Currently Reading - October 30, 2009

I finished Molly Gloss' 1989 novel The Jump-Off Creek last night. I really enjoyed this one very much. It is the story of a widow from Pennsylvania who sells off all of her possessions and goes west to homestead by herself in the Oregon territory in the 1890's. It is very well written, and has a good plot to go along with being very evocative of time and place. The ending is somewhat predictable, but you could call it inevitable just as easily. There were a number of very well crafted characters, some major and some minor, and my interest was kept at a high level throughout. I will be looking into what else Molly Gloss has written. 4.5 stars out of 5.

This is also my fourth "new" author, completing 2009 goal #1.

I need to decide what to read next. I may dive into John Irving's new 554 page novel, Last Night in Twisted River. Or I might bail out and read something shorter.