House of Diamonds by Karen Jones Gowen

Author:    Karen Jones Gowen

Series:      Y

Genre:      Literary Fiction
Publisher: WiDoPublishing (November 2011)

THE STORY:

In this sequel to Gowen’s debut novel, Uncut Diamonds, she follows sisters Cindy and Marcie as they reach a crossroads in their lives. House of Diamonds tells the story of two women, one facing opportunity the other tragedy. Can their bond endure? Marcie pursues her dream of becoming a published writer while Cindy faces a terrible tragedy. In this gripping story of faith, loss and the transcending nature of sacrifice, Gowen gives voice to a beloved baby who has none. She shows the incredible power that comes to families when they pull together to overcome challenges. It is at these times that a house of pain can become a house of diamonds.


WHO'S WHO?

• Marcie McGill takes us through this second instalment of her and her sisters Cindy’s life. It’s mainly through Marcie’s perspective that the story of the two sisters is told to us.
• Cindy is Marcie’s youngest sister and she is going through a terrible time in her personal life as a parent and financially.
• Shawn McGill is Marcie’s husband who is looking more and more like an absent father through no fault of his own.
• Karl is a school teacher and very active member of the his church. He is also the slightly overwhelmed husband of Cindy, a guilt ridden father who believes his past behaviour has somehow contributed to their youngest son’s condition.

THIS WAS HOT....

• The candor with which family dynamics are dwelt with is both amazing and uncomfortably realistic. Karen doesn’t make this a novel pegged for happy endings but to reflect a real life experience. As an outsider you empathise, encourage, get happy for,  get angry with and even want to condemn the sisters  for their thoughts and actions. Very much what we go through in daily life. It’s not perfect but is a series of choices and experiences.
• House Of Diamonds has a significant but not overwhelming  spiritual element and I’ve never read a book that has the Mormon background in it so I found the bits of detail about the faith quite interesting. Especially the similarities in terminology in comparison to the Christian faith as well as the bits that showed the fundamental difference in the basis for belief.
• A supporting character that really engaged me was the old professor who made his mission to exterminate Marcie’s writing career. He feels she is a charlatan who breeds with no regard for the consequences of overpopulation. I must say I also can’t imagine what possesses a woman to get pregnant 7 times in one life time and in the eighties. I suspect I’d also have been looking down my nose at her a bit. I must say I particularly loved the way Karen developed this character. He was a surprisingly strong influences on Marcie’s decisions and feelings towards her writing career.

NOT SO HOT:

• On very few occasions I found little repetitions of things that had been said before. For example of something that we had witnessed previously being told back to us again by one of the significant characters, usually Marcie as she either thinks about it or brings us up to speed.

OVERALL:

Karen has an amazing talent for rich and meaningful prose. The moment you open the first page  you are captivated by her writing style. Through her narrator she gets into a conversation with you and it feels as though  her characters are letting you in on their deepest thoughts and feelings. I was so pleasantly surprised  by how deeply I enjoyed this book, it was a real treasure. Well done Karen and congratulations.
Rating: A well deserved,

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Note: 

• I recieved this eBook from the Author: Karen Jones Gowen (author) from Coming Down the Mountain in exchange for an honest review.
• If you're interesting in reading more about Karen on this blog check out her blog post: Karen Gowen Talks Book Reviews