Terri W. (txhockeymom) - , reviewed on 1/5/2009 + 33 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 3

Beth Gutcheon is one of my favorite authors. This was a very poignant story which combined narrative of life in mid-20th century America and life during WWII in Nazi-occupied Denmark. I was a little unhappy about the evolution of the main character, Sydney, because I saw her as an unhappy child with a cruel mother who was surviving and setting herself free, only to turn into the same kind of woman her mother was once she married and had children of her own. The only reason I did not end up hating her was that I believe she was result of her upbringing. At the same time, she did stick to some of the things she believed in, such as her reaction to society mavens pressuring her about her husband's desegregation of the YMCA. That was priceless, and so unlike her current incarnation that I thought "WOW - she still has some redeeming qualities!"

Toward the end of her life, suffering from (possibly) Alzheimers and with a husband who cares for her, a choice is made by someone (by whom is never clear), which I believe is a fitting and peaceful end to the lives of two people who suffered in different ways and yet found peace with each other in their old age. It is not a classic love story, but a story of two people in a long marriage who accept each other and make a life together.

I highly recommend this.....

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