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A review by theliteratureladies
As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
4.0
It is no secret I have come to love Susan Meissner’s novels. As Bright As Heaven was published in 2018, but it felt extremely poignant and timely to read in 2022. It tells the story of the Bright family as they learn to live and love amidst the great losses of WWI and the Spanish Flu epidemic.
Tom and Pauline Bright move their three girls from their small town to Philadelphia for Tom to begin working with his Uncle Fred as an undertaker. Pauline struggles to cope in light of the recent death of their infant son; and their three daughters – Evie, Maggie, and Willa – adjust to life in a big city. Just as they begin to put down roots, the Spanish Flu ravages the city, killing thousands. And yet, they manage to find hope in the taking in and care of an orphaned, baby boy.
This novel began slowly. I struggled to get into it for easily the first 75-100 pages. The story is told from the perspectives of Pauline, Evie, Maggie, and Willa. The daughters are each under the age of 16, and the tone of the book feels very plain and simple. However, once the action picked up, the plot moved at a rapid pace. For the second half of the book, the daughters are in their late teens or early 20s, and the shift in their voices is drastic (in a positive way, in my opinion). It allowed me to connect with them better, and it caused the book to take a more mature feel. The story is somber and haunting. It won’t leave the reader with warm fuzzies, but it will make you think.
One thing I really appreciate about Meissner’s writing is that she doesn’t try to write complicated, elegant statements. Rather, she effortlessly pens beautiful prose that will linger with you until long after you’ve finished. It doesn’t feel forced. One example that stuck out to me reads as follows, “Death is not our foe. There is no foe. There is only the stunningly fragile human body, a holy creation capable of loving with such astonishing strength but which is weak to the curses of a fallen world. It is the frailty of flesh and blood that causes us to succumb to forces greater than ourselves. We are like butterflies, delicate and wonderful, here on earth for only a brilliant moment and then we fly away. Death is appointed merely to close the door to our suffering and open wide the gate to paradise.” Just wow. So beautiful and so poignant.
www.theliteratureladies.com
Tom and Pauline Bright move their three girls from their small town to Philadelphia for Tom to begin working with his Uncle Fred as an undertaker. Pauline struggles to cope in light of the recent death of their infant son; and their three daughters – Evie, Maggie, and Willa – adjust to life in a big city. Just as they begin to put down roots, the Spanish Flu ravages the city, killing thousands. And yet, they manage to find hope in the taking in and care of an orphaned, baby boy.
This novel began slowly. I struggled to get into it for easily the first 75-100 pages. The story is told from the perspectives of Pauline, Evie, Maggie, and Willa. The daughters are each under the age of 16, and the tone of the book feels very plain and simple. However, once the action picked up, the plot moved at a rapid pace. For the second half of the book, the daughters are in their late teens or early 20s, and the shift in their voices is drastic (in a positive way, in my opinion). It allowed me to connect with them better, and it caused the book to take a more mature feel. The story is somber and haunting. It won’t leave the reader with warm fuzzies, but it will make you think.
One thing I really appreciate about Meissner’s writing is that she doesn’t try to write complicated, elegant statements. Rather, she effortlessly pens beautiful prose that will linger with you until long after you’ve finished. It doesn’t feel forced. One example that stuck out to me reads as follows, “Death is not our foe. There is no foe. There is only the stunningly fragile human body, a holy creation capable of loving with such astonishing strength but which is weak to the curses of a fallen world. It is the frailty of flesh and blood that causes us to succumb to forces greater than ourselves. We are like butterflies, delicate and wonderful, here on earth for only a brilliant moment and then we fly away. Death is appointed merely to close the door to our suffering and open wide the gate to paradise.” Just wow. So beautiful and so poignant.
www.theliteratureladies.com