Miriam Murcutt

Due to her mother’s untimely death, Corin is uprooted as a young teenager from Yonkers where she had an idyllic life as the daughter of a zoo veterinarian to live with her aunt in the red-dirt desert town of Paradox, Utah. Resentful and sad, life takes a turn to the positive for Corin when Paradox becomes a haven for Hollywood studios and their westerns and she blossoms into her own woman in the late fifties and sixties.

Noah, nicknamed, Ark, is the son of British missionaries who send him back to Britain for schooling. He is fascinated by the stars and American westerns. After his parents are killed and he finishes school, he has an opportunity to travel to Paradox where he meets Corin.

There is so much more to this novel than just a depiction of life in the west or a girl meets boy story. There is racism, sexism, free will, human rights, a broad range and depth of human emotions, the organization of the cosmos.

Well written, with vivid descriptive language and character development, there is much to think about here. There may be times when some readers feel that some of the side stories (collecting semen from a bull!) bogs you down, but stay with it, the story is well worth it. As a side note, as someone who as lived in both the east and Utah, I really related to the descriptions of Utah’s dust and its effects; the authors captured it perfectly!

My husband also read the book. Initially, he was wary of the book; he thought it started slow and was just another static story of coming of age in the west. As different characters and dimensions were added, he really, really liked the book.… (mehr)

First I will admit I did not finish this book. For all the well-written and interesting facts it contained about monasteries, it also contains frequent, mean-spirited comments and observations against the Catholic Church which I found extremely annoying and offensive. If I had to guess, I would say Mr. Starks had been raised Catholic - or by Catholic hating people. Perhaps a well-meaning, and most likely wise nun had once slapped him silly in class for being a spoiled and troublesome little brat. Just sayin'… (mehr)