This was an intriguing and challenging read, and I commend Peggy Riley for the way she used the girls’ (Amity and Sorrow) oddities to convey the sheltered lives they lead in their compound with 50 wives/mothers and countless children. I wouldn’t want to be Amaranth as she tries to unravel how she and her husband went so wrong – when all they wanted was to create an environment of love and acceptance – or her daughters who are so sheltered as to be both in danger, and dangerous to themselves and others. There is a richness here and so, so many levels to this story. It was even hard to place it in a time period because their isolation was so complete, that there was barely a context for it. Anyone interested in women’s issues, religions, cults and superb storytelling won’t want to miss this layered and impressive debut.
Peggy Riley stopped by the blog for an Out of Twenty. Check it out for more on these characters, her research and this novel.
