One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow: A Novel Kindle Edition

Loved the book, mostly listened on Audible as seemed to enrich the experience. Felt like I was right there with these two families, 20 miles from nearest town with only each other to lean on. One of the women is used to silence, the other much more society (parties, church attendance). One begins to talk to the other's husband with predictable results. The book is also about how we don't listen to each other within a marriage. After marriage, her husband moved her without her agreement to ranch. When she begged to go to town with him, he declined. He kept her completely isolated. She is miserable, her misery increased by the fact the rest of family likes it there. By end of book, her issue is resolved in the most unlikely method.

I love words. A well written sentence is like opium to me. I'll reread it over and over savoring each perfect syllable. It took me days to get thru this book because their were whole passages that gobsmacked my senses that required further review.I won't bother describing plot points - there are plenty of reviews already. All I can say is that this author seems wise beyond her years. Her grasp of the interconnectedness of all life is other worldly. I want to know her.

I absolutely loved this beautifully written book which takes place on the lonesome prairie in Eastern Wyoming under the Bighorn Mountains. The solitude, vastness and loneliness are pervasive. I loved the mountains, river, plants, grasses, flowers, sheep, horses, chickens, coyotes . . . Ernest kills Substance, Ernest is in jail, Cora is Ernest’s wife, Nettie Mae is Substance’s widow, Clyde is Substance’s son, Beulah is Ernest’s intuitive and wise daughter. At first, I had a hard time getting used to the story format: Beulah begins each of the 13 chapters, written in first person voice, shown in italics. Then, Cora, Nettie Mae and Clyde express their version of whatever event was taking place at that time. Each person is very pensive, contemplative, and struggling not only with the hard life on the prairie but their relationships with each other. These four main characters grow and evolve in their own ways. Decisions are hard to come by and much of the book is their mental struggle learning to cope. Their pasts haunt them. Their futures are unknown. Death is the prominent theme but not in a morbid or depressing way – more as a part of nature and the circle of life, but not discounting its impact on the family. Very different, very impressionable. I’ll definitely be re-reading this one!

One for the Blackbird, One for them is Crow and Five (stars) for Olivia Hawker!This author wraps you in her worlds and keeps you cozily cocooned there from her first word until the last.Do yourself a favor and read everything she writes.

All about the cycle of life and man's fragility with nature and one another. A very descriptive story about early settlers. The author has quite a way with words but I felt, at times, his detailed descriptiin of everything around occuring in the lives of the characters was a little too much. Repetition still appeared no matter how many different words were used. It, at times, was a distraction from the story.

I found myself really slowing down my reading. The poetic, descriptive flow left me smelling smells and hearing sounds and feeling heat and cold and pain and mystery. Many readers will not take to some of the mysterious content, perhaps. But this is worthy of reading for the melodious style if for no other reason.

A story of forgiveness, and overcoming the worst kind of pain. I.thoroughly enjoyed this.story.I highly recommend it. The three women in this book are the best kind of heroines

Love the whole story and the descriptive writing. Makes you feel like you're there with them in all their lives.

I tell you right now – I have read a considerable amount of booksin my 74 years.But this one absolutely left me gurgling with admiration.This book took me to a place that no other book ever came close to.This book left me stunned with disbelief, as page after page of themost beautiful prose, description after description wrapped in wordsthat defied poetry itself, left me in a state of utter dissatisfactionwhen I had to put the book down.The beauty of the words, introducing us to two farmhouses In 1876Wyoming, simply wrapped this tale in magical cotton-wool, and Ifelt privileged to go along with the ride.The story you could possibly write on the back of a postcard, but thatis to deny the true worth of this glory ride: the reader lives each momentfrom the aspect of the three main characters, and we are hit with all theemotions that each of them go through; life and death is explored tenderlyand the past, future and present are pathways opened up by this extraordinaryauthor.If you’re looking for action-packed adventure – forget it.If you’re looking for an eye-opening glance at our world, and the meaningsthat sprout from a simple tale such as this – go get it!

My first review after having read a lot of ripping yarns and some reasonably well written ones too. But this is what I have been looking for – superb writing. A book of substance. I have to focus on the American (USA) aspect in this novel as there are so many echoes of other great US writers – and this book is all the better for it. If you like Steinbeck, Conroy, McCarthy, Faulkner perhaps, then you may well enjoy Blackbird and Hawker’s prose. The character of the people, the character of the landscape and the character of the animals, flora and fauna is superbly observed. I felt I was there as a real time observer of events. It is a hard read in places yet full of the resilience of the human spirit. A novel you are likely to remember. A masterpiece.

I very rarely pay for fiction by authors I haven’t read before but when I saw this book on the Kindle bestsellers list a few weeks ago I made an exception after reading a short excerpt. Making an exception was most definitely worth it as this novel is exceptionally well written. I find it hard to imagine that I’ll read equal or better fiction this year. Olivia Hawker’s feel for and ability with language is outstanding and I could have enjoyed reading the book for that reason alone. The author really is a true natural talent when it comes to putting words on a page, and the beauty of her prose blew me away. If she doesn’t start winning literary awards before too long, there must be something wrong with the system.However, it wasn’t just the gorgeous writing that I enjoyed, but the story itself pulled me in. It is told from the points of view of the four main characters, and Ms Hawker uses each successive chapter to build the plot as well as to show us each character’s take and attitude to the events. It is quite a slow-moving book, but I really didn’t want it to end. The subject and the way that the author handles some aspects in particular are quite unique. I can truthfully say that although I have read books which take place in similar settings, I have never read anything like this before. On top of all that, when I reached the end, I discovered that the novel is loosely based on some of the author’s ancestors which give an added twist. With beautiful writing, interesting characters, and an unusual story this book was bound to be a winner in my opinion. My only disappointment is that, so far, Olivia Hawker has only written one other book. I imagine that we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the future though.

This book was beautifully written, I enjoyed it very much, but for me it went on for about 100 pages too many, there were constant repeats of where the characters were and what they were doing, which after a while just seemed to be padding the book out, and I became bored at times with the over flowery descriptions, which I just skipped, which is something I hate to do, but I would read the author again, the subject matter was very original and I learned a lot of interesting facts about prairie life, should I ever want to take it up!

What an unusual story. I thought i wouldn't enjoy it at all . How wrong could i be, i loved it. So different and unusual but interesting, sad, beautiful and so well written. You dont just read it, you live it. i wish there were more books like this on. Thank you olivia hawker.