Review of Cloth
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- Latest Review: Cloth by Elizabeth Anderson
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Review of Cloth
[Following is a volunteer review of "Cloth" by Elizabeth Anderson.]
A family history dragged down by modern fixations
The title of Cloth is slightly misleading, as the influence of the English textile industry almost entirely evaporates once John Grant enters the stage. It remains as flavor text only with a small mention at the end to add significance to the biography. While the narrative in the book is good, the reader should not hope for a thorough treatment of the textile industry in the early 19th century.
With what is actually there, slavery and unnecessary religious mentions occur more often than mentions of textiles and more than would be relevant to the story. The sequencing for introducing new people to the history harms the flow of the narrative. The reader must contend with background information that has little to no bearing on events in the life of the family. Religious readers may notice some sarcastic characterization of these early 19th-century people based on their religious and social views. These characterizations often have little to do with the history presented, and feel distracting for the flow of the narrative.
Cloth feels like a dark version of Little House on the Prairie. The Grant family moves westward, but the conditions they meet are far less idyllic. Death and disease plague many members of the family. The reality of the time is clearly shown in how abruptly death and misfortune struck these people. The Utopian movements of the 19th century are also shown with one terrible failure as the primary glimpse into that world. The practice of slavery at the time is mentioned, but feels like throw away mention for flavor more than anything meaningful to the Grant family history.
Cloth is a serviceable family history, and, despite the lack of textile industry significance and background events marring the focus, delivers a moderately engrossing tale of a pioneering American family. Great material for anyone interested in the era of westward American expansion. However, I will not rate it highly as the comprehensive experience of reading was overly tedious and poorly connected for the reader. The editing is excellent, but the narrative is confused and disjointed, which warrants an overall rating of 2 out of 5.
The book would be better with clear expectations that the focus will not really be the textile industry of England. In addition, some initial introduction to new figures in the history before diving into their lives would help the reader maintain connection to the flow of the history of the Grant family overall. The final major issue with this novel is that the amount of space devoted to the children of John Grant is lacking and should have had more concrete detail or should have reduced space for some relatives in order to keep the overall story more focused.
******
Cloth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A family history dragged down by modern fixations
The title of Cloth is slightly misleading, as the influence of the English textile industry almost entirely evaporates once John Grant enters the stage. It remains as flavor text only with a small mention at the end to add significance to the biography. While the narrative in the book is good, the reader should not hope for a thorough treatment of the textile industry in the early 19th century.
With what is actually there, slavery and unnecessary religious mentions occur more often than mentions of textiles and more than would be relevant to the story. The sequencing for introducing new people to the history harms the flow of the narrative. The reader must contend with background information that has little to no bearing on events in the life of the family. Religious readers may notice some sarcastic characterization of these early 19th-century people based on their religious and social views. These characterizations often have little to do with the history presented, and feel distracting for the flow of the narrative.
Cloth feels like a dark version of Little House on the Prairie. The Grant family moves westward, but the conditions they meet are far less idyllic. Death and disease plague many members of the family. The reality of the time is clearly shown in how abruptly death and misfortune struck these people. The Utopian movements of the 19th century are also shown with one terrible failure as the primary glimpse into that world. The practice of slavery at the time is mentioned, but feels like throw away mention for flavor more than anything meaningful to the Grant family history.
Cloth is a serviceable family history, and, despite the lack of textile industry significance and background events marring the focus, delivers a moderately engrossing tale of a pioneering American family. Great material for anyone interested in the era of westward American expansion. However, I will not rate it highly as the comprehensive experience of reading was overly tedious and poorly connected for the reader. The editing is excellent, but the narrative is confused and disjointed, which warrants an overall rating of 2 out of 5.
The book would be better with clear expectations that the focus will not really be the textile industry of England. In addition, some initial introduction to new figures in the history before diving into their lives would help the reader maintain connection to the flow of the history of the Grant family overall. The final major issue with this novel is that the amount of space devoted to the children of John Grant is lacking and should have had more concrete detail or should have reduced space for some relatives in order to keep the overall story more focused.
******
Cloth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Cloth by Elizabeth Anderson
