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2.5
A book about horses and book by Jojo Moyes should really be something that I really enjoy, but unfortunately The Giver of Stars was a bit of a letdown.

The novel is a fictionalised account of a mobile library scheme that was set up by Eleanor Roosevelt, where women delivered books to rural communities to improve literacy and education. We follow Alice, a young woman from England who marries the handsome Bennett Van Cleve to escape her oppressive family, only to find life in rural Kentucky with her husband and his overbearing father is much worse. She turns to the library as an escape, and builds a friendship with Margery O'Hare - the outcast leader of the library - and the other women.

I found the insight to this initiative really interesting, and quite ahead of its time for the 1930s. Moyes also does a great job at creating a sense of place in rural, remote Kentucky - I felt like I could clearly see Baileyville and the mountains and land around it that Alice, Margery and their fellow librarians travel through.

However, in terms of the plot and the characters, I was a bit disappointed. This novel really felt it's length, and the central plot was partly about the power of literature (nice) but also about Van Cleve's increasingly mad attempts to close the library down - starting with casting doubt on the books they had on offer

and going as far as framing Margery for murder!?

. It gets pacier towards the end but it really felt like there could have been some more judicious editing.

Character-wise, as other reviews have said, everyone just felt a bit flat. As a protagonist, I felt we didn't really get that much insight into Alice other than the fact that her (HUGELY PRIVILEGED) upbringing felt oppressive. As other readers have said, she also seems to somehow avoid any blame for dysfunctional marriage she finds herself in, despite the fact that she chose to marry Bennett for an escape without getting to know him. I would have rather had Margery as a central hook, although she felt like a stereotypical historical fiction woman who is breaking free of the societal norms, she was much more interesting. Van Cleve as the antagonist is almost ridiculously bad - you expect a twirling moustache - which reduced the power of some of the sections. I also felt that the portrayal of Bennett was a bit odd, there's no sympathy shown to him as the child of what is clearly was and is an abusive household - there's a strong feeling he should be like the 'real men' of the novel, who get dirty and use their hands.

Anyway, I think I prefer Moyes contemporary fiction to her historical - and I'm aware I'm a minority view here!

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giulia_and_books's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

This book, while slow at times to the point that I had to push myself to keep going, had one of the most satisfying endings of a book that I’ve picked up recently.

I thought the story itself is such an interesting one to tell and I love that it was inspired by true events (the WPA’s Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky program). I thought the main characters and supporting characters all stood out as individuals and it was easy to remember each one throughout the development of the story.

Some of the descriptions of events were hard for me to follow because it felt like there were gaps here and there, but other times I could picture exactly what the book described.

Like I said earlier, a very satisfying ending to a wonderful story filled with friendship, love, hope, and inspiration.

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readerette's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was a little long for my taste, and didn't really grab me fully until halfway through. It is also a thorough telling of life for packhorse librarians, women in America in the early 20th century, and rural Kentuckians.

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