The End of Always

A Novel

By: Randi Davenport

Narrated by: Noelle Kayser

A stunning debut novel, The End of Always tells the story of one young woman's struggle to rise above a vicious family legacy and take charge of her own life.

In 1907 Wisconsin, seventeen-year-old Marie Reehs is determined: she will not marry a violent man, as did her mother and grandmother before her. Day after day, Marie toils at the local laundry, watched by an older man who wants to claim her for his own. Night after night, she is haunted by the memory of her mother, who died in a mysterious accident to which her father was the only witness. She longs for an independent life, but her older sister wants nothing more than to maintain the family as it was, with its cruel rules and punishments. Her younger sister is too young to understand.

At first, it seems that Marie's passionate love affair with a charismatic young man will lead her to freedom. But she soon realizes that she too may have inherited the Reehs women's dark family curse.

Set in the lush woods and small towns of turn-of-the-century Wisconsin, and inspired by real events in the author's family history, The End of Always is a transcendent story of one woman's desperate efforts to escape a brutal heritage. Both enthralling and deeply lyrical, Randi Davenport's novel is also an intensely affecting testament to the power of determination and hope, and a gripping reminder of our nation's long love affair with violence.

my forced review...

This book was ok. ..nothing memorable but it passed the time. Marie was a well developed character that I had sympathy for...and I liked her...

Not my favorite

Would you try another book from Randi Davenport and/or Noelle Kayser?

Probably not for a little while.

What three words best describe Noelle Kayser’s voice?

Kayser has a childlike voice; very appropriate for the character.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This story didn't make me feel anything. It is slow-moving and fairly anti-climactic.

The End Of Always

I cannot take anymore of this story. It is going NOWHERE. The narrator is fine, but the story is pointless.