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A review by bianca89279
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
5.0
4.5
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes charmed the pants off of me.
Ruth Hogan’s writing is beautifully descriptive, making the settings come to life. She builds the story slowly, allowing us to know the main characters, via their parallel points of view. Masha is a grieving mother, unable to move on with her life, even though it’s been twelve years since her son died. Alice is a single mother to Michael, now a changing teenager. He’s the apple of her eyes.
Masha is fascinated with the Victorian graveyard in her neighbourhood, where she spends countless hours, either by herself or in the company of her adorable wolfhound, Haizum. Besides her job as a psychotherapist, she enjoys swimming in an outdoor pool, no matter how cold it gets.
As they say, the devil is in the details. This is the case here as well. The settings and their descriptions are beautiful. There’s a large cast of quirky and interesting characters. I enjoyed the “word of the day” that popped up now and then and, incredibly enough, learning about the Victorian era ‘death business’, and a few other bits and pieces.
Although there’s death, pain and grief, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes ends up being a feel-good, life-affirming kind of novel, which I savoured and found satisfying.
Highly recommended
I’ve received this novel via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes charmed the pants off of me.
Ruth Hogan’s writing is beautifully descriptive, making the settings come to life. She builds the story slowly, allowing us to know the main characters, via their parallel points of view. Masha is a grieving mother, unable to move on with her life, even though it’s been twelve years since her son died. Alice is a single mother to Michael, now a changing teenager. He’s the apple of her eyes.
Masha is fascinated with the Victorian graveyard in her neighbourhood, where she spends countless hours, either by herself or in the company of her adorable wolfhound, Haizum. Besides her job as a psychotherapist, she enjoys swimming in an outdoor pool, no matter how cold it gets.
As they say, the devil is in the details. This is the case here as well. The settings and their descriptions are beautiful. There’s a large cast of quirky and interesting characters. I enjoyed the “word of the day” that popped up now and then and, incredibly enough, learning about the Victorian era ‘death business’, and a few other bits and pieces.
Although there’s death, pain and grief, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes ends up being a feel-good, life-affirming kind of novel, which I savoured and found satisfying.
Highly recommended
I’ve received this novel via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.