The Truth According to Us: A Novel

First of all, it's worth mentioning that this novel is 610 pages while most books of this genre clock in closer to 325 pages. If you decide to read this, plan on investing a fair amount of time just due to the sheer page count.The good:Interesting subject matter. Set in the time of the Depression, it is an era that is often neglected in fiction while WWII fiction abounds. Some of the jobs programs of the time period, bootlegging, and union organization all are fertile ground for a novelist's research and imagination. Also, the main characters are well-written and multidimensional (and not always likable) and the small town social structure well addressed. The twists and turns of the major mystery were intriguing and kept me guessing through most of the narrative.The bad:While I am happy to read long, involved novels, in this case, I think the book would have been better had there been more significant editing and possible elimination of some of the characters. There are flaws here that significantly reduced my enjoyment of it:- too many characters are floating in an out, many of whom don't add much to the storyline- some of the more minor characters have similar names (Miss Betts and Miss Becks) which adds to the confusion, and because these minor roles are not fleshed-out, they ran together in my mind . I spent a fair amount of time going back and getting clear on who was who. And it wasn't always necessary but I didn't know that at the time.- while I love shifting POV, there was just too much of it here. When you throw in the letters and the daydreaming sequences, it's overwhelming without adding value.- some of the writing is repetitious to the point of annoyance. I understood that the temperature was hot the after the first three or four times it was mentioned, I didn't need the ongoing (and ongoing and ongoing) description of the heat and how much everyone was sweating, and what part of their clothing was saturated with sweat, and what activities they were engaged in to alleviate the impact of the heat, and what activities they didn't engage in since it was too hot to do so. Where was the editor ?Bottom line: Much to like about the novel such as the subject matter and intrigue. Almost painfully slow beginning is replaced by more fluid movement of the story line around the mid-point. Too many objectives by the author created a book that is massive and scattered - would have been better to break it into two books, more tightly written.

I chose to read this book because the author also co-wrote the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I adored that book. When I started this book, I was expecting more of a southern feel to the characters, with the setting being West Virginia. My home is in Kentucky, so I anticipated feeling somewhat of a familiarity with the types of people who would become part of this novel. However, I did not feel that way at all; in a sense I more so enjoyed this book because they did not fit the stereotype I had envisioned. The actual storyline was very engaging, perhaps a bit drawn out, but I enjoyed reading from the point of view of a young girl, to clearly understand what she felt , and finally in the end, to see her begin to heal from old wounds.The intent of the book, as the author states in an interview, was to give a little taste of the history of writing about historical small town American people and events, through the Federal Writing Project of the early 20th century. When a bored and spoiled US Senator's daughter comes to this tiny W Va town to undertake a written history of the place, she lodges with a local well-known, prosperous, though dysfunctional, family. Through her interviews and newly found friendships and love affairs, she unknowingly begins the uncovering of the truth of a past tragic event involving her new lover and his friend. The plot has many unexpected turns, all part of the reality of the complexities surrounding relationships - especially ones built on untruths. The book also manages to teach us that we do not always realize what we truly want, until we get what we thought we wanted.

It’s funny I never even read the description for this book I just knew I wanted to read it because I loved her Guernsey book so much, so imagine my surprise when this book was not set in Britain but in the American south, I know authors don’t write about the same place all the time but I guess I assumed the authors of Guernsey were British. I also didn’t realize the author writes the children’s series Ivy & Bean, so now that I’ve admitted to being a bad librarian I will get on with my review of this fabulous book.Layla Beck a senator’s daughter is being taught a lesson and is sent away by her father to work for the WPA, a writer’s project that is part of the New Deal, she is sent to write a history of the town of Macedonia, West Virginia. She ends up in a rooming house run by Jottie Romeyn who lives there with her nieces Willa and Bird and their divorced father Felix.Between Layla’s research for her book and Willa’s snooping no secret is safe in this small town and those secrets will affect everyone at the Romeyn boarding house and beyond. When Layla starts falling for Felix, Willa gets involved because she wants her parents to get back together and no one is good enough for her father, but is Felix as good of a man as these two think he is?The characters in this book are at times eccentric and some are sad and lonely ( Jottie) but she keeps that sadness bottled up so everyone thinks she is just fine and when you come to understand the reasons for that sadness you will wonder why she let it go on as long as she did. But, family loyalty is important to the Romeyn’s even though some members of the family are holding back important details of the night that changed their entire life it seemed like the right thing to do. Ah, but secrets have a way of wiggling to the surface and when these secrets come to light this family will never be the same.I really enjoyed this story and the characters and will read anything this author puts to paper!5 Stars

I loved this book. The characters set in a small American town are vivid and engaging, the plot and background are interesting and while the whole book is strongly reminiscent of 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' it is deliciously original. The way she unfolds and weaves the different truths understood by many people about the same facts is so clever and presented from so many different angles. Just brilliant.Annie Barrows first book (with Mary Anne Shaffer) was a gem and it is a pleasure to see that Annie Barrows is as excellent an author in her own right as she was in collaboration. I do hope she will write many more novels.

I wanted something for a quick and cheap read over a weekend, had come across this title before, so bought it for my kindle. Enjoyed it much more than I expected, particularly the Orkney part. Quite a few good ideas there about stories, brains etc. Kept me engrossed for a couple of days and was pleased that I'd bought it. Having said that, I didn't particularly engage with Alex and wasn't totally convinced by, or sympathetic to, the idea that her childhood trauma had ruined her potential for greater achievement. Just didn't warm to her somehow. It was a good bouncy read, though, which I enjoyed.

Beautifully written,with characters and description so real it was like a movie reel playing in my head.With actors borrowed from films such as 'it's a Wonderful life'.This has to be one of my favorite books to date,I read on average 3 books a month at least ,yet I can count on my hand those I remember and favour.'The Truth According to Us' is now a digit of mine.

I absolutely loved this book and just didn't want it to end, the main characters of Jottie and Willa became quite real to me and at times made me laugh out loud! The beginning was rather slow, but it crept up on me, until instead of just a chapter before bed, it was more, a terrific saga that could continue

Enjoyed parts of this, but it did drag a bit. Unfortunately I'm cursed with the inability to leave a book unfinished