Summer Reading 2022: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

 

If you're looking for gentle World War 2 fiction, Jennifer Ryan is your person. I've read two of her novels and enjoyed them both for the very fact that they are just good historical novels that give a flavor of the time from the women on the home  front. 

This novel takes place in 1942 in the small village of Aldhurst, outside of London. England is deep in World War 2, and rationing is in full force. Not only food, but clothing is in short supply. 

A group of women in the village gather each week to sew and repurpose (the "make do and mend" program) second hand clothing, along with knitting socks for the troops. Violet is the daughter of the manor, and niece to famous clothing designer Cressida Westcott. She's only interested in finding a titled man to marry. 

Cressida's home and shop are bombed in London, and the only place for her to go is her family home in Aldhurst. Reluctant to return to her childhood home, she doesn't have much choice and can't wait to return to London. 

Grace is the vicar's daughter, and engaged to be married to another vicar. It's not a love match, and it's pretty clear her fiancé is looking for a helpmate and not necessarily a wife. She's vaguely unhappy, but believes this is her calling and a way to have a family of her own. 

These three women are the main characters in the novel. There are other players, of course, and it's pretty interesting how much each of the women change over the course of the novel. Violet is petulant and a bit of a brat; she's been conscripted to join the women's war effort and believes her upper class standing will make it a smooth ride for herself. She is wrong. 

Grace runs into Hugh, the lord of the manor (and Violet's brother). Childhood friends who haven't seen each other in years, both are dismayed to find the other completely different from their carefree days as children and best friends. There's more here to unpack, for sure. 

Cressida meets up with Grace's father, Vicar Ben. Cressida's fiancé was killed in World War I and was Ben's best friend. Cressida left Aldhurst to begin her career as a designer and never fell in love again. Ben married, had Grace, and lost his wife. They strike up a friendship again; could it be more than that after all these years?

Besides all the stories going on with these three women, the sewing circle has begun something pretty fantastic and unique: helping women who are getting married have a white wedding dress. Since clothes rations leave little room (as in none!) for special clothing, women are getting married in their uniforms and every day dresses. What starts with Grace's wedding dress blooms into a movement to have wedding dresses available for any woman in the country who is getting married. It's an amazing part of the novel, and brings home the willingness to work together, to share, and give selflessly so others may have even a tiny bit of happiness. There was no "me", it was all "us". 

I liked all the characters and especially the growth of each woman as the six months of the novel go by. A lot of self discovery, confidence building, and understanding of love and the precious time we all have in which to be happy and lead fulfilling lives. 

Kate Quinn's World War 2 novels are a bit more intense than Jennifer Ryan's novels, even though both take place at a dark time for the world. I've read both, and would say Jennifer Ryan's novels are more wholesome and less anxiety inducing! 

Rating: 4/6 for an entirely likable cast of characters, a unique movement in British home front activity, and the message of uniting together and doing what's right for all instead of being selfish. Another theme is discovering the life you want to live and going for it, even if it means leaving the familiar to forge into the unknown. And finally, loving someone for who they are, not what they have. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Summer Reading 2022: The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

The Ghost Manuscript by Kris Frieswick

This was an excellent mix of thriller, history, antiquities, libraries, and action-adventure. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this, after picking it up at the library on a whim. 

Carys Jones is a rare book authenticator who works for an auction house. She's worked on tracking down British Dark Age manuscripts for John Harper, a super rich man who has created a one of a kind library at his estate. 

Harper has been committed to an insane asylum because he's been hallucinating and insisting he's talking to a monk who was the personal holy man to the man known today at King Arthur.  Carys has been called in to look over the collection and to catalog it and prepare it for sale. Harper's son JJ is selling the library, along with the estate. 

Carys thinks she's just there to prepare the library for sale, but her meeting with Harper reveals something a bit too hard to believe: a rare manuscript written by a monk telling the true story of King Arthur, and his burial site. That site contains priceless treasures from the Dark Age, when Britain was under attack by Anglo Saxons and under constant siege. If this manuscript is the real deal, the world may finally know for sure that King Arthur was an actual person, not a myth. And it will contain treasures of a long lost age. 

Carys digs deeper and deeper, and soon finds herself being chased from Boston to Wales, where the manuscript leads her on a wild chase. There's so much to this story, I can't possibly tell you everything. It's pretty wild. Is Carys also falling prey to hallucinations, or is she really conversing with the long dead monk? Will the bad men chasing her, determined to kill to get the manuscript, succeed in tracking her down? Who can she trust? 

Oh, it's so good! I love novels that explore legends, ancient mysteries, and lost treasure. This novel is chock full of history and mystery, and I was enthralled. There were a few plot twists that gutted me, for sure. I was very invested in Carys' journey, and the supporting characters are such a part of the plot I had a few stressful moments in the thick of the action. Let's just say no one is safe in this adventure. The bad men are really bad, and will stop at nothing to succeed. 

I would highly recommend this novel for anyone who is a King Arthur fan or a  history buff. For sure I'd recommend it for fans of Clive Cussler, James Rollins, and Dan Brown. It's a solidly written tale that will keep you breathless. I hope hope hope there's a sequel, because there's room at the end for more adventures. 

Rating: 5/6 for a thrilling dive into the legend of King Arthur, set in contemporary Boston and Wales, where history could be rewritten if long lost secrets come to light. So good!  

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio book. 

