The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel
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The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

4.6/5
Product ID: 641542443
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The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

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4.6

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D**N

One strong woman is the glue that holds this community together.

Great character development. The facts are well intertwined with the fiction. I think many women can relate to Martha Ballard or would want to have her as an advocate. The balance between her hard work and her relationships makes this an easy book to read. Ephraim is a perfect partner.I bought this book for a Book Club meeting but was intrigued by the locations. I grew up in a town next to Oxford, Massachusetts and I spend two weeks in the fall near the Kennebec River. Both locations are dear to me, making it even easier to relate to Martha. Although it takes place more than 200 years ago, the human behavior isn't much different. There are mean girls, bigots, power-hungry angry white men in charge and kind-hearted people. The author created a beautiful picture of being in a small village along the frozen river in Maine. Revenge is a powerful tool.

D**D

Never trust 5 stars....or 1 star

Ariel Lawhon is an established, best-selling novelist focusing on historical stories. THE FROZEN RIVER is my first experience with her work. The story is set in Maine in the late 1700s, and follows our hero, Martha Ballard, as she plies her trade (midwife) while navigating the political and social structures of that time. It should be noted that Martha and the many characters in this story were real—Martha herself being a famous figure for delivering over 1000 babies without loss of either baby or mother. Many of the events surrounding these characters in the novel are actual historical events. The story itself is fiction, of course, and the author lets us know in an epilogue how she wove both fact and fiction together.The story (kinda) revolves around a body (a man) found in the frozen Kennebec River, which is soon to be determined a murder. We soon discover the dead man is one of two suspects in the rape of one of Martha’s friends. I say “kinda” because the body is soon forgotten in favor of the rape accusation. The other suspect in the rape is a prominent judge (judge North) who is involved in various, nefarious business dealings around the area which connect to Martha and many of the locals. Martha is a key participant in the rape trial as she was the first to examine the victim.The writing is superb, and we can see why Lawhon is a best seller. Her characters (with the exception of North) are beautifully rendered with exceptional attention to personality and motivation. There are no stereotypes here. Lawhon’s writing is flows effortlessly, reveals intimately yet never gets in the way of the story. Lawhon’s not trying to impress us with her ability. So well done.That said, there are a couple of weaknesses to this story. As alluded above, there is not a strong driver—backbone—to propel the events. That is, the plot is weak and almost non-existent. We start with the murder (the body found in the river), but that is quickly gets forgotten in favor or the rape trial. This is all interspersed between the many births Martha attends. I you like “Call the Midwife” you’ll love this book. Even the trial isn’t that big of a compelling factor. I kept asking myself what’s on the line for the main character? What needs to the resolved? Heck, why are we here? Judge North, unlike the other characters is a one-dimensional bad guy from the start. I kept hoping the author would flip something on us, or spring some sort of surprise, but nope.Another weakness (very minor) is over-research. I expect the author to do her research to make it an authentic as possible, but I don’t want to be hit over the head by it. Multiple pages of how to make candles should’ve been rethought.The author has modernized several aspects of the main character and speech patterns of the time. Martha’s morals and attitudes would fit in well today. That’s ok, in this case. The author has to make the story and characters as palatable to readers as possible. It’s all about the sales.

L**S

Remarkable Midwife

Martha Ballard is a historical figure, a midwife who also had other medical skills. She is an unusual figure for her time—literate (a rarity) and a wife and the mother of a large brood who traveled the area quite independently to deliver babies. In Ephraim, she had a strong, trusting, industrious, and helpful husband. He was a man of faith. He saw his wife’s potential and taught her how to read. He also helped her overcome trauma she had suffered as a young lady.The setting of The Frozen River is the winter of 1789-1790 (actually 1785 in historical records) and was known as “the year of the long winter” in Hallowell, Maine. Martha is called to document a body found in the river, caught by ice. Thus begins a murder mystery that is so much more. A pastor’s young wife is the victim of multiple violent rapes. In the process of disclosing the truth of the events, the author also reveals much about women’s rights at that time. In summary, they had few. To even give testimony in court a woman had to be accompanied by a husband or father. It was clear that a man’s testimony had greater weight than a woman’s. Premarital sex was fairly common, but if a pregnancy was the result, the woman could be jailed or fined. The man incurred no consequences.Pre-Bill of Rights, the court system was very different than what we have in America today. It was similar to what is commonly referred to as “frontier justice.” Townsfolk flocked to a local trial where the jury was composed solely of men and the judge was likely to be biased. There were other levels of courts depending on the accusations and the findings of a lower court. In some cases it was clear that justice would not be done, and so men would take action on their own following the dictum of “an eye for an eye.”Death from natural causes, sickness, childbirth, or accidents was something the people of that time had to live with. Although expected, accepting it was still very difficult, especially for mothers. Life was not easy, and circumstances often left people bereft of material needs and emotional support.The author, Ariel Lawhorn, makes the characters come alive. Without being melodramatic, she presents the characters as real people with flaws and strengths, individuals that the reader will really like despite some weaknesses or truly detest because of the evilness they harbor in their hearts. There were many secrets to be revealed, but those were skillfully hidden until the author chose to disclose them. Even then, the motivation for the matter might remain unknown for a time. Because of the rapes and other types of violence found in the book, it is a hard book to read and certainly not a book to read right before bedtime. It is a page turner that is not for the faint of heart, but reveals so much about a remarkable woman and a time of history that required much of people.

C**D

Best ending ever

I loved the author’s development of each character. Everybody needs an “Ephraim” in their life— whether friend or lover. He stood out to me as the most loveable character. The Ballard family unity and dynamics was so refreshing to me in this time of disconnect and disrespect for seniors. To see people care for each other was uplifting and inspired me.After finding out that Martha Ballard was a real person who lived in the 1700s and the main crime theme really happened as Martha served others as a midwife, I was thought this story needed to be told. I think there was a balance of arrogant men vs men who had morals and principles. Even though it was a woman-power book, there was no men bashing— only real life scenarios of the GOOD, the bad and the ugly of human nature. I loved, loved, loved this story.

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