Oh, my. This book.
I loved it. Read like the pages were on fire. Was sunk so deep in frozen 1789 Maine, in Martha Ballard’s fierce, sharp, astounding mind, I didn’t want to leave.
I’ve never read a work of historical fiction like this. At first, I considered craft: Was it the first person, present-tense point of view? The rapid-fire dialogue, the seamless segue between interiority, action, and description?
No. It was Martha. She is a fully-realized, bracingly authentic, epic character. Her story, her people, her world, are rich and vibrant–beautiful and awful. True.
The Frozen River is wonderful. I didn’t want to give it up. More Martha, please, Ms. Lawhon. (More Ephraim, too.)
