The dreaming stones
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I must admit I really didn't take to this book, I found it quite bland and frankly found I didn't care what happened to the characters, and I couldn't even remember what their names were half way through the book!
I did like the roman woman's story though and I think the book would of been much better if it focused more on her.
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3 stories in one
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I enjoyed this book, but have given it only four stars, because I personally thought 2 of the stories were stronger and captured my imagination far more than the third. The book features the tales of 3 women from different walks of life (2 are placed in recent times; one is a Roman Matron). However, the real star of the book is meant to be the location (near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England) where the lives of all 3 characters are intertwined. The author connects the present to the past by the brief phantom appearance of the Roman matron's lurcher at the beginning and end of the book, which I felt added a poignant, atmospheric touch. I was left feeling that this could be a place where the barrier between different time zones is wafer thin, and that these 3 womens' emotions and hopes in the past and present have a sort of synchronicity and connection. I loved the story of the model girl who goes from rags to riches and becomes mistress of the house, and the absorbing tale of the Roman woman who marries a Roman soldier who's been posted here, but found the tale of the present day divorced woman, who relocates to this part of Northumberland far less interesting and rather irritating at times: I wanted to follow the other two characters' tales more keenly, I suppose. Nonetheless, despite this reservation, I would recommend this book as a thoroughly good, entertaining read, and much preferred it to the author's earlier novel "The Grass Memorial" which follows a similar format.
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One of her best
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I've read all of Sarah Harrison's books and she just keeps getting better! The Dreaming Stones is a book with a great deal of depth. The characters feel like they are a part of you and each time you put the book down it is with the pleasurable knowledge that when you return to it, you will be re-entering the lives of people you care about.
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