Review: The Days of Hairawn Muhly by Carol Ann Ross

(Blurb): It is 1941 and war is looming, but to Pearl Scaggins nothing matters more than the man she loves. Unfortunately she will face changes, they are inevitable, but is Pearl strong enough to accept them, to make her own changes and to survive all that war brings. THE DAYS OF HAIRAWN MUHLY is a coming of age romance set during the rise of the greatest generation. In 1933 Hairawn Muhly, could be found all over the banks of the Carolinas. Its brilliant purple plumes proudly swayed among the yuccas and sea oats on dunes piled stories high. But progress and time have changed everything. The Days of Hairawn Muhly is a coming of age story not only for its colorful characters, but also for the tiny coastal community in which they lived. It depicts a simpler and perhaps more beautiful time that flourished gracefully and naturally.

Book Information:

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (February 28, 2013)

Version: eBook or hardcopy

Age Group: coming-of-age young adult/new adult/adult

Genre: Historical drama

Length: 326 pages

Review:

The Days of Hairawn Muhly is a historical novel set around the time of World War II. This is one of my favorite historical periods to learn about, so I was happy to be given a chance to read a book involving a coming-of-age character during this time-period.

What I liked:

Miss Ross certainly did not disappoint! Starting right out of the gate there are beautiful descriptions of the scenery and secondary characters. Though it provided great imagery, at first pass, it was slightly overwhelming. I quickly understood the pertinence for bucolic, unadulterated landscape though; right down to Hairawn Muhly flowers. Because just as the picturesque shorelines and fields of North and South Carolina begin to transform before your eyes, you find yourself immersed as Pearl – who herself is changing like the Muhly around her.

Pearl was my favorite character of the book. Not only did she have the most likable temperament, but you could literally feel her growing up as the story progressed. This is a hard feat to accomplish for many writers because it can be hard to carry a character through a spirited adolescent, curious new adult, and a wistful mature adult phase without feeling like you lost the true nature of the character that you fell in love with in the beginning.

This is one of those books in which you follow a character throughout a majority of their life. While some books can drag with this technique, I felt that this one progressed nicely. Especially when Pearl starts a family of her own and is faced with some very serious and very real situations. What really brings it together is when Pearl and those around her become directly affected by the war. The apprehension, fear, hope, love, and sorrow leave you with a different emotion on every page.


What I disliked:

The dislikes I had were pretty minimal in relation to the book as a whole. And they are more personal dislikes rather than book flaws. As I mentioned before, there is a lot of detail coming right out of the gate. The prolog is lengthy and contains a lot of secondary character descriptions and familial relations which I think could have either been left out or left for a later time. This is one of those issues that is a pro or con depending on the type of reader. Personally, I felt as though I had to take notes on the names, relations, and occupations as I was reading the intro. By getting these details out of the way at the start, it provides for a cleaner read later in the story when the characters emerge. However, they were minor characters and I couldn’t remember their information by the time I got to them (and the details didn't end up mattering too much anyhow).

My other small dislike was dealing with the last 20% or so of the book. Some of the conversations felt repetitive. This is a single POV book, so as a reader we come to understand Pearl and her thoughts very well as we follow her over 10+ years. However, there comes a point when Pearl starts resolving some past issues with other characters and the reader gets to hear the thought process and “revelations” all over again. Some things would have been better left “unsaid”.


Overall:

That being said, The Days of Hairawn Muhly was a wonderful book. I would recommend this book to anyone of any age that enjoys a good story filled with history and a wonderful variety of characters.

Rating:

About Carol Ann Ross:

Carol is a native of the Carolina coast and remembers a time when life there was very different than it is today. After decades away she has returned and is now devoted to writing about those colorful and captivating days before progress changed things forever.