- Paperback: 624 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (1 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060529342
- ISBN-13: 978-0060529345
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.5 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 930,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Strong-willed, self-reliant Gertie Nevel's peaceful life in the Kentucky hills was devastated by the brutal winds of change. Uprooted form their backwoods home, she and her family were thrust into the confusion and chaos of wartime Detroit. And in a pitiless world of unendurable poverty, Gertie would battle fiercely and relentlessly to protect those things she held most precious--her children, her heritage...and her triumphant ability to create beauty in the suffocating shadow of ugliness and despair.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Dock's shoes on the rocks up the hill and his heavy breathing had shut out all sound so that it seemed a long while she had heard nothing, and Amos lay too still, not clawing at the blanket as when they had started. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Dock's shoes on the rocks up the hill and his heavy breathing had shut out all sound so that it seemed a long while she had heard nothing, and Amos lay too still, not clawing at the blanket as when they had started. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Dollmaker was a beautifully written book. Once I started to read it I could not put it down. It is about the life of a woman during World War II, who under certain circumstances regarding her husband, is obliged to move her family from Kentucky to Detroit. The change that Gertie, the mother, is forced to undergo and adapt to is evident through the course of the novel. Arnow opens our eyes to life during this period for many people like Gertie. People, with "big" dreams, go to work in war factories that over work them and place them in dangerous conditions. Because money made is necessary for payments, food, or other foolish neccessities, families are forced to live each day as it comes. This view of society during this period was new to me. I had never realized the adjustments, cultural shocks, and advantages people could take of others during this time, or during a war. Arnow tells the events that take place in Gertie's life so well. The images she creates our realistic. She doesn't try to make a romance or happy-go-lucky ending out of the book. She tells about Gertie's sufferings as they are. Her book is more like a historical documentary, except we get to experience, emotionally, what the characters do. Some would argue that this book is too depressing, but Arnow wanted us to realize that life can be like this some times. There is no cruelness or situation that occurs to Gertie or others in this book that we don't see in our own lives or could empathize with. I felt emotionally and mentally as drawn to this book as I did to The Grapes of Wrath. I saw the same spirit of human survival and courage in both books. The Dollmaker gives an inside look into what changes in surroundings can do to a family. Just as in The Grapes of Wrath, we see the gradual deterioation in the family structure. This was sad, but truthful. You have to read this novel to understand or feel what I mean in describing it. If your realistic and perceptive, you'll enjoy this novel. It will be mind boggling at times. I recommend you have a box of tissues at your side before beginning. In any case, after reading The Dollmaker you'll certainly be more open minded and sympathtic towards others' sufferings and realize that you and I have it easy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A woman whose whole world becomes destroyed by the coldness of her loved ones is the story of Gertie, a strong and intelligent woman of the South. Coming from Kentucky to an industrial Detroit was the turning point in the life of Gertie and her numerous family members, but what saved her from total despair was her art. Her art, what she believed to be a time waster, was in reality, the most attractive external aspect of this maschuline woman. Gertie is the living comparison of the way of life in the South and the life in Detroit at the time. She always points out the good and bad in both areas, yet without being cruel with the critisism, because Gertie is a very open minded person, even with people who do not accept her for what she represents. A touching story about survival in a difficult situation, The Dollmaker is also about final sacrifice.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This novel is a great novel for not just women, but men as well. In the book, the main character is Gertie, who has problems with decision making. She is looking out for the best interests in her family. With her unselfish ways, she tries to do her best. This takes place during World War II, in the United States. During that time, people had to help in the war. Her husband was chosen to help out in Detroit, which is the beginning point of her problems. Since she is from the south, she experiences a whole new world up north, and at the same time deals with her problems in the family. Gertie, is probably one of the strongest woman characters that I have read. By reading this novel, you'll be able to experience the adventure and drama that Gertie goes through, it will touch your heart.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A painful, shattering tragedy, beautifully written
This is a haunting story. In it, a unique woman with clear and powerful dreams and goals, betrays her self by listening to the advice of the average folk who surround her. Read more
Published on 28 May 1999
Arnow is sensational!
The Dollmaker is a terrific story of love and the tragedy of love. Gertie and her family are forced to move to wartime Detroit from their home in rural Kentucky. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 1999
Touching story of a woman in an ignoring and unmoral society
A woman whose whole world becomes destroyed by the coldness of her loved ones is the story of Gertie, a strong and intelligent woman of the South. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 1999
An extraordinary look at Appalacian and women's issues
The central character in The Dollmaker is Gertie - a strong Appalacian woman during WWII. Forced by economic conditions and pressured by her husband and family, she leaves the... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 1998
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