First published 1979
Clara Walpole grows up among Kentucky migrant farmworkers, watching violence and poverty consume her family. Her father transforms from a steady family man into a bitter itinerant laborer. Her mother's defeated life becomes Clara's warning. As a teenager, Clara meets the enigmatic Lowry, who offers her a glimpse of love and rescue from her circumstances. Later, she encounters Revere, a wealthy landowner whose money promises the security she craves. Clara navigates these relationships with fierce determination, refusing to accept the fate that trapped her mother. She bears a son, Swan, who inherits the weight of her relentless ambition. Each man in Clara's life represents a different path, but her drive for independence shapes every choice. The cost of Clara's climb from poverty becomes clear through Swan, who carries the psychological burden of being his mother's vehicle for escape.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Kentucky
Period: 20th-century
384 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Fawcett
Content warnings: violence