Chris’s Pick
December, 2022
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
Knopf Publishing Group, July 5, 2022
Gabrielle Zevin, author of the also excellent The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, has written a book about video-game creation, a subject far removed from anything I would normally be drawn to. Yet, this book perfectly epitomizes the idea that whatever its subject, when a novel is powerful enough it can transport readers deep into worlds not their own. And that is exciting to me.
I think that people (are surprised) that they can connect with the story about video games as much as they have... but on some level, I think we’re all playing video games all the time. Look at something like Instagram, or any social media…., they have a reward system, a currency system based on ‘likes,’ but they’re very much games. –Gabrielle Zevin interview
We meet Sam and Sadie as eleven-year-olds in a children’s hospital game room; Sadie there because her sister has cancer; Sam recovering from a horrific car accident that has killed his mother and left him with a crushed foot and a refusal to speak. When Sadie sits down to play the Mario video game with Sam, he slowly finds his voice with her.
To allow yourself to play with another person is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt…'There is no more intimate act than play. (Sam)
Some years later, they meet up again as college students in Cambridge, he a scholarship student at Harvard, she at MIT --one of a small handful of women in her program.
They discover their continued mutual interest in video games and determine to create one of their own. With many of their influences drawn from art and literature the two finally produce ‘Ichigo’ inspired by the Japanese artist Hokusai’s painting The Great Wave at Kanagawa. The storyline about a child trying to find its way home, the game becomes a blockbuster.
With the book’s title borrowed from the lamenting Macbeth soliloquy about the brevity and meaninglessness of life, Zevin flips the lament into the endless possibilities of rebirth and renewal within a video game, the chance to play again tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
This is an intricate novel, with stories within stories. Much of the focus is on diverse identities. Sam and his college roommate Marx, a third key personality in the story, are both mixed race Asian-American, as is Zevin herself.
But what I do believe is that a novel can show: Here's a person, like you or unlike you, and can tell you what it is like to be somebody who is not you. I think there's something great about that. —Gabrielle Zevin interview
We follow Sam, Sadie, and Marx for the next twenty years as they come together to form a successful company (Unfair Games) and as they pull away from each other again and again, and then suffer an act of terror, a by-product of a good intention in one of their games. Although the video game storyline itself is powerful, it is the relationships developed in the story that stay with you. Sam and Sadie have a relationship that never becomes sexual but is grounded in shared passions (as well as blistering arguments). It is about love, partnership, collaboration, and finally finding hope and growth after tragedy.
Easily one of the best books I have read this year, I recommend Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow to anyone, whether you be a gamer of today, stopped at Pong, or have never played.
Pete’s Pick
November 2022
The American Adventuress
C.W. Gortner
HarperCollins Publishers
September 20, 2022
Introduction
This book is an historical novel which covers the years 1866 – 1921, from the time Jennie Jerome was 12 years old until she died. Jennie Jerome married Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill and they became the parents of Sir Winston Churchill. This novel covers the life of Jennie Jerome and those who were included in her life’s adventures.
Author
C. W. Gortner is an American author of historical novels. He has been named as one of the top ten historical writers by the Washington Independent Review of Books and has delivered keynote addresses at the Historical Novel Society Coferences in the United States and the United Kingdom. His book Mademoiselle Chanel was a USA-Today bestseller and an American Booksellers Association bestseller. Before becoming a full-time author, he was a fashion executive.
Story
This story follows Jennie Jerome from her early teenage years in New York City where she was born to parents Leonard and Clara Jerome until her death in Great Britain. Her father was an entrepreneur who made his wealth in trading during the Civil War and ultimately in raising and racing horses and speculating in the markets. Her father’s trading during the Civil War ultimately led to a government investigation of possible illegal trading gains. That investigation led to the estrangement between Jennie’s parents with the result that Clara Jerome took her daughters Clarita, Jennie, and Leonie with her to live in Paris. The story is told through the eyes of Jennie and follows these girls as they mature in Paris. When the Franco-Prussian war occurs, Clara Jerome and her daughters are evacuated to London. Because of their wealth, the Jerome sisters were used to socializing in high society settings. When they arrive in London, the story follows their acquaintances with much of the aristocracy in the United Kingdom at the time. The source of their wealth, however, always casts a subtle shadow on their right to be in high society. Mother Clara’s goal is for her daughters to marry into a titled family to ensure their long-time fortunes and ultimate well-being.
