Review: 3.5 Stars - A wordy but worthwhile read.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 1, 2012
I'll be honest and start this review by saying this was not the book for me. But, it will strike just that chord of WOW with other readers, and most of the issues that I had with the story are based in my own personal prejudices garnered from years of reading.The author has created a beautiful story that feels much like a love letter to the possibilities of what might have been.  That is the overwhelming sense I had when I turned the last page. As habit, I tend not to read dedications before I read a book: in this case, the dedication was a reinforcement of my thought of this book as a love letter.The story starts with an elderly Landon, feeding the pigeons, and his personal favorite pigeon, also named Landon, who is the gentlemen of pigeons, and far more reserved and introspective than the average pigeon. As a metaphor, it works beautifully to highlight the personality of the main character, and his introspective narration of the story.  While the author shows great facility with metaphor, simile and description, the overuse of all 3 literary techniques removes the reader's imagination and input, making the reading feel overdone to me.I have been reading for a long time, and part of the joy of a new story is to visualize that scene using my own references with a few choice options from the author. It isn't required for the author to use detail to describe a frosty breath on the air: we have all seen that. Unfortunately, in this story, the author has detailed to the smallest degree, leaving no scope for me as a reader, and that tends to pull me out of the story and erase my own visual imagery, or readjust it to fit his.  As an occasional event, this is not an issue. Sadly, this extreme wordiness and directed description had me putting the book down, it blocked the flow and the enjoyment promised by the elements converging in a unique way, while explaining and incorporating history and references that were not familiar to me.  There are, however, readers who want to be treated to a movie or stage play in their reads: to have each detail accounted for to just ride along, with a surety from the author that what they have presented is exactly what each reader will see.  I'm just not one of those readers.The story is unique with incorporation of Cherokee Legend and a coming of age trek by a group of young boys, a ghostly element that may be more a facet of their own suggestibility or could be residue from the area and history. At the heart, it is a love story: love of self, family, history and romantic interests. While the wanting to know kept me coming back to complete the story, I wish I had been able to toss my own need to be involved in the story by creating my own imagery, to really fully appreciate it.I give this book 3.5 stars: with the realization that other readers will and do love this book - but the length and wordiness did not hold my interest in the way I had hoped it would.I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review. Participating in the Promotional Book Tour with this review. I was not compensated for my review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.