And here are the lovely reviews from Andrew Weiss and Mike Costello - Nice...
A Non-fiction guy gets into a fiction chick book - who knew?, October 29, 2009
By
Andrew Weiss "Andrew" (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviewsAfter browsing in a bookstore and finding nothing of particular interest I came across this book. I usually have a very hard time keeping my interest in fiction, particularly works that stray from the standard guy themes (Ludlum, Griffin, etc.) But I found this work particularly captivating and engaging. A relatively quick read, the powerful scenery descriptions that Ortego employs in creating her story is really quite remarkable. The story is believable and captivating. I highly recommend and am looking forward to her next effort.
A Woman of Valor, October 27, 2009
By
Michael L. Costello (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) I cut my teeth on mystery novels and they're still my favorite reading, so I surprised myself by reading Sheila's movel at the recommendation of a friend. I loved her book -- and that's not something I say very often. Sheila told a story that was so real to me that I cried. Her Ana is indeed a woman of valor, fighting her way out of the dark into the light of friendship and love.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Road From La Cueva - New Review
Here's Nat's nice review from her blog: In Spring It is the Dawn
Thursday, October 29, 2009
'The Road from La Cueva'
This was a beautifully written story of a woman struggling to lead a life of her own choosing, trapped in a marriage by her overbearing, controlling husband but afraid to leave for the sake of their daughter. The story follows Ana as she comes to some realisations about herself and the people around her, and as she essentially learns how to become her own person. The author said in her guest post at Tip of the Iceberg that she “basically used [her] own life as material”, and the story did feel very real and personal. The author is also a poet, and I think that careful wordsmanship comes through very clearly in her prose. There were some wonderful descriptions throughout, as well as some clever metaphors that beautifully express Ana’s struggle to become free.
He ran his fingers around the rim of the cup. “See how this isn’t even? The Japanese call this 'shibui', the flaw that makes something beautiful. The shape has to have some room, some freedom.” …. “Like with people,” he said, and she nodded. As an aside, I loved this quote because I, too, admire the natural, 'flawed' beauty often seen in Japanese pottery. We don't have any really fancy dishes but some of my favourites are the ones that we picked up in Mashiko, one of the areas in Japan famous for pottery, quite a few years ago. Some might consider them rough, and asymmetrical, but I think they're beautiful.
She pictured how he must have looked when he wrote the letter, saw his hands, his chapped, strong, tender hands, as he penned it. … He hadn’t needed to say more. … The words lay cruelly on the thick gray paper. She imagined him planning it while chopping wood or wedging clay, giving his anger back to the earth, to hold for him. He would hold the anger in while he was at work. It would still be waiting for him when he got home. The anger would sleep with him at night, wrapping itself around his heart like the parasitic mistletoe on the juniper trees. It would reveal itself in the pots he made, in crude, squat stoneware heavy with the weight of their emptiness.I thoroughly enjoyed this slim novel and in fact, I would’ve been quite happy if it had been longer, but as it is, it’s a touching story with an important message. Namely, that no matter how we have ended up in a situation, whether through our own poor choices or not, we do have the power to change our circumstances, to escape if needed, if only we can find the strength within ourselves to do so. Truly, a lovely little book.The author is working on her next book, apparently to be set in Canada, and I very much look forward to reading more by Sheila Ortego in the future.For more information on the author or the book, visit Sheila Ortego's blog, and this article in the Huffington Post.Thank you to the author, Sheila Ortego, for the opportunity to read this book.Buy this book at: Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk BookDepository.co.uk BookDepository.com
Thursday, October 29, 2009
'The Road from La Cueva'
This was a beautifully written story of a woman struggling to lead a life of her own choosing, trapped in a marriage by her overbearing, controlling husband but afraid to leave for the sake of their daughter. The story follows Ana as she comes to some realisations about herself and the people around her, and as she essentially learns how to become her own person. The author said in her guest post at Tip of the Iceberg that she “basically used [her] own life as material”, and the story did feel very real and personal. The author is also a poet, and I think that careful wordsmanship comes through very clearly in her prose. There were some wonderful descriptions throughout, as well as some clever metaphors that beautifully express Ana’s struggle to become free.
He ran his fingers around the rim of the cup. “See how this isn’t even? The Japanese call this 'shibui', the flaw that makes something beautiful. The shape has to have some room, some freedom.” …. “Like with people,” he said, and she nodded. As an aside, I loved this quote because I, too, admire the natural, 'flawed' beauty often seen in Japanese pottery. We don't have any really fancy dishes but some of my favourites are the ones that we picked up in Mashiko, one of the areas in Japan famous for pottery, quite a few years ago. Some might consider them rough, and asymmetrical, but I think they're beautiful.
She pictured how he must have looked when he wrote the letter, saw his hands, his chapped, strong, tender hands, as he penned it. … He hadn’t needed to say more. … The words lay cruelly on the thick gray paper. She imagined him planning it while chopping wood or wedging clay, giving his anger back to the earth, to hold for him. He would hold the anger in while he was at work. It would still be waiting for him when he got home. The anger would sleep with him at night, wrapping itself around his heart like the parasitic mistletoe on the juniper trees. It would reveal itself in the pots he made, in crude, squat stoneware heavy with the weight of their emptiness.I thoroughly enjoyed this slim novel and in fact, I would’ve been quite happy if it had been longer, but as it is, it’s a touching story with an important message. Namely, that no matter how we have ended up in a situation, whether through our own poor choices or not, we do have the power to change our circumstances, to escape if needed, if only we can find the strength within ourselves to do so. Truly, a lovely little book.The author is working on her next book, apparently to be set in Canada, and I very much look forward to reading more by Sheila Ortego in the future.For more information on the author or the book, visit Sheila Ortego's blog, and this article in the Huffington Post.Thank you to the author, Sheila Ortego, for the opportunity to read this book.Buy this book at: Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk BookDepository.co.uk BookDepository.com
In Spring it is the Dawn and Amazon.com: New Reviews
Three New Reviews of The Road From La Cueva!
Here are three wonderful new reviews for my book The Road From La Cueva -- on the Amazon site, look for the ones by Weiss and Costello (reviews from guys -- rare...) and on the blog site: In Spring it is the Dawn, look for the review by Nat (nice).
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cueva-Sheila-Ortego/dp/0865347115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257091061&sr=8-1
http://www.inspringitisthedawn.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cueva-Sheila-Ortego/dp/0865347115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257091061&sr=8-1
http://www.inspringitisthedawn.com/
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