Review
Fifty-three BookBrowse members reviewed this book, with forty-seven rating it 4 or 5 out of 5 stars – one of our highest First Impressions ratings to date. This is what they say…
Sweeping Up Glass definitely 'swept me up' from the very first page (Linda G). Set in 1938 rural Kentucky, the novel is narrated by Olivia Cross, a woman of strong character and a life full of hard work and incredible loss. As the story goes back in time, we learn more about Olivia and the people that inhabit this small community during the coldest winter on record (Beth P). The book presents a true picture of life in the south during the Depression, but it's more than just a picture of the South. It's a mystery and a deep look into Olivia's life and thoughts. It isn't a page turner like many mysteries - instead it offers a slow immersion into Olivia's thoughts and daily...
Beyond the Book
Carolyn Wall describes Sweeping Up Glass as "fifty percent truth, and fifty percent based on fact. The other fifty percent (which speaks of my math skills) is flat made-up."
When I was born, we lived over a grocery store in Toronto. My father built crates in an alley for Canada Box, and sold meat pies from the basket of his bicycle. With my mother gone off to a small private hospital for shock treatments, we moved into rooms at the top of Gramma’s house. On Sunday evenings, Dad dismantled my crib, roped it to the top of the car, and threw all the baby things in back. Then he laid me on the seat beside him and drove around Toronto, looking for an aunt and uncle to take me. In a relative’s house, he’d set up my crib and kiss me good-bye....
