Fiction

For want of a better term, the 1947 Alberta Hannum novel "Roseanna McCoy" is the OVER-THINKING-NESSED novel I have ever read!
It's a fictional account of the relationship between Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield. I picked up a 1975 paperback copy after I had watched "The Hatfields and McCoys" miniseries last spring.
The first part of the book is the best. There's a lot of conversation, and what struck me was how much the writing in the first part reminded me of Catherine Marshall's "Christy." Marshall must have been influenced by Hannum's understanding of the accents and language of Appalachia.
Then Johnse and Roseanna meet, and much of the conversation disappears. It is replaced by page after page, chapter after chapter, of Roseanna's over-analysis of the few times she spent with Johnse, her wondering what he meant by each word, if she would see him again, and what they would say. Their lovemaking is downplayed, although it is strongly hinted at.
If this had been written as a first-person teen girl's diary, it would have made more sense, because almost the entire story takes place inside Roseanna's head.
The book ends with them breaking up only a few days after they first get together. None of what happened to Roseanna afterward is ever mentioned.