Review by Marlaszw -- Flat Top Mountain Ranch -- the beg...

Marlaszw · Post by **Marlaszw** » 09 May 2020, 10:21

[Following is a volunteer review of "Flat Top Mountain Ranch -- the beginning" by James E Doucette.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Flat Top Mountain Ranch by James E. Doucette is a historical fiction novel set in the period of the civil war and western expansion. The book is written in almost a journal type style with every chapter having dates and places. But unlike a journal, it is not written in first person. The story follows two main characters starting just before the civil war, one a young man who fought for the north, and another who fought for the south. After they fulfill their time as soldiers they both end up heading west and meet on the journey and decide to start a ranch together.

There is a lot of intercultural emphasis in this story. The white boy from the north meets a Hispanic girl and falls in love and marries her. The free, educated, black soldier from the south meets a Native American girl, falls in love, and marries her. There is a theme of the unfairness of the Native American tribes being forced onto reservation land. There is also some mention of prejudice that the southern soldier faced while fighting in the army. Other than that, most of the people in the book don't seem to care at all about cultural differences or skin color. So, the emphasis is on people getting along and accepting and respecting each other, even though the novel does address the real historic issues of prejudice that were present during that time period.

I give this novel 2 out of 4 stars. Although I loved the general story line of the novel, there are some problems with the writing. The entire novel is written in a very objective language and even during very emotional moments the characters themselves seem withdrawn from their circumstances. There is a combination of poor character development and unnatural dialogue which keep the story at arms length. When I read a story, I want to get lost in it. I did not find this story had the emotional grip to draw the reader in.

The part of this novel I liked the most was the focus on people just trying to create a good life for themselves.

The part I disliked the most were inconsistencies. In several cases the date/season mentioned was not congruent with the events at the beginning of the chapter which was very confusing. So you read "Grahamsville, New York - Spring 1864" and a few paragraphs down you read this, "Mr. Donaldson spoke. "Winter's comin' on, so you'd best wait until spring to leave."” But the author just told us it was spring. This was very confusing, and happened several times throughout the book. Another inconsistency was created when a father gave 300 dollars in gold coin to his son and just a short time later, and while earning a working wage, the character is saying he doesn't have the money for a good horse. That was a lot of money back then and the story never explains what was done with that money.

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Flat Top Mountain Ranch -- the beginning
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kalgaonkarsnehal · Post by **kalgaonkarsnehal** » 08 Dec 2020, 02:17

Thank you for the review! I am currently reading this book and even though I have just started, I am liking what I am reading so far. Very interesting observations about the inconsistencies. I also like the plot and story to be sealed tight, and I will be interested to notice more through the book.

Ketbax · Post by **Ketbax** » 19 Dec 2020, 19:51

I completely agree with you on the rating and likes/dislikes. Most of my notes on the book are along the lines of "why is this event taking place?" because there was not enough emotional exposition to justify the character's actions. For example, I thought Esmerelda was the mother of the family at first because of the way she was introduced, and I was very surprised Jack was openly flirting with her! Thanks for a thorough, honest review!!