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Customer Reviews for Abingdon Press The Fence My Father Built
Abingdon Press The Fence My Father Built
When legally separated Muri Pond, a librarian, hauls her kids, teenager Nova and eleven year-old Truman, out to the tiny town of Murkee, Oregon, where her father, Joe Pond lived and died, she's confronted by a neighbor's harassment over water rights and Joe's legacy: a fence made from old oven doors.
The fence and accompanying house trailer horrify rebellious Nova, who runs away to the drug-infested streets of Seattle. Muri searches for her daughter and for something to believe in, all the while trying to save her inheritance from the conniving neighbor who calls her dad Chief Joseph. Along with Joe's sister, Aunt Lutie, and the Red Rock Tabernacle Ladies, Muri must rediscover the faith her alcoholic dad never abandoned in order to reclaim her own spiritual path.
Average Customer Rating:
(9 Reviews) 9
Rating Snapshot (9 reviews)
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1 out of 250%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for The Fence My Father Built
Review 1 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Boring
Date:February 9, 2013
Quality:
1
out of
5
Value:
1
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
1
out of
5
The story never took off. Boring characters. Jim, the pig had more life to him than these characters. The author was repetitive. I only got to chapter 11 and the author still hadn't got to the story just kept repeating the same thing over and over. Poor editing as well. A lot of discrepancies. After reading the word on page 84 I'm surprised CBD is selling this book.
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Review 2 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Finding Your Way Home
Date:June 6, 2011
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
Muri Pond is in the midst of a divorce from Chaz when she receives word of her father, Joseph Pond’s, death and the issues surrounding her inherited property. The land she inherited consisted of a dilapidated trailer where her Aunt Lutie and Uncle Tiny live, where they cared for Joseph until he died, as well as a creek and the legal problems surrounding the creek (‘liquid gold’). She arrived with all belongings and her two children, Nova, 15, and Truman (Tru), 11. Attitudes clashed between mother and daughter the whole way out there and beyond!
Lincoln Jackson (Linc) owns everything in and around Murkee except Joseph Pond’s land and creek and Rubin Jonto’s land, which Linc is pressuring to acquire. Everyone has acquiesced to Linc except Rubin and Joseph, and he now expects Muri to fold. But she is her father’s daughter!
Because of his drunkenness, Joseph had lost communication with Muri shortly after she turned three, when his wife left him and remarried. Linda’s book, The Fence My Father Built, is the tender story of the struggling issues Muri has regarding her dad and finding his heart for her after so many years apart, the first through years of love for him and then eventual hatred. You go through the throes of love, anger, loss, rejection, and loneliness that a child, now an adult, has to reconcile with, along with the legal issues about the ranch thrown in. The story is told through the voice and heart of Muri, along with the voice and heart of her father through his journal. Definitely touches your heart.
The struggles of the ranchers that need the ‘liquid gold,’ the greed of one man who threatens to take that land through legal means, which appears to go beyond just the title to the creek, are aptly described for this dry, dusty country. The tension and animosity are palpable between the characters. However, Linda tosses in a sweet romance to take the edge off the ugly issues brewing.
I loved the story for the rich history of the land, the personal reconciliation that Muri needed to work through, the touching story of the love of a father for his daughter, and the faith and truth that binds it all together. The ‘Fence” adds a delightful touch of character to the story. ‘Finding your way home’ has a double meaning that everyone needs to find.
This book was provided by Linda S. Clare in exchange for my honest review. No monetary compensation was exchanged.
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Review 3 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:June 28, 2010
Mary Hake
The men in Muris life have let her down. Her fathers battle with alcohol ripped him from her life when she was three. He art-loving husband has now sent her packing with their teen daughter, Nova, and young son, Truman. They end up at her deceased fathers place in the deserted desert of remote Central Oregon. There she meets another man who adds misery to her life, Linc Jackson, a troublesome neighbor who owns most of the local town. Muri has left her familar city life, where she worked as a school librarian, in search of the father she never knew. They move in with her Aunt Lutie and Uncle Tiny in the ramshackle trailer where her dad once lived, behind a fence built he built from oven doors. Muri discovers her roots in her Native American heritage and its ties to the land. Ancient artifacts play a role in the story, both physically and symbolically. Theres enough suspense to make me wonder if the obvious man is not the thief.The intricacies of relationships are explored throughout the storyparent and child, from both perspectives; sibling; friends; enemies; professional; and, of course, romantic ones too. Muri deals with multiple issues, working through her inner struggles while facing all the problems life throws at her. Readers can identify with her trials and cheer her on to come out on top. As she says, shes constructing a new life. How many of us have to or wish to?I have lived in Central Oregon, so appreciated the setting. Especially in the early part of the book I found some fine-tuned twists of phrasing that added to the enjoyment. Lindas way with words should lead her to further literary success.
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Review 4 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:June 26, 2010
The Fence My Father Built was an interesting look into a different lifestyle and culture pertaining to water rights, land ownership and Native American burial grounds. It read like a woman's fiction novel, which was probably the author's intent. The author also used pretty creative descriptions at times, almost giving the story a bit of a literary feel. Nicely written.I enjoyed the parts of the story where Muri read the journal that her father had written in before he died. I also loved the whole situation with the artifacts and Muri trying to show that Linc was a scoundrel who didn't care about his neighbors at all. It almost made me feel like I was watching a movie or an old TV show where the current episode dealt with a confrontation between the good guy and the bad guy in a hick town with a hick lawyer and jaded citizens who were afraid of the crook, Linc.Since I love romance, I would have liked to have seen more happening between Muri and Rubin, her neighbor who was also the local veterinarian. There was so much untapped potential there. Muri's friendship with Rubin could have helped her to heal from the sense of betrayal and unworthiness she received from her ex-husband who dumped her. Maybe this will be addressed in another book?The characters were all quirky and different, as was the setting in general. If you love reading about dysfunctional families this one will speak to your heart.I didn't get Muri's excessive outrage, but I did appreciate her heart for wishing she had known her father before he passed away. I also appreciated how this story showed that her father loved Jesus even though he couldn't kick the alcohol. In the end, I loved that Muri did feel like she had some peace inside once she had fully connected with the father she didn't really know or remember. That was poignant.
