Vinegar Hill

Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay - read in 2012. I saw this book cheap somewhere and picked it up. It's an Opera Book Club book, so I was suspicious. Nothing against Oprah, but I don't really care for her book selections. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates was the last Oprah Book Club book I've read and I didn't care for it. So, I was a bit dubious about Vinegar Hill. But, I bought it anyway and read it. It was a quick read (2 days, which is really quick when you have 4 kids and a household to run), so it was good in that sense. I enjoyed the story well enough, although it was pretty sad (just how I like my books). It was well written. But there was just something about it I didn't like. The characters weren't developed enough, which I can get past in a book with a good story. I think it was the underlying message...which I'm still not sure what it was, but just doesn't sit well in my soul. Strange, I know.


In any case, I would recommend this book to those who like a lot of family dysfunction and who like to really think after you read a book. If you like your dysfunction to be redeemed, don't pick up this book.