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Rachel M's Reviews > The Daughter's Walk
The Daughter's Walk
by
by
Kirkpatrick unearths some of the most amazing untold stories from the foundations of American history, and this is one of them. Clara, the "daughter" of the title, begins the story angry with her mother for her impulsive decision to walk across the continent for a dubious prize of $10,000, taking Clara along. As the journey progresses, Clara comes to understand her mother's intentions, but the journey creates alienation and estrangement within their family as a whole.
Clara returns from the journey and finds that her family will not forgive her or her mother unless they never speak of their trek again. The mother agrees to stay silent and humbled, but Clara refuses and goes forward to make her own way.
For the greater part of the book, Clara becomes a savvy business women, and her life increasingly revolves around business and risk. Near the end, she feels that something is missing, and recognizes that, after 20 years, she must make peace with her family.
Because the story was true to life, it lacked the even, familiar contours of a fictional plot. Cause didn't always lead to effect in the inevitable way that a fictional story does. The inner dreams, potentials, and yearnings of the young Clara were not fully realized in her later life - in fact, her life seemed rather empty through most of the book.
Kirkpatrick's A Gathering of Finches is written in much the same way - true to the real events of life. I can't decide why such a narrative style appealed to me in that book and not in The Daughter's Walk. Maybe because the lesson Clara learned from her life was not fully developed, and seemed to come too late. It is a story about forgiveness, and yet Clara's family also harbors deep resentment which they never seem fully able to let go of. The final result of Clara's return to her family is cheapened smewhat by the lack of a full reconciliation on their part. It seems more like, "well, I guess you're back now, and I might as well serve you some coffee."
The fact is, that most of our lives do not proceed by tidy exercises in cause and effect. Some reconciliations do come too late, or are half-hearted. Many lives are not lived to the full. Many of us do not achieve those mountaintop moments of glory which shed light on the themes and morals of our own stories. Why, then, did I so badly want this novel to show me something that I do not see in real life?
Clara returns from the journey and finds that her family will not forgive her or her mother unless they never speak of their trek again. The mother agrees to stay silent and humbled, but Clara refuses and goes forward to make her own way.
For the greater part of the book, Clara becomes a savvy business women, and her life increasingly revolves around business and risk. Near the end, she feels that something is missing, and recognizes that, after 20 years, she must make peace with her family.
Because the story was true to life, it lacked the even, familiar contours of a fictional plot. Cause didn't always lead to effect in the inevitable way that a fictional story does. The inner dreams, potentials, and yearnings of the young Clara were not fully realized in her later life - in fact, her life seemed rather empty through most of the book.
Kirkpatrick's A Gathering of Finches is written in much the same way - true to the real events of life. I can't decide why such a narrative style appealed to me in that book and not in The Daughter's Walk. Maybe because the lesson Clara learned from her life was not fully developed, and seemed to come too late. It is a story about forgiveness, and yet Clara's family also harbors deep resentment which they never seem fully able to let go of. The final result of Clara's return to her family is cheapened smewhat by the lack of a full reconciliation on their part. It seems more like, "well, I guess you're back now, and I might as well serve you some coffee."
The fact is, that most of our lives do not proceed by tidy exercises in cause and effect. Some reconciliations do come too late, or are half-hearted. Many lives are not lived to the full. Many of us do not achieve those mountaintop moments of glory which shed light on the themes and morals of our own stories. Why, then, did I so badly want this novel to show me something that I do not see in real life?
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
May 29, 2012
–
Finished Reading
May 30, 2012
– Shelved
