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| Plot Summary of The Songcatcher |
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Dutton, Jun 2001, 24.95, 368pp.
ISBN: 0525944885
In 1751 Islay off the Scottish coast, Malcolm McCourry is abducted and turned into a slave on board a ship heading to the New World. On the trek, he hears and learns a haunting ballad. In America, Malcolm makes the most of his fate and soon becomes a lawyer and starts a family. He hands down the ballad to his sons.
Over a couple of centuries later, country singer Lark McCourry flies from her California home to see her ailing father. When her plane crashes in the Carolina Mountains, she calls police dispatcher Ben Hawkins. However, she wastes her cell phone battery by asking for his help in finding the family song she vaguely remembers from her youth rather than for her rescue. He turns to Nora, who can help with the song, but not with finding Lark.
THE SONGCATCHER is a tremendously rich epic that sweeps across two and a half centuries. The story line is loaded with depth as readers get a deep glimpse into strong characters that cross the American generational spectrum since the birth of the nation in a combined historical and contemporary plot. Sharyn McCrumb's latest novel turns into a delightful gourmet meal for anyone who wants a deep ballad filled with humor and poignancy as reading material.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Songcatcher |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Father (or standin)
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- Father
because he/she is
- physically ill
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- musician
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Unusual Style:
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Sharyn McCrumb Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
Jan Lamers 
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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