Search - Songs in Ordinary Time

Be warned this book is long and contains nearly as many characters as a Dickens novel. I felt let down and extremely disappointed with this book - it was almost as if Morris had given up trying to move the plot along around page 600. There was so much potential in each one of the multiple storylines, but nothing, to me, panned out. A few things still stick with me, most notably the gentleman making crude phone calls and the woman who spoke to him. Not really recommended unless you like stopping books part-way through.

A fascinating story about a poor and lonely woman who tried to raise 3 kids with an alcoholic husband. It described her pain and frustration very realistically living in a small town... The plot was amazing, taking the reader through a forbidden romance and a crime as well as other family mishaps. McGarry Morris painted an overall sense of urgency and hopelessness that made you feel sorry for the characters. I was easily pulled into the plot and I had trouble putting it down until I got to the end!

I loved this book. In the beginning I felt a little overwhelmed with
the number of characters being introduced so quickly. I thought I would never be able to keep them straight. I was completely wrong the author has a wonderful way of including the reader in her story. I could not wait to get home from work to read this book. I liked it so much I even considered caling out of work so I can finish it. A great read

I bit hard for me to read but was worth it in the end

I enjoyed this book. Well written, with fleshed out characterizations of the fictional people and great conflict, which makes you wonder what will happen next throughout the book.

This novel tells the story of the down-and-out Fermoyle faily. Living in Vermont in the 1960s, Marie Fermoyle and her three children live in poverty and desperation, for more money, more security, and more affection. Marie Fermoyle, a hardened cynic, is so desperate for all of the above that she falls victim to the wiles of a con man. The Fermoyle children are blatantly aware that their mother is being fleeced, but the emotional distance of all the family members makes it difficult for any of them to communicate or to trust one another. As Marie falls deeper under her now-boyfriend's spell it is the Fermoyle children who feel this lack of communication most acutely. The most difficult character in this book is Marie Fermoyle: cold, cynical, and emotionally abusive towards her children, Marie is clearly a woman who has been deeply wounded and is now striking back, albeit at the wrong people. In this book Morris has crafted a deeply complex narrative with fantastic chracter development. Truly, she has created a whole world in this Vermont town. The characters' lives are richly interwoven with one another, and actions by one reverberate to affect the whole. This is a deeply moving and engaging novel.