Jennie Jerome has always lived on the outskirts of accepted rules of behavior and standards. The story is full of her adventures that challenge society’s expectations of young women and their role. As she and her sisters participate in high society functions, they meet many well-known members of the British aristocracy of the time, including the Prince of Wales, oldest son of Queen Victoria. We are treated to many of the happenings that take place in the last 25 years of Queen Victoria’s reign and learn how society viewed the roles of men and women in those late Victorian years. Jennie meets Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill and he falls madly in love with her. Their engagement is scandalous because Jennie’s family does not come from inherited wealth. Both her parents and Lord Randolph’s parents oppose the marriage. However, Randolph and Jennie decide to challenge the system by engaging in premarital sexual relations and then letting their parents know about it. This sets the tone for much of the story thereafter as we are treated to the details of many extra-marital affairs that take place in high society—even involving the Prince of Wales!
Jennie’s way of living life by challenging standards plays out throughout the story in surprising ways. We read of her heroic efforts to provide medical services to the British soldiers fighting in the Boer War in South Africa in the late 1800’s when the military High Command had given virtually no thought to how to care for soldiers wounded and killed in battle. We then follow her sons Winston and Jack as they grow up. We get to follow Winston as he explores his yen for writing by becoming a war journalist who captures the scenes on the battlefields by being there in the fighting himself taking notes. We then get to follow Winston as he takes up his now deceased father’s role as a Member of Parliament and follow him in his early career year in the British government. Ultimately, we are taken through the First World War and the horrific experience of living through that time. Finally, we say goodbye to Jennie as she dies at age 67.
Evaluation
The story allows us to view many historical figures we have known primarily through the pages of our history textbooks and see them as real individuals making everyday decisions. I found the human details fascinating and enlightening and it gave me a new desire to learn more about history than I have learned through just my schooling. I love English history and I found the American perspective that Jennie Jerome gave through her telling of her life story to be incredibly valuable. Not having studied Winston Churchill in any detail, I now find myself wanting to learn more about this incredible man who, in many ways, was greatly influenced by his American mother.
Karen’s Pick
October 2022
The Marriage Portrait: A Novel
Maggie O’Farrell
Knopf Publisher; September 6, 2022
If you loved Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, you’ll want to read her new book The Marriage Portrait: A Novel. This magnificent book of historical fiction provides an immersive reading experience of Renaissance Italy in 1560. The story depicts the brief life and mysterious death of Lucrezia de’Medici, of Florence, third daughter of Cosimo de’Medici, and her marriage to the decade older Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrarra, Modena and Reggio.
The story is loosely based on historical accounts, of their life (and death), however, both Lucrezia and Alfonso did exist. O’Farrell has conceived of a story of a marriage that was politically motivated to create an alliance between the two city-states, strengthen the ebbing prominence of the de’Medici family, and to guarantee the continuation of the d’Este family royal blood line.
The aristocratic Lucrezia is described as a young artistic prodigy, who explores, questions, and seeks fulfillment by pushing the imposed boundaries of familial and societal expectations. O’Farrell’s Alfonso is handsome, humorous, and calculating. His soul motivation for this marriage is to produce an heir, regardless of the Duke’s proven inability to father a child. Lucrezia both fears and adores him
The structure of A Marriage Portrait helps to grab the readers interest from the opening page; we realize that Lucrezia is to die within the year, most likely murdered by her husband. O’Farrell then offers us Lucrezia’s backstory; a fearless young girl in the most terrifying experiences, until she becomes the wife of the Duke.
It is hard not to draw parallels between O’Farrell’s Agnes and her marriage partner in Hamnet, and Lucrezia’s relationship with Alfonso. Both women use the power of disassociation to cope with their situations. Beautifully painted moments are juxtaposed with the pain, panic, and the ongoing plight of women. In many ways, A Marriage Portrait can be considered a feminist work.
I highly recommend A Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell, so much so that I will purchase a copy for my permanent collection.
Barbara’s Pick
September 2022
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt
Ecco Publisher, May 3, 2022
This charming book tells the story of a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus McSquiddles and his unlikely friend, Tova. The jewel of a small Pacific Northwest aquarium and a “remarkably bright creature,” Marcellus has taught himself how to escape his enclosure and mystify the humans. After Tova helps him out of a jam, Marcellus makes it his mission to bring some joy to her lonely life . . . and he succeeds. The supporting characters are funny and relatable.
This book is my favorite read all summer. If you like whimsy, this has it in spades!
Sonja’s Pick
August 2022
The Paris Apartment
Lucy Foley
William Morrow, February 22, 2022
Quite an unexpected… let’s call it a murder mystery… Jess goes to Paris looking to spend time with her brother Ben. She arrives and Ben is nowhere to be found. We search for him through the novel.
What I found unique is that we listen to each person’s tale in short chapters. First Jess, then Sophie, the mother of Mimi, the wife of Jacques, the stepmother of Nick and Antoine and finally an outsider Theo whom her brother collaborated with on journalism stories. While writing these names, I can conjure up a short characterization of each which is heartening; meaning their characters have been developed pretty well.
Short chapters allow one to leave and restart easily. And the thread leading to finding Ben is always stringing you along. I wasn’t much of a fan of the book, it seemed simply written, but considering the novel mostly featured conversations and thoughts being processed, one does not expect more.
The ending is a complete surprise so that was fun and different.
Marg’s Pick (Guest Reviewer)
July 2022
The Last Garden in England
Julia Kelly
Gallery Books, January 2021
When my first plant and seed catalog arrived this spring, I had a pleasant flashback to one of the books I’d read while on vacation in November, The Last Garden in England. It’s a delightful, historical fiction novel about gardens, regal estates, and generations of interesting gardeners all beautifully woven together.
As gardeners we are all aware of the legendary gardens of England, but this author takes us on a journey in the gardens of Highbury House over the decades from early 1900s to present-day 2020s. Events of the times, like seasons of a year, all influence and drive changes in the gardens.
But the author is well aware of gardens being more than plants (and weeds). She builds her stories around those who create and tend gardens....the Gardeners!! The blending and mixing is unique. Chapter one, page one starts in February 2021 and we meet Emma, an experienced professional hired to do a garden restoration project at Highbury House. This project would be delightfully different and a respite from the contemporary garden design work she was often called upon to do. Highbury was an historic garden of some consequence, that had not been tended for some time. The new estate owners wanted it brought back to the ‘full bloom of its 1907 creation’. Thus, enter Emma, renowned for her expertise in restoration of Edwardian gardens designed by one Venetia Smith, an early British garden planner.
Chapter two steps back to 1907 to meet Venetia as she arrives at Highbury to begin her creation of the gardens. Along with Venetia, we meet her patrons as she reveals some of her garden plans and the stories, as well as the gardens, begin to take shape.
As the areas are described, something strikes me. My American gardening catalogues and books refer to gardens as ‘beds’ or ‘plots’ but this British designer refers to the gardens as ‘rooms’. “What of the other rooms?” asked Mrs. Melcourt (the client). There will be the Tea Garden/Room; the Lover’s Garden/Room; the Children’s Garden/Room; the Bridal...; the Water...; the Poet’s...; the Sculpture..., etc. Each garden or room was to serve a specific purpose. Water garden for contemplation. Tea Room for small relaxing gatherings of friends. A Sculpture Garden/ Room to display and share the homeowners’ collection of sculptures. Plantings would complement the room’s purpose.
I looked at my own garden, i.e., my yard. Where would Venetia place my “Tea Room”? “A Poet’s Room”? Then the straight arrow question: What is the purpose of my garden? Having never given thought to this before, I wonder if the purpose of my garden is to see if I can get something, anything. to grow and maybe even blossom.
Venetia’s plan was to create gardens for her client that were “surprising, unexpected, impressive. Their gardens would tell stories that guests will be able to enjoy over and over again.”
As a disclaimer I am not an estate owner with acre after acre of land for gardens. I also confess to not having taken gardening design courses, so this idea of garden rooms may be new only to me.
Back to the book: The third time frame covered in The Last Garden is introduced in Chapter three where we meet “Beth,” the third gardener at Highbury House. It is now February 1944, and gardens in England have a very different purpose. The time frame is World War II. The entire globe is embroiled in conflict and the impacts resulting from it. While we are introduced to new characters, there are two constants: the garden and the estate of Highbury House.