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The Ghost Manuscript by Kris Frieswick

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: A DNF that I Finally Finished

May has been a month where I've skipped the fun and frothy books and instead dove straight into the tough reads. I can't lie; reading too many in a short time frame tends to bring me down. 

That is part of the reason why I tried reading Homegoing before, and just couldn't do it. I definitely believe in books not only reflecting your mood, but affecting your mood. Homegoing was a tough read for me; I picked it for my book group's May read because it would push me to read it. We meet on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to the discussion we'll have about this thought provoking novel. 

Homegoing  is about eight generations of people who come from two half-sisters who don't realize the other exists. One sister, Effia, stays in Ghana and is married to a white British officer there to help with the slave trade in the late 1700's--when British interests in acquiring and selling slaves was huge. Unbeknownst to Effia for most of her young life, she has a half-sister, Esi, who was also raised in Ghana, but in a different village and a different tribe. The cruelty of slavery and tribal affiliations begin early with Effia and Esi, as Esi is captured by raiders and sent to the dungeons at the Castle, the very place where Effia is living with her British husband. Esi is shipped off to the United States, to become a slave and begin the chain of events that will shape her descendants into the 20th century. 

Effia doesn't have it all good, either. Despised by her step-mother, caught between two worlds, unhappy with her life, her descendants remain in Ghana for generations, until Yaw, disfigured by an accident as a baby, moves to the United States to teach. Finally, the two branches meet in San Francisco as Yaw's daughter Marjorie and Esi's great-great-great-great-great (I think?!) grandson Marcus travel back to Ghana in a very moving final chapter. 

There are so many stories, and each is heartbreaking. No one in this novel has a happy life. The issue of slavery is so prevalent for both sides that it is soaked into the fiber of their being. Seeing the chain of generations, and reading their stories, it is very clear why, even today, events that took place hundreds of years ago keep thundering through our lives and our nation.  The women in this novel are extraordinary; fierce, strong, and survivors of enormously horrible situations. Sprinkled through the generations, there are also men who stand out. 

The story that I most connected to was H's story. Born into slavery (his mother's story is so sad I can't even think about it!), freed after the Civil War, and sent to work in coal mines as punishment for not being able to pay bail, H is such a strong character through every trial that comes his way. His journey was probably my favorite part of the novel. So, so good. 

Homegoing is a very emotional novel, and that is what makes it hard to read quickly, or in one sitting. You have to sit with it, think about each generation as they tell their story, and follow the chain of history down through the generations. Family history, world history, magic, spiritual belief, ancestor respect-all are a part of this novel, along with the all too often whims of fate.  People sometimes don't understand how something that happened 200 years ago can affect our present day; this novel shows that very thing over and over again, and for that, this is a novel that everyone should read. High schoolers and college age students should read this and discuss it together. 

I am very glad I returned to this DNF and finished it. Not many books have the power to deeply move me; Yaa Gyasi's astounding novel joins that list. 

Rating:  5/6 for a novel that is not an easy read-not because of writing style, or plot, but because of the powerful characters who live, love, dream, and survive tragedy after tragedy through the generations. I highly recommend this for book groups, high school and college students, and anyone interested in history. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.

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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: A DNF that I Finally Finished

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

 I've read and enjoyed a few of Bill Bryson's travel adventures, and even recently watched the movie A Walk in the Woods (the book was much better).  So when I had a chance to read an advanced copy of his latest travel adventures, I jumped at the chance.  

Bill Bryson is originally an Iowa boy, born in Des Moines and ending up in England in his early 20's, falling in love, marrying, and settling in his new home.  He's been back to the United States, even lived in New Hampshire for a number of years, but now he's settled back in England, a curmudgeon that at once makes you laugh and ponder how the world changes as we age--or is it the same, and we just see it differently in our mature years? 

The Road to Little Dribbling is a sequel of sorts to his very popular book Notes from a Small Island, written 20 years ago.  He decided, after a bit of prodding, that he needed to revisit some of the places he first visited as a relative newbie living in England.  Now Bill is in his 60's, and that really does color his experiences as he wanders through England from top to bottom.  Visiting Cornwall, Wales, Dover, and many other places both big and small, Bill reminisces over how England has changed and stayed the same in some places; even improved greatly from when he last visited.  He rails against the increasing stupidity of people (don't we all, really?), their horrible grammar, and how England is in danger of losing what makes England such a wonderful place: the vast swaths of forests, parks, and stunning beauty that makes England like no other place in the world. 

Bill is clearly a man in love with his adopted homeland (and he recently became a dual citizen as well).  He is funny, biting, and sometimes just plain crabby and grumpy.  He does make the point that England has so many incredible National Heritage Sites, archeological sites, cathedrals, and oodles of historical "stuff" that it is easy for people to grow complacent, and figure all will always be there.  But, we are reminded that we are merely stewards, and we must take care of our treasures.  I thoroughly enjoyed Bill's snarkiness, bits of forgotten historical tidbits, and mostly his passion and love for Britain, warts and all.  We all sometimes need a reminder of why we love the places we call home, with all the quirkiness and quiet beauty that surrounds us that we often times forget to see.  

You don't need to read Notes from a Small Island to enjoy the "sequel". I didn't and don't feel I missed anything important.  Those who love Bill Bryson won't be disappointed, and those who don't know Bill Bryson should give his travel adventures a try.  

Rating:  7/10 for an enjoyable tromp through England with a man who enjoys a pint, appreciates the quirks of his country, and has just the right touch of humor and history to make his books a treat to read. 

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The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson