The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was supposed to read this title through NetGalley a few months ago, unfortunately the e-file did not work properly, so I had to wait until it was available from the library. It was worth the wait.
The characters were well created with multidimensional facets that showed the many sides of a person with respect to situational circumstances. It was refreshing to read a story set in the 1920’s from the point of view of a young woman with a black father and a white mother. The secondary characters are equally complex and help address a variety of very intense and difficult issues that were all too real and prevalent during an aggressively charged time.
The plot is straight forward, but contains many twists and turns that keep the reader’s sense of suspense and interest without feeling overwhelmed. I kept getting sidetracked by comparing this story to Shakespeare’s Othello attempting to find similarities between the two stories, stealing some of my attention, since this story deserves the reader’s complete focus.
Winters’ writing is as always: clear, concise, flows effortlessly and always engages the reader. The writing was perfect for a binge read of 200 pages without causing headaches or a sense of unease from reading for such a long time.
I read a few reviews that mention a decline in Winters’ writing and storytelling and even though this story, compared to her debut In the Shadow of Blackbirds, which is a masterpiece in creating a sense of complete sadness of the heart, is a marvelous feat of storytelling, this story focuses on a different aspect of misery and sadness of the heart. Overall, another great and wonderful novel by Winter and I would definitely recommend it.