As one thinks about reading a novel that has you jumping back and forth from 1907 to 2020 and then stepping into the 1940s, you might say to yourself, “That’s too confusing! I would get lost.” But this author is so skilled at drawing us in with the stories of her characters and the surrounding events, sprinkled with a bit of mystery, a couple of love stories, the changes occurring in the garden, you simply want to keep reading. These are passionate gardeners committed to revealing the stories each decade, each room, and each gardener has to tell.
Everything and everyone in this novel, regardless of their role or the time frame, is engaging. I felt as though I was alongside them, working in the garden, feeling their sorrows, their joys, asking their questions. They became my friends, my teachers.
For me, the take-away is that gardening is purposeful, reflective of the circumstances of life. Whether vast or miniscule, planting and growing is a response to the events of the time and a recording of who I am as gardener, the one who tends the ‘room’. Faced with either a world-wide epidemic or a war, or challenged by loss or love, each plant will be carefully chosen to help tell the story, give purpose, add beauty to life.
Enjoy my new friends as they reshape, restore and repurpose the old, grand and glorious gardens. But, don’t stop there. Look at your own garden, whether a potted plant on your balcony, patio, or deck, and recall the stories they tell, the memories they store, and the beauty they behold. As one of my favorite saying goes – “Life began in a garden.”
Chris’s Pick
June, 2022
Beartown
Fredrik Backman
Atria Books 2018
Forward: In praise of favorite authors and audiobooks
The pandemic brought me back to books in a big way. I have read and discovered dozens of new authors, like the extraordinary Hanya Yanagihara, whose writing is brilliant (but leaves me depressed for days). And I have been delighted when old favorites write new books: Anne Tyler, for example, whose new French Braid is so classically Tyler, with layered, heart-tugging family relationships.
The pandemic also closed our gyms and pushed us out into the world to walk, and thus I began a love affair with audiobooks—a story to take along on a walk, what could be more perfect?
Some books, like Sara Nisha Adams’ The Reading List I felt was so enhanced by the audio I’m glad I chose to listen rather than to read—the narrators perfectly drop us into Wembley, West London and bring the elderly Mukesh Patel and the teenage Aleisha to life—a great story for book lovers. The two carefully chosen narrators of Louise Penny’s twenty Armand Gamache books have voices that captivate you, and make you regret having to put the story aside for the day. Emily Henry’s People We Meet On Vacation is a romantic “beach-read” that turns a four-mile walk into pleasure. Andrew Sean Greer’s Less, (2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction), so beautifully written, allows a peek into the heart-wrenching, but often comedic, musings of an aging gay man.
Recently, a new “old favorite” author has become my latest storyteller. Swedish author Fredrik Backman wrote the wonderful Anxious People, and because of it I am catching up with his body of work and taking his stories along for my walks. Which finally brings me to my review:
Bear Town by Fredrik Backman
In a tiny community nestled deep in the Swedish forest stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded the town. And that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of Beartown’s denizens now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.
Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave the town in turmoil.
Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, it seems Fredrik Backman has presented an entire world.
I am not a sports fan; have never seen a hockey game, but I loved this book so much I immediately read the sequel “Us Against You”. If you, as I did, need more after “Beartown”, read this one too. The third book in the series, “The Winners” will be published this fall and I am looking forward to it.
Fredrik Backman makes us care and makes us think-- just an outstanding author. And, by the way, if you have yet to read or discover his “Anxious People”, that one is also truly delightful.
Karen’s Pick
May, 2022
The Taking of Jemima Boone
Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap that Shaped America
Matthew Pearl
HarperCollins 2021
The Taking of Jemima Boone is the first foray into nonfiction from the novelist Matthew Pearl.
This artfully told story takes us on a journey of a very complicated period of American history. The telling of the details are enhanced by his narrative writing style and the book reads much like a historical thriller.
In Boonesboro, Kentucky, on July 14, 1776, a Cherokee-Shawnee raiding party captured Daniel Boone’s teenage daughter and two friends, with the hope they could be used as political currency. The kidnapping was an act of retaliation since the tribes resented the misuse and decimation of their native lands and resources by the newly settled colonists.
The taking of the girls was quickly realized and Daniel Boone with a large search party pursued the assailants, freed the girls, using physical clues left by Jemima, and killed two young male Natives. One of the Natives killed in the confrontation was the son of War Chief Blackfish, a feared Shawnee leader.
