The End of Always, Randi Davenport
The End of Always, Randi Davenport
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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The End of Always
A Novel

Author: Randi Davenport

Narrator: Noelle Kayser

Unabridged: 9 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/06/2014


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by K. on June 09, 2014

Marie Reehs Bathke - the narrator of this novel - has been whispering in my ear for two days now, ever since finishing this book. I can't get her out of my head - her story, her heartbreak, her determination, her ultimate triumph. Hers is the voice of powerless women everywhere, and it offers courag......more

Goodreads review by MaryannC Victorian Dreamer on May 27, 2014

This was a somber, beautifully written, almost poetic novel. Mary lives in a time when husbands and fathers ruled the household with an iron hand and they were not to be questioned otherwise the consequences were usually physical. One day Mary's mother dies under mysterious circumstances and this se......more

Goodreads review by Suzanne on July 22, 2014

The story was moving however there were times in the book that the character reflects back on special stories and it seems to overpower the initial plot.......more

Goodreads review by Kelsey on December 12, 2015

Finally, Wisconsin is on the map. This was a unique and look at the cycle of abuse and how difficult it can be to escape it. This is based on actual events and tells the story of a young woman struggling to escape the violent men of her life in the early days of Wisconsin. I love that someone finall......more

Goodreads review by Georgiana on June 03, 2014

Just couldn't get into this one, so gave up on it.......more