Immortal Wife

It was an age of discovery. The west was completely uncharted and it seemed to call every young and adventurous soul to it. The America we know today was non - existent; only the shell of our borders could be seen. The government in Washington was just beginning, trying to find a way to continue after the deaths of its founders. The west called. What was beyond the wilderness? Where did the land end and meet the sea, and who would pull America's borders further than before? Such is the story contained in the pages of Irving Stone's book Immortal Wife. 

John and Jessie Fremont have been almost lost to history; true, they lived, but their story has been forgotten among the others stories of their time. Tales of great men and war heroes who shaped a nation. John and Jessie fell in love when they were young; they hardly knew what love was but they were determined to stay together no matter what joys, triumphs, pain or sadness they faced; they could not have imagined how hard their determination would be tested. The goal of a marriage is to help and sustain each other in your ambitions, thought Jessie, but what if the ambitions you aspire to pull your love apart?

I did not enjoy this book; this is unusual because I usually love Irving Stone's writing. But this one left a sour taste in my mouth. Perhaps it was the sheer length of the book - it has seven sections, each with at least nine chapters - or maybe it was the characters, who seemed demanding and needy. They didn't seem like people I would want to actually meet. The goal of good writing is to create or portray characters who pull you into the story and have you hanging on their every word; unfortunately, this book failed to do such and actually had me hoping for the end of each chapter. Not the best book I've ever read, I'ed give it a three out of ten.

*****
RJ