“We Walker women were born screaming into this world, the beginning of a lifelong quest to find what would quiet us. But whatever drove us away was never stronger than the pull of what brought us back….”

A Long Time Gone by Karen White

About this book: (from the publisher) When Vivien Walker left her home in the Mississippi Delta, she swore never to go back, as generations of the women in her family had. But in the spring, nine years to the day since she’d left, that’s exactly what happens—Vivien returns, fleeing from a broken marriage and her lost dreams for children.

What she hopes to find is solace with “Bootsie,” her dear grandmother who raised her, a Walker woman with a knack for making everything all right. But instead she finds that her grandmother has died and that her estranged mother is drifting further away from her memories. Now Vivien is forced into the unexpected role of caretaker, challenging her personal quest to find the girl she herself once was.

But for Vivien things change in ways she cannot imagine when a violent storm reveals the remains of a long-dead woman buried near the Walker home, not far from the cypress swamp that is soon to give up its ghosts. Vivien knows there is now only one way to rediscover herself—by uncovering the secrets of her family and breaking the cycle of loss that has haunted them for generations.

About the author: Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen previous books. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband and two children near Atlanta, Georgia.

Genre: Fiction/Women’s Fiction

Would I read this book, judged on its cover alone? Yes, I think it’s lovely and alluring, perfect for this story

If this book were a movie, I would rate it: PG. Some mostly mild profanity.

Reminds me of… Lisa Wingate

You’ll want to buy this book if … you enjoy wholesome women’s fiction that weaves romance and a bit of mystery into multiple past-and-present narratives.

Why did I read this book? First, because I wanted to. Second, for NAL for review.

Would I read another by this author? Obviously.

My take: A Long Time Gone is just the sort of women’s fiction I adore, its story wise and beautifully told. What’s more, I cannot resist a novel that threads a lyrical narrative with mystery and suspense, plus more than a dash of winsome romance. From its first lines, you know you’re reading the work of an artist, a master at her craft. And yet words never get in the way of its warm heart.

The very first Karen White novel I read, The Memory of Water, I still consider one of her best. (It so happens I recently reread it–and yep, still a fave.) A Long Time Gone is like it in many ways, containing textured prose, richly layered story lines, and complex characters–mostly ones you’ll love and a few you’ll love to hate. The Mississippi delta setting becomes a character in itself, and in White’s hands, the result is altogether magical.

White writes champion last lines to conclude each chapter, ones that somehow capture the essence of what has come before while drawing you into what might come next. She manages to hold the big picture firmly in hand while at the same time lavishing attention on every last, little detail. And in this story, I love the way she interweaves her overarching themes of family and place and the universal quest for identity.

Though I wouldn’t call this a feel-good novel, it still left me feeling good, full of hope for the promise of goodness, health and happiness. In sum, A Long Time Gone is Karen White at her finest.

Thanks to New American Library for providing me a free copy to review. All opinions are mine.

End notes: I especially admire the way Karen White weaves a charismatic setting into her stories. I’ve recently seen Lisa Wingate and Sarah Addison Allen do the same. Who are some of your favorite authors that create a character out of place?