5 out of 5 stars
My favorite book of all time was Hawker’s One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow. Until now. 
Little did I know this author has more to write and stories to tell. The writing is exquisite in October in the Earth. The characters are compelling and easy to love. While I have never ridden the rails, myself, I was completely empathetic to the two lone women out in a cruel and mean world, during an era that suppressed women and crushed dreams and aspirations.
As a rule, I skim ‘acknowledgments’ and ‘author’s notes’ but I wanted to know what Hawker was thinking when writing this great American novel. So I read on…to discover that she started rewriting it (for the sixth time) just a few days after she had sworn off writing forever. That’s how close we all came to never seeing this masterpiece. How close we came to losing this brilliant author. Lucky for us she was compelled to return and write a little more.
The Great Depression hit the 30’s of the last century with a devastating effect on the nation. Whole families take to the rails because, while dangerous, it is free transportation to maybe a better life…a life where they can, at least, feed their children. Fate or life…or whatever you want to call it…has driven Del and Louisa away from a relatively safe home life to riding the boxcars looking for any menial job. Sustenance for one more day. Following the harvest, crisscrossing the nation by rail. They meet by accident and forge a bond that nothing can break…maybe.
Olivia Hawker writes compelling page-turners and usually, the ending is a surprise. In my humble opinion, this book replaces The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck as the classic story of the nation’s struggles during the Great Depression.
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK
