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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
Thank you, Harper Perennial and Patty Dann for the opportunity to read this book!
First of all, just look at this cover! It is just stunning. Upon seeing the cover of The Wright Sister by Patty Dunn I could not wait to dive in! Everyone knows about the famous Wright Brothers who are credited with flying the first airplane. Orville and Wilbur were incredibly close to their sister, Katharine. This book begins in 1927 when Katharine is 52 years old. She marries for the first time to Harry Haskell, upon learning of the engagement, Orville refuses to speak to Katharine. The book is structured in diary entries and letters to Orville. The diary entries discuss her day to day activities, including her relationship with her husband. But the letters also feel like a diary as well. She is desperate to speak to her brother again and fills him in about her life and reminisces about the past.
I liked this book. I liked it but did not love it. I feel like it just skims the surface on an incredibly fascinating woman in history and it often shifted its focus to Harry and Orville. Sorry, I don’t care about Harry and there are so many books and fictional accounts of the Wright brothers. I wish the story would have gone into their trip to Europe where she became a huge celebrity! Her brothers were notoriously shy but she stole the spotlight. Then there is all her work as a suffragette! This book mentions it a handful of times but doesn’t nearly do her justice.
However, I did love the layout of the book. I love the idea of diary entries and letters. The author did a great job of getting the readers in her head. It is a quick read, but the ending packs an emotional punch. Again, the attention is brought to Orville. I love history and felt that I learned a lot from this book and many other history buffs will enjoy it too as a quick afternoon read. This is not a detailed fictional account. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars because while it is good, it could have done Katharine justice.
First of all, just look at this cover! It is just stunning. Upon seeing the cover of The Wright Sister by Patty Dunn I could not wait to dive in! Everyone knows about the famous Wright Brothers who are credited with flying the first airplane. Orville and Wilbur were incredibly close to their sister, Katharine. This book begins in 1927 when Katharine is 52 years old. She marries for the first time to Harry Haskell, upon learning of the engagement, Orville refuses to speak to Katharine. The book is structured in diary entries and letters to Orville. The diary entries discuss her day to day activities, including her relationship with her husband. But the letters also feel like a diary as well. She is desperate to speak to her brother again and fills him in about her life and reminisces about the past.
I liked this book. I liked it but did not love it. I feel like it just skims the surface on an incredibly fascinating woman in history and it often shifted its focus to Harry and Orville. Sorry, I don’t care about Harry and there are so many books and fictional accounts of the Wright brothers. I wish the story would have gone into their trip to Europe where she became a huge celebrity! Her brothers were notoriously shy but she stole the spotlight. Then there is all her work as a suffragette! This book mentions it a handful of times but doesn’t nearly do her justice.
However, I did love the layout of the book. I love the idea of diary entries and letters. The author did a great job of getting the readers in her head. It is a quick read, but the ending packs an emotional punch. Again, the attention is brought to Orville. I love history and felt that I learned a lot from this book and many other history buffs will enjoy it too as a quick afternoon read. This is not a detailed fictional account. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars because while it is good, it could have done Katharine justice.
I finished the wright sister last night. I have to say, it was nothing really interesting about it. It was written in diary entries and it was nothing but her reminiscing about younger years, complaining about her hubby’s dead first wife and letters begging her brother to come see her, which he never did til after she died. I gave it a 3
This novel is about the Wright brother’s sister, Katharine, with an A! It is written through letters that Katharine wrote to Orville in her older years, and also as entires in her own marriage diary. It is an interesting read, going between the two. It reminds me a bit like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society how it was written from the view point of letters. It makes for very easy reading!
As Katharine writes letters to Orville, she is reminiscing about their childhood, as well as how they eventually go to wear they did with flying at Kitty Hawk. As she writes the entries in her marriage diary, she is writing mostly about her life currently, having finally married after half a century and trying to make a new life away from Orv and being used to running a household full of males.
I learned a lot about the Wright family, I did not know a lot to begin with but there was a lot to learn about Orville, and essentially Katharine seemed to be some of the brains behind it all as well. She seemed to be a little resentful of having gone through life being referred to as the Wright Brother’s sister, which in a way, I kind of don’t blame her considering her contribution.
I thought it was a very interesting read, and I liked the style of writing. Although sometime I had to look at the font to see if she was writing to her brother or in her marriage diary. Thank you to the author, and Harper Perennial for the ARC! I really enjoyed learning about this family and how they contributed to history and the airplane that none of give a second thought to anymore.
As Katharine writes letters to Orville, she is reminiscing about their childhood, as well as how they eventually go to wear they did with flying at Kitty Hawk. As she writes the entries in her marriage diary, she is writing mostly about her life currently, having finally married after half a century and trying to make a new life away from Orv and being used to running a household full of males.
I learned a lot about the Wright family, I did not know a lot to begin with but there was a lot to learn about Orville, and essentially Katharine seemed to be some of the brains behind it all as well. She seemed to be a little resentful of having gone through life being referred to as the Wright Brother’s sister, which in a way, I kind of don’t blame her considering her contribution.
I thought it was a very interesting read, and I liked the style of writing. Although sometime I had to look at the font to see if she was writing to her brother or in her marriage diary. Thank you to the author, and Harper Perennial for the ARC! I really enjoyed learning about this family and how they contributed to history and the airplane that none of give a second thought to anymore.
Thanks to Harper Perennial for an advance copy for honest review.
The Wright Sister focuses on Katharine Wright Haskell, the sister of the famed Wright Brothers. I'm always drawn to historical fiction that shares the lives of women who have been left out of the historical narrative. This is written in the form of a diary and letters that Katharine writes to Orville following her marriage at age 52, which he did not support- largely, it seems, because he thought it was her job to take care of him? I think starting the book at this point made for an interesting and challenging story, because readers jump right in to an unusual sibling relationship with extreme closeness and have to just kind of accept it without the context of how they developed this relationship. More details about their childhood and work together are told through the story, making it more understandable as it goes on.
The Wright Sister focuses on Katharine Wright Haskell, the sister of the famed Wright Brothers. I'm always drawn to historical fiction that shares the lives of women who have been left out of the historical narrative. This is written in the form of a diary and letters that Katharine writes to Orville following her marriage at age 52, which he did not support- largely, it seems, because he thought it was her job to take care of him? I think starting the book at this point made for an interesting and challenging story, because readers jump right in to an unusual sibling relationship with extreme closeness and have to just kind of accept it without the context of how they developed this relationship. More details about their childhood and work together are told through the story, making it more understandable as it goes on.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You grab a pristine sheet of paper from the ream and breathe in the soothing pulp scent of the page. You lay it flat on the desk and smooth your hand over it, prepping it for the words it’s about to hold. The pen is poised in your hand and you slowly lower it to the waiting ivory blankness. The black ink begins to flow as you scroll intricate letters onto the page. The words come freely as you begin furiously describing all that life has become.
The Wright Sister was an epistolary-style book detailing the life of Katharine, the sister of the famous Wright brothers who brought flight to existence. The book is filled with letters to her brother Orville as they are settling into their later years, past the historic flight and the passing of their brother Wilbur. The book is also filled with journal entries as Katharine describes her current life as a newlywed in her fifties, as well as her reminisces about her childhood and their many inventions as siblings.
As far as a plot goes, this book didn’t have much of one. But the writing was beautiful as Katharine shared her life. I’m a big fan of epistolary novels and I loved that about this book. It felt so personal and raw to read in that form.
I recommend if you love or would enjoy a journal-like look into the lives of historic figures.
TW: Loss of a Loved One.
*I received a gifted copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.
The Wright Sister was an epistolary-style book detailing the life of Katharine, the sister of the famous Wright brothers who brought flight to existence. The book is filled with letters to her brother Orville as they are settling into their later years, past the historic flight and the passing of their brother Wilbur. The book is also filled with journal entries as Katharine describes her current life as a newlywed in her fifties, as well as her reminisces about her childhood and their many inventions as siblings.
As far as a plot goes, this book didn’t have much of one. But the writing was beautiful as Katharine shared her life. I’m a big fan of epistolary novels and I loved that about this book. It felt so personal and raw to read in that form.
