[ultimate_heading main_heading=”Finding The Raven by Patty Dickson Pieczka” main_heading_color=”#1e73be” sub_heading_color=”#8224e3″ spacer=”line_with_icon” spacer_position=”bottom” line_style=”dotted” line_height=”1″ line_color=”#1e73be” icon_type=”custom” icon_img=”id^48|url^http://ashvamegh.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Ashvamegh-ICO.jpg|caption^null|alt^Ashvamegh Journal Icon|title^Ashvamegh ICO|description^null” img_width=”48″ main_heading_style=”font-weight:bold;” main_heading_font_size=”desktop:34px;” line_width=”3″ margin_design_tab_text=””]around the world’s fair of st. louis to around the world of magic, love & adventure[/ultimate_heading]
Book – Finding The Raven
Author – Patty Dickson Pieczka
Publisher – Ravenswood Publishing (2016)
Page Numbers – 290
Buy the book: Amazon Link
Reviewed by – Alok Mishra
We, the enthusiasts of literature, often fall back to the words of T. S. Eliot to find the clue of what was the early 20th century like. To understand the social evolution, financial conditions, arts, science, and many other things, people get back to the texts concerning the particular query. What if I say you that there is a book which will let you enjoy a beautiful glimpse of everything possible about the early 20th century? Probably, you will not believe me! However, Finding The Raven, a book (novel) by Patty Dickson Pieczka, is a remarkably well-crafted fiction, revolving around the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904, which will surely leave you undone once you read it! There is realism in the novel; there is love & romance in the story; there are the hints of magic in the fiction; there is a mockery of the class difference that gripped the world once (perhaps we did not come out of the grip yet); simply, there are the things that make you decorate a book with an adjective like ‘class’! I am surely impressed with the storytelling of Patty and her selection of theme as well as the style of the novel’s progress.
To me, a typical Victorian model functions in the novel. However, Patty Dickson Pieczka, the experienced author, has made sure that she makes her own style and does not get influenced by any other’s. The central theme of the novel is undoubtedly the Romance between Rose and Eric along with Julia and Monroe. The story of Rose and Eric is moving one; started as an ‘ice cream parlour romance’ the love affair moves through many different situations – Rose becomes pregnant; she is made to leave the Hillman’s Mansion by her father; she spends some time as a tenant in Mrs. McKinney’s boarding house before getting married unfortunately to Herman; finally, she meets her love back and they both, Rose and Eric are happily married in the end. Well, it sounds like a simple love story with usual chaotic situations in the middle. However, let me assure you, it is not! There is another story of self-realization, getting out of the fortune, losing everything to the mighty hands of time and a confrontation with the miracle – the black crystal which guides the later half of the novel. Julia and the magic crystal of Gipsies and the metaphor Raven, these are the interesting elements of the novel and you will surely like these.
There are some humorous incidents in the novel which later seem to be a mockery of the society we live in. Everyone in this world is looking for favours, come it in any possible way. Starting from Mr. Pilmer and going to Herman, the beasts in the form of men are always there ‘raking their eyes from breasts to hips and back to breasts’ of women in the society. To the relief, there are good people also in the novel as well in the world.
The verdict is that I find Finding The Raven a book written with somewhat called a ‘class’. I have read many novels recently but it stands entirely apart from those ‘daily piles of papers’. You will surely feel it in the characterisation, the plot, the narration and also the wide wisdom of Patty, the author. Julia is the most powerful character in the novel and in the end, she takes a brave decision. You will like the tender Rose and constant Eric. You will also like the flamboyant Monroe. However, I am sure you will love Julia!
If you want to make you weekend soothing, go and grab a copy from the Amazon online store and enjoy the read – Finding the Raven might also lead you to find yours! A great work by Patty Dickson indeed!
To me, a typical Victorian model functions in the novel. However, Patty Dickson Pieczka, the experienced author, has made sure that she makes her own style and does not get influenced by any other’s. The central theme of the novel is undoubtedly the Romance between Rose and Eric along with Julia and Monroe. The story of Rose and Eric is moving one; started as an ‘ice cream parlour romance’ the love affair moves through many different situations – Rose becomes pregnant; she is made to leave the Hillman’s Mansion by her father; she spends some time as a tenant in Mrs. McKinney’s boarding house before getting married unfortunately to Herman; finally, she meets her love back and they both, Rose and Eric are happily married in the end. Well, it sounds like a simple love story with usual chaotic situations in the middle. However, let me assure you, it is not! There is another story of self-realization, getting out of the fortune, losing everything to the mighty hands of time and a confrontation with the miracle – the black crystal which guides the later half of the novel. Julia and the magic crystal of Gipsies and the metaphor Raven, these are the interesting elements of the novel and you will surely like these.