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Melena and Ernest Starling marry young and start their family in a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains, where Ernest works at the Ranger station. Melena hates the wilderness and the threat of bears. She doesn’t want to raise her son, Blackwell, here. Melena’s father gives them a house trailer and Ernest starts his own construction business. After moving from job to job, an abundance of work allows them to settle in Larnee, North Carolina. Melena gives birth to another son, Luke, and later a daughter, Elizabeth. Ernest works long hours and Melena feels neglected and ignored. She recalls that her father offered her a brand new car not to marry Ernest. When Melena discovers that her husband is unfaithful she leaves him, but returns for the sake of the children. Nothing changes, and she eventually files for divorce. Ernest and Melena fight over distribution of their money and property for seven years before a divorce is finally granted.
RAGING SILENCE portrays in detail the effects that an unhappy marriage and divorce have on families, especially how the hurt and bitterness overflow to the children. The alienation, taking sides, and resentments the Starlings experience are never completely overcome. The author makes the pain of divorce very real. I have only one complaint with this novel: switching points of view and frequent jumps back and forth in time were sometimes jolting. The ending is not happy, but true to life. I’ll look forward to more books by Amanda Stone.
Reviewed by Marie DisBrow
for The Road to Romance
April 25, 2007
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