The implications of this deadly deed were far reaching; the orchestrated capture of Daniel Boone by the Shawnee. Boone, held captive for a year was “adopted” by the Blackfish family, as a replacement for their murdered son. Boone's life during his capture provides the reader with extensive details of Native life, and the realization of the constant negotiations for political alliances between the Natives with both the British Army and the American Colonialists.
Pearl, using factual “twists and turns”, tells a compelling story of a little known event However, most importantly, he uses the kidnapping of Jemima to set the stage for a period of history that signifies life under siege in the colonies, as well as the trials of American expansion, the beginnings of Manifest Destiny, and ultimate decimation of the Native American’s culture and way of life.
The Taking of Jemima Boone is an excellent book that is well researched and very readable.
A great choice for lovers of American History!
Ken’s Pick (Guest Reviewer)
April, 2022
Storm
George R. Stewart
New York Review Books
Publishing Release Dates1941, and August 17, 2021
Being a reader of primarily non-fiction I was hesitant to consider George Stewart ’s well reviewed, republished (2021) novel Storm but since weather has always been of interest to me-why not? Storm, a bestseller in 1941, skillfully traces the development of a fictional catastrophic Pacific Coast storm in the mid 20th century. Using the 12 chapters of the book, each representing a day in the life of the storm, the narrative follows the event which begins as an “insipid little whorl” that gains enough power to flood Northern California and cover the Sierra Mountains with 20 feet of snow!
Stewart’s writing style provides intimate details of how the storm forms, where and how it gains energy, and what forces are steering its motion, all which represent the current meteorologic knowledge of the period. In doing so, the writing can be likened to that of non-fiction text, since the humans which interact with the storm are only briefly and anonymously detailed. More often than not they are identified by occupation or activity, such as “the linemen”, “the snow-plow operator”, “the meteorologist”, and “the chief”.
Reviewers have pointed out with Stewart’s elevating “the storm” as the main character, and humans described as impersonal actors, what at first glance seems like a literary contrivance, created a book that can now be considered something more radical: the world’s first climate- fiction novel . As Wallace Stegner states, “Weather is here for the first time as important in fiction as it is in fact”. The rising drama of the story is built on the interaction of environmental conditions and the fate of the human characters.
I highly recommend Storm, as an entertaining and an evocative book . For me, this book takes on an even greater importance when one considers the reality of climate change. It is a certainty that rising temperatures are leading to violent and extreme weather. While Stewart’s Storm detailed an event uncommon in its magnitude for its time, in the 21st century we are all facing a future where storms such as Mr. Stewart ‘s creation are becoming more and more commonplace. Storm is a non-fiction future we will all have to face.
Barbara’s Pick
March 2022
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Grady Hendrix
Quirk Books Publishing; Released April 7, 2020
A few months ago, I was in search of a new book. Since most of my books are electronic, I thought I might check out the librarian-recommended titles on our Libby app. On the first or second page, I found “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.” I cannot stress enough that I am not a horror fan—but I freely admit I’m a book club person, so I thought I’d give it a chance.
Although it is a novel, it’s set in the real suburb of Charleston called Mt. Pleasant, so there’s the southern part. The first pages are all about the Mt. Pleasant Literary Guild book club and the fateful meeting that the main character, Patricia Campbell, did not finish “Cry, the Beloved Country”—and she was supposed to lead the discussion. After being humiliated by the hostess, Patricia and a few others founded their own true crime book club as they left the meeting. Then a stranger moves into town, and weirdness ensues. (That’s the vampire part.)
Author Grady Hendrix cleverly sets the novel in the 1990s, so there’s no Googling for info on the subplots. He does a masterful job weaving the characters together as well as sprinkling vampire lore throughout.
Dare I say, I loved this book! I might even read another in this genre.
Sonya’s Pick
February 2022
The Personal Librarian
Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Berkley Publishing, Released June 29, 2021
The personal story of Belle da Costa Greene, biographical fiction, historical in nature. She was hired by J.P. Morgan to serve as curator for his new Pierpont Morgan library. Society loves her, but she harbors a secret--she is a black woman passing as white.
We are led into the competitive world of acquiring priceless manuscripts for this new endeavor, her relationship with Morgan and her trips across the ocean always hiding her secret. This choice she made rather than sacrificing everything she had achieved and subjecting herself and family to racial persecution.
