A review by hrhacissej
The Clothes On Their Backs by Linda Grant

3.0

I think 3.5 stars would be a more accurate assessment of my review. I enjoyed this story of a family's dissimilar ways of enduring loss and hardship and how the past affects the present. However, I don't think Grant did a convincing job of conveying character's personalities and transformations through their clothes. She certainly is detailed about what they are wearing at any given time, but I thought that it was TMI on most occasions. Perhaps this clothing/personality correlation would work better visually...at least for me.

My favorite quote comes at the very beginning and sets the mood of the book...

"I have not forgotten our summer together, when I learned the only truth that matters: that suffering does not ennoble and that survivors survive because of their strength or cunning or luck, not their goodness, and certainly not their innocence."