I really enjoyed reading this book. Before I began, I did some background reading about the time period and location, so I would have a better understanding of the context of the situations.
Here are some pictures of the area around that time. {Click on the picture to make it larger}
A homestead
A potato patch
Logging advancement with a "truck"
A saw mill where men could earn extra money
I agree it wasn't always laugh out loud (then again not everyone sees humor the same way), but I was able to picture her descriptions in my mind. It was like seeing a movie in my head as she described clothing and shoes trying to dry, getting water for the wash, starting the stove and running to do chores in between.
I spoke to my mom about this time period and she agreed that the only way you could make it though a day sometimes was to laugh about situations.
It must of been a complete shock to "do" for herself and be so far away from "civilized" people. From what I read about the background of this book, her stories about living in the backwoods were hilarious to others.
I grew up listening to my grandmother speak of living in Oklahoma and Missouri (dust bowl times) and moving to California (Steinbeck country). It was a never ending, day after day, struggle to just keep up and survive. Women (and men) gossiped while doing daily chores. Everyone knew everyone's business and freely entered houses and borrowed from others if something was needed.
If you didn't grow it, harvest it, and can it, you may not have any food during the winter. The stove was "life": heat for the house, to dry clothing, cooking, boil water for the wash, heat up the iron to iron the good clothes and tablecloths that the neighbors would see during "visits".
Excitement was taking a bath, dressing up, and going to "town". It was pretty much a full day trip to get to town, pick up supplies, and get back, but you were able to "see" other people and things. Maybe even bought material to make a dress or shirt.
The "darker aspects" that were mentioned, were just that. Something that was a part of life then as they are today. At least now days we have laws that help protect and support victims. Back then it was still accepted that a man would sometimes beat his wife and children, that a man would drink, that some how it was the woman at fault if she was raped, and a woman pretty much needed a man in order to live away from her parents. Most everyone knew what was going on, talked about it, but really didn't interfere in other people's "business". Divorce was just not "done". It truly was viewed as shameful if you could even get granted a divorce.
It was probably a more enjoyable read for me due to having grown up listening to stories of the time and having some experience with the situations. We had chickens and rabbits (Yuck, plucking and skinning), grew, harvested, and canned fruit and vegetables every year, sewed most of our clothing, lived outside of town, hung out the wash, etc.