In the best way possible, “Corinne” by Rebecca Morrow is absolutely devastating. Morrow tells the story of Corinne Callahan and Enoch Miller across 14 years. The two grow up in a strict church with extreme moral values and rules. After her dad leaves their family, Enoch’s family invites Corinne’s family to stay with them while they find a new place. The story doesn’t continue until 13 years later.
One thing I love about this book is you can hear Morrow’s voice throughout the story. It’s like you’re reading someone’s thoughts without directly hearing the characters’ thoughts. I also love how relatable the issues are in the book. The main conflict explored is something adults face in real relationships, especially as they get more serious.
The story highlights issues in religion such as disparities between men and women, which Morrow, again, touches on deeply but subtly. Morrow does an excellent job of allowing readers to come to their own conclusions about the plot. She writes less but shows us so much more about love and who the characters are. A theme throughout the book is religious trauma and how it can affect a person throughout their life. As someone who isn’t very religious, it was interesting to see how old religious values and new “worldly” values change a person’s life path.
One thing I both hated and loved was how realistic the book was. A substantial part of the book was just Enoch and Corinne eating dinner or getting into petty fights or playing board games for hours. It was awesome to read such realistic relationship interactions. Oftentimes in books the scenes of couples can be unrealistic and only serve to move the plot along in some way. Morrow chooses to show us the normal activities that couples do during the day, which gives us a more intimate look at Enoch and Corinne.
That being said, there were parts of the book that became excessive. Especially toward the end, it just dragged like crazy.
A notable part of the book was its abundant inclusion of sex. It was sexy most of the time, but at some points, it was awkward, which is why I couldn’t decide if the realism was too much. It felt like I was reading about someone’s personal sex life, and while I’m sure all of us enjoy a little scandal in a book, it felt invasive.
The book allows you to know Corinne on a personal level. I knew what she was going to say and do. I felt for her when things went wrong, and I related to her even though I have never gone through what she goes through. I think this is a testament to Morrow’s writing.
I wish we got to know Enoch more throughout the book. I had no idea who he was for the first part of the book, and even as I learned more, it still wasn’t enough.
Overall, Morrow does an incredible job of creating round, realistic and deep characters. She gives the audience the opportunity to hear her voice throughout and tells a deeply personal story.
