Siobhan Lilian Jasper Lilian Jasper থেকে Yavorivtsi, Khmel'nyts'ka oblast, Ukraine
I started out thinking this book was ridiculous--it was difficult for me to suspend my disbelief. Now, I'm more than willing to suspend it for good reason or a good story, but the difficulty of the task the two main characters undertook did not match the ease with which is was carried out. (Does that sentence even make sense? Anyway...) Things took a turn for the better when they reached the Colonies. The story became more engaging and believable and I actually enjoyed the last half quite a bit. I'm still keeping with the three star rating though, since the flaws were distracting.
There's what looks like the detail of a painting on the cover and seeing as how the book is by Pearl Earring author Tracy Chevalier, I figured it would also be the possible story behind another painting. Turns out it has nothing to do with a painting, or if it does, I have no idea what painting. It's about two families in London in the early part of the 20th century who meet at a cemetary where their family graves lie next to each other. One family has a large stone angel on top of their grave and the other family has an urn. I was at a cemetary last week and noticed a sign saying that no urns or statues are allowed, but I guess they used to be de rigeur. The story is told in blips by each member of each family in turn, although the emphasis is the stories of the daughters. It's certainly not a given that a book told from the point of view of children would be childish, but the whole book did seem a bit juvenile to me. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, but I'm sure I would have appreciated and understood it completely at age 12 as well. Or maybe it just seemed like I'd already done this theme a fair bit lately -- women in an oppressed society getting into trouble. I would recommend this as a beach book perhaps, or a good book to read on a plane when you're too tired to have to concentrate very hard but want to be transported.