The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
I have to say I can absolutely understand why.
It's a book I will never forget.
The main characters are Jody Baxter, a young boy who lived in the backwoods of Florida with his dad Penny and his mother Ory.
Jody was a lonesome boy with the exception of one friend,
Fodder-Wing Forester. They both enjoyed wildlife, but Fodder-Wing was not a healthy boy. He dies at one point in the book.
Then Jody is out hunting with his dad when his dad kills a doe,
which leaves her fawn without a mother.
Jody talks his dad into allowing him to keep the fawn.
His mother was against it from the beginning.
Her reasoning was that it would grow up and by the time it was a Yearling, it would become wild and destructive.
There's so much to be said for this book
that I barely know where to begin.
I learned much about what it was like to live in the backwoods of Florida at the time Jody was growing up.
I learned about how they survived through the winters,
how important their crops were to them,
how mean some people can be,
how kind and generous of heart others can be.
I realized the deep love that Jody had for Flag,
which was the name of his deer.
I realized the love and patience of a father towards his son.
And I also realized how hard parenting can be when you have to allow your child to grow up and learn that life isn't always about fun and games.
SO much happens between page 1 and page 509,
but it's much too precious to share more than I already have.
If you are looking for a good heartwarming and sometimes sad book,
I definitely recommend this one.
There's also a movie by the same name.
I'm looking forward to watching that.
I have not read that book! Sounds interesting and yet another book on my to-read list
ReplyDeleteIt's so good, Karen. I'm always happy to add to your "to-read" list. :)
DeleteAgree with Karen, another one for my TBR list! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy to help, my friend. xx
DeleteI don't think I ever read this. Now it needs to go on my list!
ReplyDeleteI "think" I read it in high school, but at that age, it did not have the impact on me as it did when I just read it recently. SO good!
DeleteI loved this book, and the movie with Gregory Peck. As you said, there is just so much to it. It's truly heartwarming.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, it was because of you that I had this one on my list and ordered it. Such a good book! I don't know if I could watch the movie. The actual movie with Gregory Peck was the one that I wanted to try and watch, but I had to pay for it. Apparently, there was a television series of it. Anyway, that's what I clicked on, and it was a scene where Fodder-Wing and Jody were in the woods together and then it flashed to the bear attacking Penny. I had to turn it off. I've become so sensitive to things like that when they are visual. I can read them okay, but watching is a different story.
DeleteI didn't realize there was a TV series of it. It's been a long time since I saw the film--I don't remember the bear scene. I tried looking up IMDB's parental controls to see if anything was said about a bear scene in the Gregory Peck movie, but there was nothing listed. They allow viewers to list any objectionable elements, from bad words to violence to nudity. But apparently no one ever listed anything specific for this film. Both "Violence" and "Frightening or intense scenes" were rated "mild"--but that's not too helpful as we don't know what people consider mild. I Googled, asking if there was a bear scene in the film. One response said there was between a bear and a dog. So I'm not sure. I know what you mean, though--I can't watch terribly violent scenes.
DeleteSounds interesting. Thanks for the nice review.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Bill. It's such a good book.
DeleteI think I read this book years ago but even if I did I think it may be time to reread it.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a book that I will keep in my library, GM. SO good.
DeleteSounds like a sweet albeit sad book, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, parts of it are sad, Ellen. But there's so much in it that isn't that I definitely found it worth the read. xx
DeleteThanks for the review. I've had this book in mind for years to read. I read Cross Creek by this author quite a few years ago. It's her story of where she lived in Cross Creek. You can visit her home in Florida. I often wanted to go there.
ReplyDeleteThis is the only book that I've read by this author, so thank you for telling me about Cross Creek. I've now added it to my wish list and while I was at Amazon doing that, I realized that there is also a Cross Creek Cookery book. I added that to my wish list as well.
DeleteI read it many years ago.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed it when you read it. xx
DeleteI love the cover on this book. Thank you so much for sharing this review. It sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Linda. I really enjoyed the book.
DeleteWhen I saw this post come on my reading list I could not wait to read your review! I have such fond and stirring memories of this book being read to my now 42 year old son back in the early 90's. Every evening that summer we would gather together sometimes on cooler nights with the windows opened and while the crickets sang we would" live" for an hour or so in this book. My son would beg me for just one more chapter...
ReplyDeleteYou have made me desire to revisit this novel, because It is worth a reread. Blessings!
Cathy, thank you so much for your enthusiasm towards this wonderful book. I'm so glad that it brought back such fond memories for you. It's definitely a wonderful read.
DeleteIt sounds a wonderful read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your review here today.
All the best Jan
It really was a wonderful read, Jan. You are welcome for the review, and thank you for stopping by. xx
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