Rate this book

A White Wind Blew (2013)

by James Markert(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1402278373 (ISBN13: 9781402278372)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Sourcebooks

review 1: An inspiring story of what happens when a community forms in the worst of times and worst of places. The sanatorium at Waverly Hills has a family unit all its own which the reader comes into during Winter 1929, a community that is a microcosm of the community that exists below the hill in Louisville, Kentucky. The "white wind" constantly blows down one hill into town, threatening to bring the TB epidemic with it. The conflict between those "on the hill" and those below it often comes up in the novel's plot. During the story's progression, each of the patients and staff member's stories comes alive in the writing. For me, these characters became like family. The deaths brought mourning and the cures brought joy. The story is brought to a head when the main character Dr (and... more Father) Wolfgang Pike creates a choir and orchestra made up of patients and staff. The novel showed me that patients are much more than their disease. If you like Nicholas Sparks' "A Walk to Remember," this novel would be ideal for you.
review 2: 3.5 stars - I must admit that for the first 100 pages, I really didn't know where this book was going or even if it was going to develop a plot...but the writing was eloquent and the characters were vivid and strong, so I stuck with it - and I'm glad I did. The story takes place after WW1 in a hospital where the TB patients come to live and die. Dr. Wolfgang, an aspiring priest, is the central character and a most caring physician. His life story is told in small increments throughout the book - why everyone calls him Father despite never having been officially ordained as a priest, how he came to write music and his life's loves and losses. Eventually, he finds some talented (albeit ill) musicians who are able to play beautiful music together despite their profound cultural differences and biases. Their collective influence on the patients is emotionally surprising. The author also does not hide the bigoted obstacles the characters must face. While it took me some time to become invested in the story initially, I found myself emotionally tethered to the characters' fates by the end. I recommend this one to those who like historical fiction. less

Download links for: A White Wind Blew

Advertising