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korrik 's review for:
The Chaperone
by Laura Moriarty
When I mentioned that I won an arc of this novel from the publisher, my partner remarked, 'Seems like you'd have to be quite the Louise Brooks fan to enjoy it.' (We are. And of Colleen Moore and Lillian Gish, too.)
But as I read, I realized that knowing about Louise Brooks wasn't essential. That is mainly because, as the title suggests, the chaperone Cora Carlisle is at the heart of the story. Laura Moriarty contextualizes the era so well that Louise's open and unconventional behavior feels shocking when it clashes with Cora's desire to maintain respectable appearances. Cora was an actress before Louise ever thought of taking up dance, needing to conform to the social expectations placed upon her. By journeying to New York as a chaperone, Cora intended to learn about her past. Instead she learned about how to make a future for herself.
Moriarty does an excellent job of capturing social nuances--mistaken perception, unreadable faces, masked hurt and displeasure. Through these two seemingly opposite characters she brings to life the tumultuous changes American women experienced at the beginning of the twentieth century: the newly won right to vote, clothing (corsets vs. knee-revealing skirts), and birth control (Margaret Sanger and condoms). Cora believes that Prohibition is valuable while Louise can't wait to get drunk. Though Cora finds the KKK in Kansas distasteful and makes sure to thank and give days off to her colored maid, she still feels overwhelmed sitting in a theatre to watch a show written, produced, directed, and performed by black people. The push and pull between propriety and progress, between keeping up appearances and experiencing life fully, between tradition and youth culture are central to the story itself.
But as I read, I realized that knowing about Louise Brooks wasn't essential. That is mainly because, as the title suggests, the chaperone Cora Carlisle is at the heart of the story. Laura Moriarty contextualizes the era so well that Louise's open and unconventional behavior feels shocking when it clashes with Cora's desire to maintain respectable appearances. Cora was an actress before Louise ever thought of taking up dance, needing to conform to the social expectations placed upon her. By journeying to New York as a chaperone, Cora intended to learn about her past. Instead she learned about how to make a future for herself.
Moriarty does an excellent job of capturing social nuances--mistaken perception, unreadable faces, masked hurt and displeasure. Through these two seemingly opposite characters she brings to life the tumultuous changes American women experienced at the beginning of the twentieth century: the newly won right to vote, clothing (corsets vs. knee-revealing skirts), and birth control (Margaret Sanger and condoms). Cora believes that Prohibition is valuable while Louise can't wait to get drunk. Though Cora finds the KKK in Kansas distasteful and makes sure to thank and give days off to her colored maid, she still feels overwhelmed sitting in a theatre to watch a show written, produced, directed, and performed by black people. The push and pull between propriety and progress, between keeping up appearances and experiencing life fully, between tradition and youth culture are central to the story itself.