The Blessing Stone
5 journalers for this copy...
Wood (Perfect Harmony) pulls off an unlikely feat with this sweeping epic about the history of humanity, from the first Homo sapiens to 20th-century Californians. At the novel's center is a blue crystal, a fragment from a meteorite that fell to earth some three million years ago. The crystal is first discovered by a girl on the African plain 100,000 years ago; when the "water stone" seems to save her mother from illness, the girl's stature in her community changes and so does the fate of her descendants. As the crystal is passed down through the generations, Wood crafts vivid sketches of ordinary women who triumph over a prescribed destiny. A Roman noblewoman disobeys her husband and finds her own salvation; an 11th-century English prioress struggles against an abbot to save her monastery; a girl from a 16th-century German hamlet heads to the Near East to find her father and becomes part of the sultan's harem; a plantation wife in 18th-century Martinique saves her estate from marauding pirates. At last sighting, the blue stone is "in a place called Woodstock, wired into the handle of a marijuana roach clip owned by a hippy [sic] named Argyle." Some stories are predictable, but Wood packs them with historical details that should keep readers interested ("When her brothers came to visit, they greeted her, as all Roman male relatives greeted their kinswoman, by kissing her on both cheeks. This was not a gesture of affection, but rather a covert way to detect wine on a woman's breath").
Off in the mail to be part of the 2007 Charleston Bookcrossing Convention!
In a box of books sent from Arkansas for the convention. Thanks very much!
I broke my rule (only picking up books that are on my wishlist) to take this one home with me from the "book buffet" table at the Charleston convention. It just looked so interesting that I had to pick it up. Going onto Mt. TBR.
I liked this book a lot. It reminded me a lot of Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, with the development of human civilization (domesticating animals, ornamenting our bodies, creating religions) a large part of the plot. Interesting to read about so many of the different cultures of the world in one book.
Sent off to lauraloo29 in Canada as part of the International RABCK sweepstakes. Enjoy!
Sent off to lauraloo29 in Canada as part of the International RABCK sweepstakes. Enjoy!
An excellent surprise! Thank you!
I mostly enjoyed this book. Parts of it dragged. I didn't care at all for the last story. I found I was more interested in the first few. A good read.
Sending as a RABCK. Enjoy!
Received last week - sorry I took so long to journal it! Looking forward to reading this. Thank you!!
Good book - realized about 1/2 way through that I had already read it but enjoyed reading it again!!