West of Here Audiobook

" Interesting book. Some parts are dry, but overall Evison paints a vivid, engaging picture of the same town in two very different time periods. "

" I just didn't get this book. There were so many characters in both modern times and the flashback 1890 time period, none were very developed and at times it was difficult to keep track of everyone. Perhaps if I was from this part of the country I would have felt a connection to the story. I had to push myself to finish the book. "

" I found it hard to stay interested in this book, but I slogged through. There were too many stories about too many people - some interesting and some not. And just when I got interested in one person's story, I found myself in a different century with a different story. And I never figured out the Curtis/Thomas thing. If this was based on some Indiana time travel/reincarnation legend, it would have been good to be told something about that. "

" The story started out entertaining but there are too many protagonists. It would have been much more interesting if the author had followed one or even two families through history rather than sketching out 10 different characters in the past and sketching out 5 more relations in the present. In addition many of the characters were quite 2 dimensional and cliched and the interesting ones were not highlighted enough. "

" I loved this magnificent saga set over 100 years on Puget Sound. "

" Alternating chapters set in the present day and in the 1890s reflecting the western state of Washington settlement and growth. "

" What a wonderful read. The jump back and forth from the 1890's and today never becomes confusing. And the character development is great. "

" I agree with Erin ... wordy but I did enjoy the story, particularly the historical perspective and how their choices impacted their descendants. Fun to read as I've grown up in the PNW. :) "

" What an epic? I loved all of these characters especially Krig and Bell. There were many times when I just felt enveloped in the story. I was so engrossed an absorbed in the story. I felt actual pain for some of the characters. I loved the parallel story. I can't say enough good things about it. "

" Epic. This is a sprawling book great for disappearing in over a long weekend. "

" This book needed an editor "

" There were too many stories going on; there were about five different stories in each of the two time periods. Chose it for camping in Washington but did not inspire me for the trip. "

" I read this in a cabin on Decatur Island last week, so the sense of place was great. "

" This book had so much promise! I tried to get into it, read 100 pages, and it just wasn't doing anything for me. :( "

" Incredibly ambitious, with a multi-generational sweep and a sense of history that are just breathtaking. "

" Too many sub stories, too little time to get interested in any of them. I am going to finish but I doubt I will encourage anybody to read it. "

" I loved the part that dealt with the past; the present was confusing and disappointing. Maybe the author wanted that. And how depressing is that!!! "

" Juicy novel set in a lightly fictionalized Port Angeles. I really got into the characters and felt lots of kinship with the PNW setting. "

" About 1/3 of the way though the book, I thought that it was too depressing. Too many characters who were losers but the author started tying up pieces of the story and it started to come together. I'm glad I didn't put it down. "

" This was an easy read and held my attention but it was like 2 stories that you only got half of. Characters never got fully developed. "

" I was excited to read this book after the reviews and the beginning seemed interesting, but the further I read the more vulgar it got and I will not be finishing it. "

" Shifting characters and time periods, Evison's novel explores the character of a part of the Olympic Peninsula, or maybe the part stands for the whole, but I especially enjoyed this book because of my awareness of the saga of the Elwha dams, one of which is central to the novel. "

" The historical fiction of the Seattle frontier and Mt. Olympus from the 1880's to the present time. Told in many voices and flipping back and forth between era's, one does realize that history does repeat itself. "

" Kept my attention, liked the concept but did not like the mysticism aspect brought late into the story line. A lot of angst without redemption. "

" Somewhat strange for historical fiction. "

" I loved the part that dealt with the past; the present was confusing and disappointing. Maybe the author wanted that. And how depressing is that!!! "

" Not my favorite. I thought the characters were not well developed and did not find empathy with any of them. The story takes place in different time periods, which I usually like, but the connection between the two was not well written in this book. "

" The back and forth plot left me confused and I could not connect with the characters. "

" Really slow & boring to me. Not enough character development. "

" I really enjoyed this book. Evison did a great job of jumping back and forth in the history of the town and the affected people of the story. "

" If you are familiar with the Northwest and the Sasquatch legends this will interest you. It does go back and forth between time periods and sometimes I had to go back and check on character names. I found it entertaining. "