Cold Grace by Meredith Miller

Book Blurb
Winter closes in on a valley in northern New England where history is about to repeat itself. The Allen family farm is nearly empty. Only Eddie, the youngest son, remains, living with his family’s ghosts near the woods he loves. In those woods he meets Jeanne Delaney, a girl he’s known all his life, now turning into a woman. This is not the first time that Eddie’s people have come into contact with Jeanne’s, though. Their families are already tied together by a violent past.

A story of survival and humanity set in early 1900s New England. Miller explores themes of colonialism, disability and rural life on the fringes of society. Cold Grace is a dark historical novel defined by its frozen landscape. Both revenge tragedy and coming of age story, it tells of an isolated community haunted by the ghost of its own violence.

My Review
Cold Grace is set in rural New England in 1913. The Allen family have owned the local farm for generations but now there is only Eddie left, the youngest of the brothers. Living on the lake Jeanne is turning sixteen, she lives with her Grampy and brother, until winter where she lives with Jerusha, a mother figure and local midwife. Jeanne is beautiful, and is falling in love with Eddie but her family want to protect her from the ghosts of the Allens.

The first thing that jumps out about Cold Grace is the beautiful landscape of the New England forests. The land is wild, the expanse of trees, the openness of it, not tainted by man and the desire to build on it, and the wildlife that live there. This beauty however is at odds with the violence it has seen at the hands of the older Allen brothers, Hank and Mikey. Meredith Miller raises some very difficult and sensitive subjects in this book from violence, racism, misogyny and suicide which make for difficult reading at times but represent feelings and attitudes of the period in which this book was set. In contrast to this is the romance between Jeanne and Eddie, both trying to get happiness and step out from under the shadow of their past.

Meredith Miller has created a colourful cast of characters, with fascinating histories that are told throughout the book. I fell in love with Jeanne and her joie de vivre. She was full of life and energy, always on the go, talking all the time, asking questions and simply enjoying life. She has been through a lot but she was always positive looking for the goodness in everyone and everything, but is lucky to have family to keep her feet on the ground and protect her. It is through Jeannne’s narration that this story is told, how she felt about Eddie, their relationship, how the simplicity of it was always at risk from the Allen brothers who would never accept it.

It did take me a while to get into Cold Grace but when I did I was compelled the keep reading. It maybe a short read at two hundred pages, but it’s not a book you can read quickly, there is a lot to take in, it is a book that needs to be savoured. The story is beautifully written with attention to detail and descriptive prose capturing the landscape and the nuances of the characters. Yes there are difficult issues discussed but this was a book I really enjoyed reading and the Jeanne’s story will stay with me for a long time.

I would like to thank Honno Modern Fiction and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in this blog tour in return for my honest review.