[Book Review]The Harvesting, By Celia Hayes

The Harvesting: Book Three of the Adelsverrein Trilogy
By Celia Hayes

In a divergence from my usual era in historical fiction, I agreed to exchange reviews of our novels with Celia Hayes who writes about the American West. The novel she sent me is the third volume of her Adelsverein series about German immigrants in Texas. I found a great deal of enjoyment in this novel, and perhaps the highest praise I have is that I am certain to read the other two in the series -- The Gathering and The Sowing, though they take place before the action of The Harvesting, and I already know my heart will take a beating in Book Two.

The Harversting begins with the return of Peter Vining, a Confederate soldier from his recuperation from the loss of most of one arm in the Civil War. His decision to visit his cousins, two families of German immigrants, draws the reader into the central story of the fortunes of these strong and individualistic people. The families are led by the redoubtable Magda Becker and her children and her agoraphobic sister, Liesl Richter with her bluff husband Hansi and their children, all living with a wise and witty old father thanks to being unable to return to their own homes since the war. The novel follows the combined and later separate families through the kidnapping of two of the Richter's young children by Commanches, the return of the Becker property which was taken and Magda's husband murdered for being unwilling to support the Confederacy. The family prospers with a freight hauling business, small mercantile shops, cattle drives, and land. The Richter daughter is rescued and returned to her parents, while the son who was also taken stays psychically if not phsically with his Indian family. Much of the novel is taken up with the doings of the extended families and adjustment to having gone from rags to riches.

What I liked most about this novel was its characters, distinct, well drawn, and appealing. I also appreciated the education about the history of the Germans in Texas. I look forward to learning far more in the two earlier books, the first about the families' emigration from Germany in the 1840s, and the second at least in part about how the War Between the States tore them apart.

There were a few flaws. I found the book almost humorously repetitive at times, such as when Peter feels as if he could reach up and grab a star while on the cattle drive, only to do this almost word for word again just paragraphs away. This happens in probably a couple dozen places in the book, one incident described in its details not that long after the first time. I don't know if the author thinks her readers have poor memories. The other issue I had with the book is the framing of the story within a scene of Magda and her daughter Lotte reminiscing in 1918. Hayes told me she did this on purpose as a lead into a further volume in the series, but I found the short framing scenes distracting and rather illogical, since the two women appear to be able to remember what happened to other people when they were not even around. The opening sequence is entirely about Peter, for example, and neither woman came along for the cattle drive. Minor issues included occasional pronoun antecedent confusion and some grammatical error -- in the narrative, not dialogue.

It's a great story. Sweeping in scope, Hayes does a very good job with illustrating the divers gathering of cultures in the new world. I really cared about the characters and got teary at least twice. I think Hayes has a great insight into family relationships. I have to thank her for one of those handy little reminders of how much loved ones mean to me.

Finally, my hat is off to Hayes for being skilled with keeping a volume readable though part of a series. If you pick up this one first, you will not have been left out of a seeming secret... she fills you in well and properly but lets the current story stand on its own.