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Description edit
From the best-selling author of Snow Falling on Cedars —an emotionally charged, provocative new novel about a teenage girl who claims to see the Virgin Mary. Ann Holmes seems an unlikely candidate for revelation. A sixteen-year-old runaway, she is an itinerant mushroom picker who lives in a... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Ann Holmes: She's almost a non-character. In her own family, Ann was nobody and eventually ran away. Drifting, she earned a living at age 16 by selling mushrooms she gathers in the forest. She's a waif- sounds like Gretel who has lost, not just her woodchopper dad, but also Hansel and everybody... a freaky loner.
- Donald Collins: In the tiny town, a priest has been called to the dingy, fading parish... he is still a seminary scholar at heart. So he lives in a trailer park, and makes this group of 50 or so poor families HIS family. Then, the mushroom picker, Ann visits and tells him the Virgin ordered her to get a church built. Will he help her build the Virgin her church. Don struggles with how to reach scrawny, abused Ann. In the end she gives him more than he gave her!
- Ton Cross, Sr.: Tom is a logger in his 40s...maybe nearing 50. He is an ex-logger, to be accurate. The logging business has deserted the northwest. The passion this man had for felling trees comes through clearly, and yet...nearly the entire town of North Fork WA is out of work, because the laws now make it so difficult to clear trees from land in one fell swoop. An environmentalist, Tom is not. He cares about his wife, son, tools, weapons he takes deer hunting, daughter, and parish in that order. There has been a terrible accident resulting in major disability for Tom Jr, his son who is now just about through high school. The resulting guilt and dashed hopes make for trouble in Tom's marriage...this man is a portrait of MidLife crisis.
- Tom Junior: Add a description of this character.
- Carolyn Greer
- Father Butler
- Nelson
- Father Collins
- Mother Mary
- Virgin Mary
- Tammy
- Eleanor
- Marvin Meriwether
- Kruse
- Lee Ann
- Donny
- Richard Devine
- Eddie
- Tom Cross
- Jabari
- Tommy
- Hail Mary
- Richard Olsen
- Kim
- Stinson
- Larry Garber
- Heidi Johnston
- Madonna
- Bernadette
- Bridget
- Mark Kidd
- Jack
- Jim
- Karl Malden
- Mike
- Gabriel
- Marian
First Sentence edit
The girl's errand in the forest that day was to gather chanterelle mushrooms in a bucket to sell at town at dusk.
Authors & Contributors edit
- David Guterson (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Knopf
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: September 30, 2003
ISBN: 0375412115
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: September 30, 2003
ISBN: 0375412115
Page Count: 336
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.54
Notes for Parents edit
Reading Level: AdultsBook may appeal to males of age 16 and up. Any younger and I'd be concerned that the messages about girls/women may be misconstrued. A girl of 14 is raped by her mother's boyfriend. And this girl, one of the main characters, loses her little self esteem by the abuse (and, by her mother failing to protect her). This abuse of youth theme is powerful- hence do not let kids under about 15-16 read this. Another character, Tom Sr. has a son who is home, a paraplegic and the relationship between father and the rest of the family will be good for young adults to read about.
Subjects edit
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