I wouldn't call this my normal read, but it also wasn't that far out of my interests. Set between 1950 and 1954 we get a view into the lives of women living in a boarding house in Washington, DC at that time. We see their strengths, their imperfections, and things that aren't really either, but things that just aren't celebrated in women in the 50's. We uncover their relationships, their secrets, and hopes.
It's a pretty big cast of characters, but I think Quinn did a great job with that, I wasn't ever confused or lost about who was who (even the auxiliary male characters).
Nicely done female-focused fiction with non-fiction elements.
It's a pretty big cast of characters, but I think Quinn did a great job with that, I wasn't ever confused or lost about who was who (even the auxiliary male characters).
Nicely done female-focused fiction with non-fiction elements.
I enjoyed this book, partly because it takes place in Washington, DC in the fifties. I was born in Washington DC in the fifties. Kate Quinn has put enough references to the place (Griffith Stadium, The Hecht Co., Colonial Beach) to make this book ring true. I enjoyed the separate chapters devoted to the different inhabitants of the Briarwood, also. They kept the story moving along. There are a few 'woke' moments, but not enough to make this book unbearable, All in all the story is good, moves quickly and doesn't insult your intelligence.
Poorest book this author has written that I have read. Disjointed and difficult to read. Read 200 pages but did not finish.
