Maria's Pick: "Small World" by Jonathan Evinson

Jonathan Evinson’s epic novel, “Small World” is a collection of diverse stories set in the mid- nineteenth century and in the present day. The characters include Irish and Chinese immigrants, an escaped slave and a Native American woman and their present day descendants.

The beauty of Evinson’s writing is how he weaves all of these stories together. As he winds back and forth through their struggles and determination to survive, it becomes clear how those early lives impact the present day characters’ circumstances. Many of the stories revolve around the railroad. Just as it bound one part of the country to the other, so it binds these characters’ lives together.

“Small World” is a thoroughly engaging read that tells the story of the American experience from a variety of points of view.

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