Reviews for Angel of Tears
This heroine is a real angel, March 28, 2017
by Bob McCarthy
I’ve read Irene Smith’s book Angel of Tears twice. I read it once for the enjoyment and I read it again to figure out how she wrote such a compelling story. In my professional opinion, there are six techniques that Irene incorporates into her story that make it work from start to finish. Here they are.
Number One. The novel opens with a classic scene of the protagonist who is being forced to make a change he or she does not want. In this case, being moved from her home to live with relatives. It then follows that the question is asked by the protagonist and the reader is “When will I be able to return?” That question starts the novel’s narrative arc and the protagonist’s search for a resolution.
Number Two. That narrative arc puts our protagonist, who is the first person narrator, into a series of conflicts, some internal some external, some caused by her, some by others and some just a natural result of being a stranger in a strange land.
Number Three. What works in this novel are the characters. There are no lengthy descriptions of what a character is thinking or what their motivation is. Instead, you learn about these characters by what they say and do. And if a character that appears slimy in an early chapter actually does something real slimy in a later chapter, you are not surprised because it is, if you will, right in character. The exception, of course, is the protagonist, and we do know what she thinks and feels.
Number Four. These are the chapter transitions and the narrative foreshadowing. The transitions tease the reader to move on into the next chapter and the foreshadowing gives the reader something more to look for as the chapter develops. It helps keep the reader on his or her toes looking for that “Aha!” moment.
Number Five. Number five is pacing. To me most of the chapters in the first two-thirds of the book are about the same word count or page count. That means a reader can get into a rhythm as he or she reads knowing that within a few more pages there will be some type of ending, if not a conclusion. Couple that with the transitions and the foreshadowing and you have a work that keeps a reader moving towards the climax and denouement.
Number Six. My final point. There are some minor tragedies in this novel and some major ones. There are laughs, there are missteps and the are times when a reader wonders will the heroine – which she truly is – will ever get back to where she came from and thus answer the question that opens the novel. Let’s just put it this way, the young woman who is the protagonist in this novel does get what she deserves and it is probably more than she or we expected when we started reading it.
My conclusion? If you write prose of any type, read this book. If you like a good story, read this book.
Life Lessons, September 6, 2016
by Patricia B. Janda
Angel of Tears held my attention from page 1 until the very end. It concerns a young girl from Cleveland who goes to live with her Aunt and Uncle in Detroit in the 1940s. She enters a different kind of life. Entering Catholic School for the first time, she is shunned by other students for her unusual name, "Summer," and is made to feel like a total outcast. Her life is lonely and unhappy. The elderly albino lady next door, who also is shunned by others for being different, becomes her dear friend. There are many ups and downs to face, but Summer learns a great deal about life and what is truly important. I heartily recommend this story, as it is one you will not soon forget.
Tears of Joy and Sadness, August 31, 2016
By Judy Loose
This story of a young girl, Angel, growing up in Detroit is a rewrite of an earlier novel. There are some added details and an epilogue. I enjoyed every minute of it, especially Summer's connection with her neighbor, an old albino woman.
The author writes from the heart. She made me laugh, she made me cry.
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