Tales from the Town of Widows

The first book both begun and completed this year was an ARC from HarperCollins--Tales from the Town of Widows & Chronicles of the Land of Men by James Canon. Here's what I thought of it:

Following the women of Mariquita rebuild their lives after the male population of the village was forcibly recruited into a Guerilla army was fascinating. Mr. Cannon’s choice to alternate the women’s stories with vignettes from the world the men found themselves trapped in was brilliant. The men’s and women’s stories interweave to offer a poignant tale of what each lost and what each found as a consequence of that fateful day when the men disappeared. The men and boys lost their innocence, their secure existence, their families and found fear, dismemberment, and death. The women lost all the same things yet, in stark contrast, found acceptance, love, equality, and self-worth as they struggled to create new lives for themselves. The final resolution of the one obstacle the women were unable to overcome was very satisfying. I highly enjoyed Mr. Canon's first novel and look forward to his next work.