I recommend if you love or would enjoy a journal-like look into the lives of historic figures.
TW: Loss of a Loved One.
*I received a gifted copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Thank you to Goodreads for the giveaway win. This is a fictional account of the last few years of Katharine's life, the sister of the Wright brothers. It is written in epistolary form, through her writing letters to Orville, which he does not answer and of the diary entries of her marriage diary. I thought it was very fascinating since I had never even know that there was a sister! She married later in life for the first time at age 52 and this caused a rift between her and Orville. He did not speak to her again until her deathbed, a short three years later. Would recommend for history buffs and those who enjoy epistolary novels, but do remember this is fiction, even though it is based on a real person.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
I knew very little about the Wright Brothers beyond their historic 1903 flight prior to picking up this book, so I was intrigued to learn that they not only had a sister, Katharine, but that she actually was famous by association.
And while her perspective is conveyed in this epistolary format, it still packs a punch and tells us a lot about her and the dynamics of the family both prior to the opening of the book and at the present time the narrative is taking place, with Katharine and Orville still feeling the sense of loss after Wilbur’s death, but also the sense that Orville felt betrayed by Katharine getting married, when they had promised each other they wouldn’t. It’s especially apparent as her letters continue to go unanswered.
It also conveys that Katharine was intelligent in her own right. She attended Oberlin College, one of the few coed colleges at the time, in the 1890s, at a time when marriage and children was still the expected life for women, and she actually did not marry until she was fifty-two years old, as noted in the beginning of the novel.
Yet,at times, the narrative focused a bit too much on defining her through her brothers and their fractured relationship. There was mention of her contributions to their work, and while it would still have been in connection to them, it would have at least shown her more intellectual side, as opposed to her more domestic-oriented last years. They make a fine capstone to her story, especially the emotional ending, but I would like to have seen more of the earlier events alluded to.
This is still a fairly solid book that introduced me to a bit more about the Wright family than I knew previously. If you are interested in the Wright Brothers or love historical fiction about lesser known historical women, I encourage you to pick this one up.
3.5 stars
I knew very little about the Wright Brothers beyond their historic 1903 flight prior to picking up this book, so I was intrigued to learn that they not only had a sister, Katharine, but that she actually was famous by association.
And while her perspective is conveyed in this epistolary format, it still packs a punch and tells us a lot about her and the dynamics of the family both prior to the opening of the book and at the present time the narrative is taking place, with Katharine and Orville still feeling the sense of loss after Wilbur’s death, but also the sense that Orville felt betrayed by Katharine getting married, when they had promised each other they wouldn’t. It’s especially apparent as her letters continue to go unanswered.
It also conveys that Katharine was intelligent in her own right. She attended Oberlin College, one of the few coed colleges at the time, in the 1890s, at a time when marriage and children was still the expected life for women, and she actually did not marry until she was fifty-two years old, as noted in the beginning of the novel.
Yet,at times, the narrative focused a bit too much on defining her through her brothers and their fractured relationship. There was mention of her contributions to their work, and while it would still have been in connection to them, it would have at least shown her more intellectual side, as opposed to her more domestic-oriented last years. They make a fine capstone to her story, especially the emotional ending, but I would like to have seen more of the earlier events alluded to.
This is still a fairly solid book that introduced me to a bit more about the Wright family than I knew previously. If you are interested in the Wright Brothers or love historical fiction about lesser known historical women, I encourage you to pick this one up.
3.5
So much was packed into such a short book. I loved the letter/diary format. I feel like I learned so much from the snapshots this book provided. I loved that it was historical fiction from a female perspective. And I’m always terribly impressed with the way historical fiction writers are able to take bits of information and spin a tale that feels so real. I would definitely recommend this one if you enjoy historical fiction.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review.
So much was packed into such a short book. I loved the letter/diary format. I feel like I learned so much from the snapshots this book provided. I loved that it was historical fiction from a female perspective. And I’m always terribly impressed with the way historical fiction writers are able to take bits of information and spin a tale that feels so real. I would definitely recommend this one if you enjoy historical fiction.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review.