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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I enjoyed my time with this quiet, cosy, but affecting, story of post-WW1 English rural life. It tackled big subjects - grief, tragic loss, trauma, religion, spirituality, symbolism, belief, love, survival and survivor's guilt as well as delving into how the war had affected women's roles in the workplace/home, navigating relationships, 'spinster' or excess women resulting from wartime losses and the fragile male psyche following trauma. That sounds like a lot - and it is - but the novel feels like a safe pair of hands or a warm mug of tea.
The book - centred as it is, on the work of the church and the comfort religion can bring - manages to replicate the feeling that church can give (or the one that it gives me, at any rate, even as a non-regular churchgoer). It feels comfortable, it feels safe, it feels warm. The story meanders along at a slow pace, but I found very quickly that I didn't really mind where it was going, because the narrative was so comforting. Yes, I saw some of the strands coming together as they were being woven, but I didn't care in the slightest. I also appreciated a prominent f/f relationship, which is something I hadn't expected and don't often see with the main popular names in historical fiction. I'm a relatively recent convert to Tracy Chevalier's work and will continue to read many more of her novels.
The book - centred as it is, on the work of the church and the comfort religion can bring - manages to replicate the feeling that church can give (or the one that it gives me, at any rate, even as a non-regular churchgoer). It feels comfortable, it feels safe, it feels warm. The story meanders along at a slow pace, but I found very quickly that I didn't really mind where it was going, because the narrative was so comforting. Yes, I saw some of the strands coming together as they were being woven, but I didn't care in the slightest. I also appreciated a prominent f/f relationship, which is something I hadn't expected and don't often see with the main popular names in historical fiction. I'm a relatively recent convert to Tracy Chevalier's work and will continue to read many more of her novels.
Nothing wrong with this, just not for me
Thank you Viking Books for the free book. I really wanted to love this book, but the ending ruined it for me. Chevalier has done a phenomenal job researching 1930s England, bringing the world of embroidery and 'surplus women' to life. I also understand she was trying to write about women making radical decisions in a more restricted time in history. But I found the main character's decisions extremely off-putting, and there wasn't enough other good stuff to redeem it for me.
I loved this. Not my usual genre but it was heartwarming, poignant and I felt it dealt with massive issues beautifully.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.