“Prayers for Sale”
August 23, 2010 by jhynes
Hurrah for this Colorado author! “Prayers for Sale” by Sandra Dallas is sweet, rugged, and cozy.
Dallas takes us to a mining town in the Colorado Rockies. She wraps us around two lives, one old and one new, just like the quilts they make during the story. We learn about what life was like right after the Civil War for people who were looking for their fortune in mining.
Just like you would expect, life was rough for these men and women. Through a series of short-story flashbacks, Hennie (our mining town patron) gives us some insight as to why people are the way they are and every once in awhile, she reveals the town secrets and dirty laundry, including some of her own.
Female bonding is a must in this mountain town, and Dallas doesn’t disappoint with plenty of characters that come together to quilt, eat, and share stories. Regardless of a woman’s background, it seems all the ill will would disappear with their stitching.
Maybe I read this book too quickly to see the ending coming, but you’d think it would have been obvious. It wasn’t. That’s all I’ll say. I want you to be surprised, too.
This book was a fun, quick read. This next sentence will make it sound like I don’t like to challenge myself as a reader (but I do): I enjoyed the book because I could pick it up and set it down as many times as there are minutes in the day, a very important quality when I get interrupted 10 times a day by children, phone, etc.
As far as book club goes, it would be a good book to choose when the group needs a break from the epic they read the month before.
I look forward to reading more of her stories.
