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“The Country of the Pointed Firs” by Sarah Orne Jewett

The Country of the Pointed Firs may be downloaded for free from our free ebooks catalog

The Country of Pointed Firs is a book you can take your time with. This was one of the first ebooks I put on the site, so I must have started it a few months ago. I would pick it up from time to time and just sink back into late 1800s New England. The book has a dreamy quality and it’s sense of nostalgia is very strong, as if this place and time no longer exists but in her memory. It’s not especially sad, but it got me thinking of similar events or people in my life that are perhaps gone forever. You can tell that the importance lies in the time, as you can always go back to the place, but maybe it has changed so much that the experience of it will never be the same.

Since I read this book on and off over a period of several months, I will comment that I don’t feel I lost anything from taking several breaks from reading. There are many characters in the book, but the plot is secondary to the the feel of the story, and that is something you don’t forget as easily. A review by a reader on Amazon stayed with me, as it describes perfectly the mood of the book:

I would recommend reading this book some afternoon with the telephone unplugged, sitting on a porch with a teapot full of Earl Grey nearby, with your feet propped up and your cares let down. It’s as subtle and delightful as a waft of air from the garden after an afternoon shower. It’s a haiku in prose–the memory of the book is better than the reading. Enjoy!

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