, and put Marnie on trial for witchcraft ....
... Outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): The afternoon Marnie came to Torcurra, the villagers were whipping the devils out of a mad boy.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 171): "I wonder what she did wrong," said Marnie, "to be tried as a witch and burned."
"Probably little, beyond being different," said the priest. "But being different is a terrible crime to be guilty of."

MY THOUGHTS: Not just my favourite read so far this year but positively one of the most thought provoking and beautiful stories that I have ever read.

A tale of what it is to be different, superstition, bigotry and ignorance, The Raging Quiet is a tender and moving story of friendship, love and determination that, whilst set in a time when 'witch' was an accusation thrown at anyone deemed to be other than the norm, is still as relevant today as it ever was.

A wonderfully memorising and beautifully descriptive novel full of truly remarkable characters, as well as sharing in the joys and heartbreak of Marnie and Raver/Raven, and feeling the heart wrenching decisions faced by Father Brannan, I could even empathise with the superstitious and fearful nature of the none too friendly villagers.

A real treat and not just for lovers of historical fiction, though written with young adults in mind I'm sure this is a story that will stick in my mind for a long time.

KEEP IT OR NOT?: Ex-library stock, without a doubt one for the shelves.


Disclaimer #1 :Removal of any part of this post without my express consent is considered copyright infringement. This post was created by and for Petty Witter @ Pen and Paper. If you are reading this post on any other site please contact the original blog owner/reviewer.

13 comments:

Kelly said...

Good review, Tracy. I may have to put this one on my wish list.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Not sure it's one for me but I'll bet it would be a good book group read!

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom said...

This sounds AMAZING! And what a cool idea to have the text with a highlight option above! That was genius :)

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

Sounds interesting. I do like books that overcome narrowminded-ness. I also find it interesting you could empathize with the villagers. Curious!

Tangled Cobweb said...

Hello Tracy

Thank you for popping over to my blog via Claudine's blog, it's nice to meet you.

What a great idea to highlight the spoiler text, I've never seen anyone do that before.

I have a bucket list and will add this book to it - I'm sure I'll never get to the end of the list as I just keep adding more and my reading never seems to catch up.

I see you are on G+ so I've added you to my cirlces.

Also, if you are interested, over on G+ I have a book community called Needful Books where we post anything to do with books.

If you have a blog post related to books you are more than welcome to put up the link to your blog or just post a photo of individual books or book related 'stuff'or just lurk around:)

I look forward to more of your posts.



Barbara said...

I don't think I would have picked this up but having just read your review it went straight onto my must-read list

Shooting Stars Mag said...

I didn't read the summary but your review makes it sound like a worthy read. Looks like one with a lot of great messages and perfect for the YA set.

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

What a review! The fact that this might be the best book you read this year made me add it to my list. :) It sounds fascinating and I love a book that sticks with me!

The Bookworm said...

wow, glad you enjoyed The Raging Quiet that much. I'll have to look it up. It does sound wonderful.

StarTraci said...

I love historical fiction so I am especially interested in this book. I shall have to add it to my list. I just got Dodger from the library based on your review.

:-)
Traci

Betty Manousos said...

this sounds like a great book. i love historical fiction. having just read your review i think this does stimulate thought too. thanks for another great review.

wishing you a good rest of your weekend.

xx

Unknown said...

Thanks for your review of The Raging Quiet. This is a book that I had thought about putting on my list for the Social Justice Theme read this February, but didn't end up doing it. After reading your thoughts, I'm certain I'll put it on my list next year!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much! I have an exam on this book so this just recapped my mind. Thanks and well done! Great summary