Diverging Roads
Giới thiệu về sách nói này
Diverging Roads, set sometime between 1912 and 1919, is one of Lane’s earliest published novels (1919). It is somewhat autobiographical and depicts the life of Helen Davies.
We meet Helen when she is about to graduate from high school and is in love with a fellow student, Paul. Both of their families are struggling financially. Paul must support his widowed mother; he begins work immediately—and over the course of the novel proves to be a good, hard-working man whose greatest ambition is to provide for his loved ones, Helen included.
Initially, Helen doesn’t want to work, but her family needs money. Also, she hopes that her working might hasten the day when she and Paul can marry. But Helen is naïve when she leaves for Sacramento to learn telegraphy.
This book is gently feministic—we see Helen struggle against prejudice and poverty, and also discover her own indomitable spirit. She pursues telegraphy, then real estate, and finally writing. She makes mistakes, learns from them, and eventually comes to a solid understanding of her own nature.
Lane is a wonderful storyteller. She paints vivid pictures of the world Helen encounters and the work she pursues. While touching on sensitive topics such as a woman’s role in the world, the novel is never mean-spirited. It is an uplifting tale of one woman’s journey along the many paths life presents her.
Giới thiệu tác giả
Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968) was an American writer, journalist, and political theorist, and is noted particularly for promoting Libertarian ideas. She was the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the “Little House” books. She assisted her mother in editing and promoting these books.
Martha H. Weller has long been a fan of audiobooks, both as a listener and a reader—with works on Audible and Librivox. She has a doctorate in French and also has a strong technical background in computer-based training and computer programming. Since her retirement from the University of Illinois (Urbana), she has had time to devote to her other passions as well: crafts and music.
