Reviews for Delilah of Sunhats and Swans

The average rating for Delilah of Sunhats and Swans based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-06-25 00:00:00 Finn Senturia 3.5 Stars Delilah! After reading this book, my heart will be warmed through and through with contentment and inner peace whenever I hear that name. This book feels really, really good! Delilah, only eighteen years old, has endured the violence and trauma of a troubled home. After pouring over maps at the library, sizing up and sounding out the names of the cities and towns dotting the colored lines designating highways and by-ways, Delilah buys a bus pass valid for six months from the date of purchase and travels around the country, to leave her life and find another one. When she stumbles off the bus into the quick mart in the tiny New England town of Macaenas, it seems as if people have been expecting her, saving a place for her in the town, in their lives. She decides to stay! Delilah has a very special way about her that resonates with everyone in town; especially those who have suffered as she did at the hands of people she thought should love her. Delilah! She feels like everything and nothing at the same time. She is playful and serious, kind and compassionate but full of hurt. At times Delilah feels like the mystical wisp of an ethereal spirit and at other times a simple, pragmatic eighteen year old woman far too insightful and sage for her young age. At times I was convinced Delilah was some kind of supernatural apparition and at other times I felt the intense pain for her very mortal flesh and bones. Feelings of profound compassion and comfort, a longing for a more nostalgic, simpler time where love endured all calamities, sprinkled with an odd mixture of mysticism and realism for me were hallmarks of this very simple but prophetic tale of love for life and all it has to offer. The story is simple but extraordinary, pulling at heart strings I thought dormant long ago. This would make a perfect summer read!

Review # 2 was written on 2016-07-16 00:00:00 Matthew Bufis A damaged teenaged girl arrives in a small New England town where her ethereal smile and sunny attitude have an effect on those community members who feel instantly drawn to her and protective of her, aware that there are dark secrets and shadows hidden within the girl. Delilah is adopted by the community. There is also a damaged young man living in the town that Delilah instantly recognizes as someone with his own dark past, a kindred spirit. There are beautiful, lyrical passages in this novel, and Volker uses lovely quotes from authors and poets that resonate with the themes of the book. I especially liked the swans. It's a heart-warming, heart-wrenching little novel that made me laugh and made me cry.