A Third Life

G. Owen McGinnis, M.D.          Heritage Books, 2009.


 4.0  / 5.0 

Set in the era of Laura Ingalls Wilder but maybe closer to the sentiment of Cormac McCarthy,  Gaston Owen McGinnis' novel touches the serendipity of the frontierswomen while visiting the qualm of the modern writer. The tone of A Third Life, then, falls into a most authentic and believable territory. Whether the reader believes what the characters say concerning the Civil War, slavery, Reconstruction, life, death, and God; he will believe they believe it. The descriptions of antebellum life come with archaic colloquialisms and the dialogue is written phonetically to better convey the feeling of that time.

Hardly over the gulf that has separated them since the War, John and Martha McGinnis must face a new tide of hardship in their family. When their youngest is involved in an animal attack the family is given yet another reminder of their fragile existence.

I am from this area of the country and even this region of Alabama where the novel takes place. It is a joy to read Dr. McGinnis' take on the spirituality, complexity and mystery of our ancestors--some of which abides and connects us.