Wings Glass Gina Holmes
I stayed up half the night to finish Wings of Glass, because I could not put it down. Gina Holmes does a wonderful job drawing you into the story and portraying the emotions of the main character, Penny. The story is unique in that it is written in the form of a letter from Penny to her son, Manny.
Penny at the age of 17 runs off to elope with the summer hired hand. Like many young girls, Penny is struggling with a lack of male affection. Her father is rather strict and harsh, so she takes the first opportunity of someone offering a different path. But Penny's new husband has anger issues and takes them out on Penny both physically and emotionally. Because of an accident at work Penny's husband Trent becomes blind thus creating an opportunity for her to escape the isolation she has been forced to endure for the last seven years. After finding a job, Penny is able to make a couple of friends who urge her down a path of victory and healing. This is not only a story about abuse, but also of friendship and love.
I was so involved with Penny's story, I read the book from start to finish. You will not be disappointed by Wings of Glass.
I was given this book by bookfun.org in exchange for my honest opinion.
Penny has gone from a tough 'over bearing' dad to an abusive husband by the time she's 17. She spends the next 10 years or so barely surviving her life. Her husband, Trent, is the stereotypical abuser. He is never satisfied with anything thing that Penny does (or doesn't do), he puts her down constantly with is words, and his fists. Penny lives a life of isolation. Next enters Callie Mae, who invites Penny to church -thankfully on a day that Trent is not home. Penny turns her down but it does get her to thinking. Soon, Trent has an accident at work that leaves him terribly vulnerable -and he and Penny both know and understand that. I think this is where Penny starts to get the courage she needs to take a step. She doesn't want to leave her husband because she does love him. But she gets a job and a sense of freedom that she never had before. She also gets a sense of worth that she may have never had either.
BalasHapusI will point out that this is just one view of domestic violence. They are not all the same but many have the same mo- they act as if all is well and perfect to the outside world but tear down and destroy on the inside of their homes. Trent is very 'stereotypical' but I realize there are others that have different profiles. It was still very well done, in my opinion.
I'm not going to give much more details about the story because there are twists that would be spoilers if I mentioned them but I will say there is adultery, much violence (the author is very mild in her portrayal of this but we do get the understanding of its severity), smoking of cigarettes as well as marijuana, drinking alcohol, and lying. The main characters are Penny, Trent, Callie Mae and Fatimah (who Penny works with cleaning houses), and the more minor characters are Norma (a large portion of the story revolves around her although she is a 'minor' character), Penny's parents, Edgard (Fatimah's husband), Sarah (she is only briefly mentioned a few times; Callie Mae's deceased daughter; she was killed by her own husband), and the pastor of a church (he seems very superficial).
I found this to be a very good book. The subject matter is very difficult to read and I'm sure to write about. It really makes one think. I was drawn into the character's lives, their emotions, their hopes and fears. I could not put this down until I had read it though completely. I cannot imagine reading this book as I would just any fiction book; this has a reality to it that most do not. It also correctly points out that domestic violence is very often a cycle that has gone round for generations. It rarely starts with one individual and stops there.
I was given a complimentary copy from Tyndale Blog Network (Tyndale House Publishers) for review.
I stayed up half the night to finish Wings of Glass, because I could not put it down. Gina Holmes does a wonderful job drawing you into the story and portraying the emotions of the main character, Penny. The story is unique in that it is written in the form of a letter from Penny to her son, Manny.
BalasHapusPenny at the age of 17 runs off to elope with the summer hired hand. Like many young girls, Penny is struggling with a lack of male affection. Her father is rather strict and harsh, so she takes the first opportunity of someone offering a different path. But Penny's new husband has anger issues and takes them out on Penny both physically and emotionally. Because of an accident at work Penny's husband Trent becomes blind thus creating an opportunity for her to escape the isolation she has been forced to endure for the last seven years. After finding a job, Penny is able to make a couple of friends who urge her down a path of victory and healing. This is not only a story about abuse, but also of friendship and love.
I was so involved with Penny's story, I read the book from start to finish. You will not be disappointed by Wings of Glass.
I was given this book by bookfun.org in exchange for my honest opinion.
Swept off her feet by Trent who she thinks is her Knight in Shining Armour, Penny marries to escape a strict father and the farm life. Little does she know that she has escaped the frying pan only to jump directly into the fire.
BalasHapusAlthough this is a classic tale of an abused wife, Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes is told from the prospective of a mother telling her child the story of his mother and father. It is an unusual way to write a story, but Gina has masterfully used it in telling Penny's story.
Gina takes you on a journey into the mind of the abused (Penny) and the workings of the abuser (Trent). You learn how Trent uses isolation, verbal and physical abuse to keep Penny under his thumb. This leaves Penny with poor self esteem, has her rationalizing Trent's actions and forever trying to fix the wrong she has done.
Salvation for Penny comes by way of a welding accident her husband has which allows her to get a job to pay the bills and 2 new found friends that show her how to live life again.
Two thumbs up Gina for such an eye opening story.
For those that want to dig deeper into the book, there are several pages of thought provoking discussion questions at the end of the book.
I did receive a copy of this book from The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
This is Gina's third novel. She has previously published Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain. I have not read her other books but after reading Wings of Glass I plan on it. If they are anything like this book I will love them.
BalasHapusI'll be honest. I hesitated to read this book because I thought, I don't want to read about an abused woman. But for some reason this book kept coming back to me and I decided to give it a try.
I am so glad I did. If I didn't have to sleep I would have read this book in a couple of days. I didn't want to put it down.
The woman in this book are very endearing. Penny, the main character, frustrated me to no end. I wanted to grab her and say, "Stop giving that man chances." She returned to her abuse over and over.
Yet, after thinking about it realize I did the same for years. I didn't return to an abusive relationship but I returned to abusive thoughts and desires that nearly destroyed me and my marriage. Maybe that is why I love Penny and kept rooting for her to get it.
Like all of us, Penny gets a little help from her friends. Even after she ignores them and even hurts them they stay by her side and love her. That is what true friendship is all about, the kind of friends we all long for.
This is definitely not a light read, it deals with some very real issues, but I recommend it. It is so well written.
I think this would be a great book for book clubs. Discussion questions are in the end and if you do meals you could even have some fun with food from Africa :) You'll have to read the book to see how that comes in to play.
Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
BalasHapus