Reviews for Rolling Years

The average rating for Rolling Years based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-01-24 00:00:00 Jeffrey Brezovar (From Leon Porch) The Rolling Years is the first novel by the American writer Agnes Sligh Turnbull (1888 131982) and it is set in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh. It is a family chronicle (1852 131910) of three generations of Scottish-American Presbyterians in rural Western Pennsylvania and their struggles to maintain their strict faith. The first generation is Daniel and Sarah McDowell, a farm couple. Sarah bears 12 children (of whom five survive) to her dour Calvinistic husband; her bitterness about her repeated, difficult confinements is effectively shown. The second generation is about their children, David and Jeannie. David moves to Pittsburgh where he becomes a judge. Jeannie marries a minister who has been serving as the local school teacher to earn money to complete his education. Jeannie's daughter, Constance, represents the third generation. She becomes a school teacher and struggles to find her place in a changing world. The novel dramatizes the gradual weakening of the strict Calvinism of the Scottish immigrants in an increasingly secular society.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-12-20 00:00:00 Andy Banderas I loved the historical setting, especially looking into the strict Calvinist beliefs, how they molded the lives and relationships of the characters and how they changed over the years. I enjoyed the relationships across the generations, and the family ties that proved stronger than disagreements when crisis arose. This is a gentle, easy book that makes me laugh and cry. I read this book for the first time when I was in high school and loved it. Unfortunately, I loaned it to a friend and never got it back. Every five or 10 years, I seek it out at the library and read it again...it's about time for another read, and maybe to share with my daughter now