Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.65 You Save: $5.35 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.42 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
Book Review: Like a Trip to Grammy's House
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my favorite books of the last few years. From the recipes like my grandmother used to make, to the stories of making do with what you had, it was a trip through a time few can remember. It contains lessons for all of us to recall and to teach our children in these times we are living in. It was like being wrapped in a warm, cozy quilt by a crackling fire. Thanks for reminding us that you can still enjoy life when times are hard. I was thrilled when it was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of 2007 by The New York Times.Book Review: Iowa childhood
Summary: 4 Stars
Haven't finished this book yet, but so far every page is a delight (except for a few swear words and sexual terms my grandparents never used!). Can't wait to share with my mother, esp. the description of the old stove. Such a buoyant spirit to come out of hard times (no father, raised by a depressed mother and strict grandparents, etc.) Wonderfully descriptive, full of detail. Highly recommended. Especially for anyone with midwestern farm roots, and who heard stories of the old days from their grandparents.Book Review: Brings History Alive
Summary: 4 Stars
Ms Kalish's book was wonderful. If you like history you will like this book. It really personalizes and brings to life a time in American history that was difficult on so many different social groups. This book doesn't make broad sweeping statements about anywhere else, just Iowa farm country and small towns, which is exactly what the author knows. I gave this book to my mom as soon as I was finished. She lived through the depression and really related to lots of passages in this book.Book Review: "Back in the day..."
Summary: 2 Stars
This narrative wasn't a story, but was a running commentary on the author's memories of her life on a midwest farm during the 1930s. Although the book is subtitled as being a story about the Great Depression, the family farm Kalish writes about was insulated from the GRAPES OF WRATH sort of deprivation we associate with that era. There are no characters, very little dialogue, no sense, really of who the narrator is, or of her age, or about her sisters and brothers, her parents, aunts and uncles, except by what they ate, how they prepared it, how they were thrifty to the extreme. While these facts are interesting, especially for one such as my slightly obsessive-compulsive self, I found myself wondering about Kalish's intent in writing such a memoir. In the classic sense of memoir, there is no introspection that gives wisdom to an examination of one's past. She hints at a brief struggle with Christian faith, but never goes further, and only at the very end do we finally learn something concrete about her actual life. I found it to be a charming little book filled with stories and recipes from back in the day. I'm amazed that the NYTimes considered it one of the top books of 2007. Book Review: Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful glimpse at depression era farm life. You share the view of a young girl as she shares the experience with her siblings and cousins. She is part of the "little kid" group. The story is chock full of old time remedies, reciepes, and life without tv, electricity, cell phones, or cars. It was before my time, but my husband and I were inspired to reminise about our own old days.