The Valley (edition 2006)

I was tempted to make The Valley my first DNF for the year but I slogged through it to the end. I feel like I should have enjoyed the story, after all I live in The Valley that this book describes - {Hungerford is Taree renamed} and Di Morrissey and her husband live the next town away just near Wingham (which Di calls Cedartown).It was good to read about my town and its familiar environs and fun to recognise even some of the characters (including the couple at the cafe) she includes - but really that is all that kept me reading.I found the alternating story threads too short to become involved, though of the several points of view, it was Isabelle Kelly's story, a woman of class, making her way alone in the bush in the late 1800's, that was most interesting. I also found the thinly veiled history of the area informational. I have lived in the area (coming from the city) for only 6 years and know every little abouts its origins.The main reason I struggled I think is that for the first 250 pages of this book very little actually happens, characters are introduced - settings are established but it lacks any action or drama. I don't think it ever really reached a point where I was wondering what would happen next or that there was any real suprises. I do feel that Morrisey tied things together very neatly at the end, but by that time I just didn't really care. I picked it up, read a few chapters, and put it back down in several spurts over a few days which the short viewpoint shifts lends itself to but at nearly 600 pages I think The Valley is about twice as long as it should be. However if you are a family history buff, or a fan of family sagas you should probbaly give it The Valley a shot. It's not totally irredeemable but didn't work for me. ( )