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A review by comebymoonlight
Mrs. Mike by Nancy Freedman, Benedict Freedman
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I first read this book in middle school, then again in high school, and again in college. I still think about it often, and I'm sure I have not yet read it for the last time. It has stuck with me more than any other book ever has.
Everywhere I look I see this classified as a romance novel and I object to that classification. Yes, Kathy's marriage is an important part of the book, but only in that it is the trigger for every other change in her life. It's certainly not un-romantic, but this story is far more about Kathy and the community around her than about Kathy-and-Mike (don't be fooled by the title). The focus is on her personal growth and the trials she faces along the way.
And just as much it is about the beautiful but capricious Canadian wilderness, which plays such a central role that it feels like a character in its own right.
The authors pull the reader between moments of beauty and love and wonder into scenes of loss and destruction and injustice and then back again at dizzying speeds, and some of the descriptions in this book still haunt me.
Mrs. Mike was written in the 1940s and the events it covers are from the decades preceding. While Kathy herself consistently speaks out (or acts out, when able) against the racism and sexism that was typical of the times, it can still be a very difficult read.
Everywhere I look I see this classified as a romance novel and I object to that classification. Yes, Kathy's marriage is an important part of the book, but only in that it is the trigger for every other change in her life. It's certainly not un-romantic, but this story is far more about Kathy and the community around her than about Kathy-and-Mike (don't be fooled by the title). The focus is on her personal growth and the trials she faces along the way.
And just as much it is about the beautiful but capricious Canadian wilderness, which plays such a central role that it feels like a character in its own right.
The authors pull the reader between moments of beauty and love and wonder into scenes of loss and destruction and injustice and then back again at dizzying speeds, and some of the descriptions in this book still haunt me.
Mrs. Mike was written in the 1940s and the events it covers are from the decades preceding. While Kathy herself consistently speaks out (or acts out, when able) against the racism and sexism that was typical of the times, it can still be a very difficult read.