The end of always : a novel
(Book)

Like much of the rest of the nation, Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1907 is not a fit place for a young girl to come of age. Poverty and violence abound and will prove to be a near-fatal combination for impressionable Marie Reehs. Emotionally scarred by her mother's brutal and unexplained death, Marie suspects her father was responsible and longs to flee his dictatorial and abusive home before she becomes his next victim. When Marie falls in love with August, a charismatic youth who has already witnessed her family's worst episode, Marie believes she is destined for a life where true love will sustain and protect her. Within days of their marriage, however, August proves to be every bit as savage and cruel as her father. Beaten to within an inch of her life, Marie bravely files for divorce, an unheard-of act of self-preservation in those days. Based upon her own ancestry, Davenport's deeply affecting historical novel of a courageous young woman's struggle to survive in an overtly sexist time is both a sobering and stirring tribute to determination.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2014 Booklist

In a first novel as lyrical as it is harrowing, Davenport (author of the memoir The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes) explores the darker side of the American dream and women's exclusion from its freedoms. Marie Reehs, the child of German immigrants, comes of age in Waukesha, Wis., in the first decade of the 20th century. When she's 17, Marie loses her mother to a gruesome injury; though the death is deemed an accident, awareness of her father's violence make the naturally questioning, even visionary girl doubt that convenient explanation. Later, working grueling days as a laundress, Marie reencounters August Bethke, one of the passersby who helped bring her mother home as she was bleeding to death from a stab wound. Soon trysting with him in the woods at night, she finds herself in conflict with her family, her employer (who begins to make passes at her), her coworkers, and her fellow townspeople, who look down on her affair with August. Her elemental passion seems to promise a less constricted future, but Marie finds that neither her family's painful legacy nor her own female vulnerability is easily escaped. Davenport shapes her story-drawn from her own family history-with scrupulous patience, deftly juxtaposing striking images of the Midwestern landscape with evocations of Marie's vivid inner world. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Davenport's (The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes: A Mother's Story) fiction debut tells the story of Marie Reehs, a young woman raised in a violent home. She vows not to marry a man like her father, whom she believes killed her mother. To supplement the family income, Marie begins working long hours in a commercial laundry. Propositioned by her boss and desperate to escape her abusive father, Marie is drawn into a passionate relationship with the charming August, who proves to be as destructive as the father she left. This is a claustrophobic world where the lack of freedom allowed to women hangs over Marie and influences her choices, as well as those of her friends and sisters. VERDICT Evocative descriptions of the Wisconsin landscape and Marie's intensely felt first love serve as a balance to the harsh reality of her life. Despite the sympathetic portrayal of Marie, the detailed descriptions of family violence may upset some readers. A moving story with skillfully crafted characters, this book will appeal to those drawn to strong female characters, as well as readers of literary and American historical fiction.-Sarah Cohn, Manhattan Coll. Lib., Bronx, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Like much of the rest of the nation, Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1907 is not a fit place for a young girl to come of age. Poverty and violence abound and will prove to be a near-fatal combination for impressionable Marie Reehs. Emotionally scarred by her mother's brutal and unexplained death, Marie suspects her father was responsible and longs to flee his dictatorial and abusive home before she becomes his next victim. When Marie falls in love with August, a charismatic youth who has already witnessed her family's worst episode, Marie believes she is destined for a life where true love will sustain and protect her. Within days of their marriage, however, August proves to be every bit as savage and cruel as her father. Beaten to within an inch of her life, Marie bravely files for divorce, an unheard-of act of self-preservation in those days. Based upon her own ancestry, Davenport's deeply affecting historical novel of a courageous young woman's struggle to survive in an overtly sexist time is both a sobering and stirring tribute to determination. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Davenport's (The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes: A Mother's Story) fiction debut tells the story of Marie Reehs, a young woman raised in a violent home. She vows not to marry a man like her father, whom she believes killed her mother. To supplement the family income, Marie begins working long hours in a commercial laundry. Propositioned by her boss and desperate to escape her abusive father, Marie is drawn into a passionate relationship with the charming August, who proves to be as destructive as the father she left. This is a claustrophobic world where the lack of freedom allowed to women hangs over Marie and influences her choices, as well as those of her friends and sisters. VERDICT Evocative descriptions of the Wisconsin landscape and Marie's intensely felt first love serve as a balance to the harsh reality of her life. Despite the sympathetic portrayal of Marie, the detailed descriptions of family violence may upset some readers. A moving story with skillfully crafted characters, this book will appeal to those drawn to strong female characters, as well as readers of literary and American historical fiction.—Sarah Cohn, Manhattan Coll. Lib., Bronx, NY

In a first novel as lyrical as it is harrowing, Davenport (author of the memoir The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes) explores the darker side of the American dream and women's exclusion from its freedoms. Marie Reehs, the child of German immigrants, comes of age in Waukesha, Wis., in the first decade of the 20th century. When she's 17, Marie loses her mother to a gruesome injury; though the death is deemed an accident, awareness of her father's violence make the naturally questioning, even visionary girl doubt that convenient explanation. Later, working grueling days as a laundress, Marie reencounters August Bethke, one of the passersby who helped bring her mother home as she was bleeding to death from a stab wound. Soon trysting with him in the woods at night, she finds herself in conflict with her family, her employer (who begins to make passes at her), her coworkers, and her fellow townspeople, who look down on her affair with August. Her elemental passion seems to promise a less constricted future, but Marie finds that neither her family's painful legacy nor her own female vulnerability is easily escaped. Davenport shapes her story—drawn from her own family history—with scrupulous patience, deftly juxtaposing striking images of the Midwestern landscape with evocations of Marie's vivid inner world. (May)