Beautifully written by these two women, the saga is woven with intrigue and humor. A really inspiring read!
Pete’s Pick
January 2022
The Last Bookshop in London
Madeleine Martin
Hanover Square Press, April 6, 2021
Introduction
This book is a novel taking place in London during World War II. It showcases a young woman who, along with her lifelong friend, decides just before WWII begins to move from the rural countryside to the environs of a big city. They are interested in the excitement and opportunities that await them in such a setting. Little did they know how the war was going to change their lives. Nor are we prepared for a vivid reminder of just how important books are in our lives and the role they can play in our well-being as well as our imagination.
Author
Madeline Martin is a New York Times, USA Today, and international best-selling author of WWII historical fiction and historical romance novels that span from medieval castles to Regency ballrooms. She has written several books in a variety of series.
Story
This story follows Grace Bennett as she leaves her hometown of Drayton in the countryside with her lifelong friend Vivienne, known as Viv, as they move to London to experience new adventures. They are both in their 20s and ready for a change from their rural upbringing. Mrs. Weatherford, Grace’s mother’s lifelong best friend, agrees to give them a room in her townhouse for a couple of months as they get settled in and find employment. Viv has a letter of recommendation that gets her a job at Harrod’s Department Store. Unfortunately, Grace has no such letter as she has spent her young years working in her uncle’s shop and he refused to give her a letter. Mrs. Weatherford makes arrangements with Mr. Evans, the owner of Primrose Hill Bookshop to hire Grace as his assistant for six months after which he will then give Grace a letter of recommendation. As the story begins, we discover that Grace has never spent any time reading books, and the thought of trying to make sense of a bookshop is quite overwhelming. To make matters worse, Primrose Hill Bookshop is not organized. Mr. Evans has let it decline over the years and there is no organization. During her first day, she discovers the bookshop is horribly dusty from a lack of cleaning. As she encounters her first customer who asks for a specific book, Grace is at a loss because she cannot make sense of the organization of the bookshop. A young gentleman shows up and watches as Grace struggles. Finally, he suggests the location of the book being sought and the book is found. The customer is happy and Grace is left to tend to the gentleman. He introduces himself to Grace as George Anderson. When Grace confesses her lack of knowledge not only of the bookshop but of books in general, George gently suggests that if she wanted to start reading, she should try The Count of Monte Cristo. Grace is determined to try to make sense of everything, so she tours several bookstores along Paternoster Street where all the bookstores and publishers were located. She returns and spends several days cleaning the shop and starting to organize everything the way she saw it in other shops.
As the story progresses, we follow Grace as she begins to read The Count of Monte Cristo and falls in love with reading. We follow her and her friend Viv as they get used to London. We follow their lives in Mrs. Weatherford’s townhouse and then we follow them as all of a sudden World War II begins and the Germans begin their bombing blitzkrieg of London. The story takes us into the lives of everyday people who struggle to carry on as nearly every night bombing raids destroy much of London and bring such terror and misery to people who have lost their homes, possessions, and loved ones. But through it all, we discover how Grace’s love of reading leads to her reading out loud to neighbors as they huddle in the underground train stations to be protected from the bombings. The reaction she gets from this leads to out loud readings at Primrose Hill Bookshop every afternoon and it begins to draw a crowd. Through it all, we fall in love again with how reading takes us into another world of adventure, of fantasy, of romance, and of learning. It is truly hard not to once again realize the great gift we all have in the pages of books we haven’t read, as well as in books we read long ago. However, we are also confronted with the horror that the people of London lived through for several years during World War II and the horror of war in general as an act of mankind.
Evaluation
This story evoked such memories of my childhood as I grew up in libraries and bookstores. I read voraciously. I couldn’t get enough. The thought of being able to work in a bookstore filled me with envy for Grace, and yet I found myself cheering her on as she organized the bookshop and began her own experience of reading. It was fascinating to follow the characters in the story as they experienced the horror of living during war, the fear, the sadness as they lost loved ones, and the determination of the human spirit to survive. I was entranced by Madeline Martin’s ability to make the characters really come alive and become people I wanted to know. It brought the general knowledge I had of the horror of the bombings of London during WWII into new focus for me as it affected people I cared about. Absolutely an entrancing read, I highly recommend it.