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Review 5 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:April 27, 2010
Author Linda S. Clare has published her first novel--and it's a doozy! One of the best debut novels I've ever read, The Fence My Father Built captured my heart on page one and refused to let go. Clare's writing style is warm and witty and real, and the story is both quirky and poignant. And oh, the memories and feelings it dredges up along the way! This is a book you don't want to miss. I, for one, intend to watch for more from this talented author.
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Review 6 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:December 3, 2009
Sherrie Ashcraft
Take a father who longs to be part of his daughters life, a broken marriage between an interracial couple, and a young girl who grows up knowing a part of her life is missing. Add a legacy of alcoholism and addiction that follows the girl into adulthood, and her need to know the side of the family she was never around. Mix in a rebellious teenage girl, potbellied pigs, an intriguing male neighbor, and a fence line built of oven doors, and you have The Fence My Father Built.Set mostly in the open range of Central Oregon, Ms. Clares novel follows the story of Muri Pond, who has been called to settle some family business left behind when her father dies. A feud existed between her dad and Linc Jackson, the man who "owns" the town, with the ownership of land and a creek in question. Its up to Muri to find the cause of the disagreement and try to right it. In the process, she discovers much about her own background and faith, and why its so important.Ms. Clare draws from her own experience of discovering her Native American heritage. She brings to life eccentric characters whose lives present an interesting change from the norm. She did a great job capturing the ongoing clash between Muri and her teenage daughter. (Im thinking the voice of experience here!) Ms. Clare deals with cultural relationships that are seldom explored in books, leading to thought-provoking moments for the reader.The Fence My Father Built is a well-written novel that will leave you waiting impatiently for Ms. Clares next book. I gladly give it four stars.
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Review 7 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:October 27, 2009
Linda Clare pens a heart warming and sensitive story about a woman, Muri Pond, whose whole world has been turned upside down with her pending divorce. An Aunt she hardly knows seeks her out for help; help in keeping the property that belonged to her fatherthe father she never remembered meeting. She had hopes of meeting him someday but learns from her Aunt, her father is dead.Muri brings her two teenage children to stay with her Aunt while she tries to understand the lawsuit against her fathers property for water rights. When they get to the Central Oregon high desert property; they soon discover that her Aunt lives in a trailer in the middle of nowhere, Muri wonders if she's done the right thing. There's no Super Wal-Mart, or any other modern convenience near by. Reality hits. What has she done?Life, as Muri and her children have known it, is over. Fighting this legal battle might take longer than Muri thinks. Her oldest child, Nova, gives her mother a really bad time (the way only teenagers can) about taking them away from her friends and the world they left behind. Nova couldn't get out of this desert trap fast enough.Muri discovers things about herself, her father and the beautiful nature around her that are surprising. In the author notes Linda reveals shes had a similar journey in life where she was seeking to learn about her father and her Native American roots. I really enjoyed how Linda told this story though the eyes of Muri with all her struggles, feelings and wonder. I received a review copy of this book and I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author.
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Review 8 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:October 22, 2009
The Fence My Father Built by Linda S. Clare is a poignant novel about finding where you belong. Muri Pond is taking her two children, Nova and Tru, home to her father's home in the desert area of Oregon after the loss of her job and the end of her marriage. She grew up never knowing Joseph Pond, but after his death, she finds she has nowhere else to go, so going to his home makes sense. Until she finds out that his home is a trailer with a group of cobbled together additions and is occupied by her quirky aunt and uncle and their potbellied pigs. That's only the beginning of Muri's trouble, however. Joseph left a fight over water rights with the town's best-loved citizen in which Muri quickly finds herself trapped in as well, plus Nova has no intention of living in the middle of nowhere. Clare puts Muri in the middle of an impossible situation and every turn of the page only seems to turn up the heat. Her writing is powerful and deeply human. I hope she writes more fiction soon!
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Review 9 for The Fence My Father Built
Overall Rating:
Date:October 22, 2009
There are a lot of stories out there to be told, and there are a lot of storytellers for that matter. There are some stories I like, some a lot. There are some stories I dont care for as much. And then, sometimes there is a story that reaches me on a deeper, more personal level. The Fence My Father Built is one of those stories. There was a lot about this book that I was able to relate to. I grew up with an alcoholic father, who now has liver disease (I should note that he has been clean for several years and the liver disease is actually caused by Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam). Muri spent most of her life not knowing her dad or her Heavenly Father. After her dad dies, she returns to his home to find the special gift of her fathers legacy.The Fence My Father Built is written with such tenderness that touched me deeply. The fence built from old oven doors was the beacon that led Muri to find her home and to find what she had been missing all her life. I loved the journal entries that Joseph wrote to his daughter. The faith he shared with her despite his pain was so moving. It was as if he knew Muri would need to hear those words. This book has given me a new appreciation for my earthly father, who is very special to me, and to my Heavenly Father, who I have only come to know in the last few years.Whether you can relate to this book the same way I did or not, it is still an excellent book with delightful characters and realistic family dynamics. The Native American history was very interesting as well. This book will appeal to many different types of readers because it has a little bit of everything. This is not a book to just be read though. It is a book to be absorbed and savored.
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