An ambitious and multifaceted novel that cunningly challenges patriarchy and its consequences.
In Giordano’s debut historical novel, a young aristocrat is whisked away to her new husband’s Caribbean residence, where she discovers that all is not as it seems.
The novel opens in Somerset, England, in 1791. Eliza Hastings is the last unmarried daughter in her wealthy family, as she’s less interested in finding a potential mate than she is in spending time in the library. Her impatient parents arrange a function to which they invite numerous potential suitors, but rather than socialize, Eliza decides to pursue a beautiful moth through the garden. As she does so, she encounters a strange man with “wary green eyes”: Lord Charles Sharpe, a baron and lieutenant colonel of the British Legion. Soon after their first meeting, Sharpe requests Eliza’s hand in marriage, which she uncertainly accepts to get away from her family; they leave for his father’s house in the Bahamas shortly after the wedding ceremony, where Charles plans to put down roots. Even during their passage, something feels wrong. Charles is dismissive of Eliza, and they sleep in separate chambers (although the latter was not uncommon for the aristocracy of the period). Then, after their arrival at their destination, Charles forces himself upon her, finally revealing his violent, domineering character. Eliza is horrified by the presence of slavery on the plantation, and she finds herself a prisoner on the island. Her only pleasure, swimming, is forbidden by Charles, although she regularly disobeys him. Then Eliza’s life changes again when she meets an enigmatic, well-dressed gentleman named Jean Charles de Longchamp, who charms her with his knowledge of literature. In Jean, Eliza finds the possibility of new love and also, perhaps, an opportunity to break free.
This is a compelling series starter with a fascinatingly complex main character. Her driving ambition to escape her patriarchal society’s sexist expectations and experience the world on her own terms proves to be inspiring. Giordano communicates Eliza’s predicament with clarity and elegance: “He represented reason right now when she only wanted to chase after her hazy surroundings, comfortable in wantonness, and her newfound freedom.” Eliza and Charles’ heated conversations about slavery are particularly engaging, as when Eliza says, “I believe that men enjoy dominating others. Whether it is women or their fellow man. There is no moral justification for the trade, and there never shall be.” Charles, however, holds the vile assumptions of his time, gender, and class: “It is the natural order of things, my dear….Do not the strongest animals dominate the weaker ones?” In many respects, Eliza is a woman before her time: a 21st-century progressive feminist who refuses to tolerate Charles’ tiresome 18th-century condescension. This makes for thought-provoking reading; through Eliza’s perspective, readers witness the stark injustices and inequalities of colonial society with clarity. Meanwhile, Giordano produces formal yet amusing descriptive passages that may remind readers of Charlotte Brontë’s work: “An unimpressive corpulent man with red hair stepped forward, possessing ruddy flushed cheeks.” An ambitious and multifaceted novel that cunningly challenges patriarchy and its consequences.Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2022
ISBN: 9798986983400
Page Count: 536
Publisher: Käferhaus Press
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet bedtime story.
A boy and his stuffed bear head into the woods.
Having captured readers’ attention with Born a Crime (2016), his bestselling memoir of growing up in South Africa, comedian and television host Noah has written a parable about decision-making. As he puts it in a brief prologue, “It’s about disagreements and difference—but it’s also about how we bridge those gaps and find what matters most, whether we’re parents or kids, neighbors, gnomes, or political adversaries. It’s a picture book, but it’s not a children’s book. Rather, it is a book for kids to share with parents and for parents to share with kids.” With plentiful illustrations by Hahn and in language aimed at young listeners, it tells the story of a small boy so impatient to start his Saturday adventures that he rebels against the rules of his household and heads out without brushing his teeth or making his bed, despite the reminders of his stuffed bear, Walter. “We can’t just run away,” protests the bear. “Your mother will miss you. And where will we sleep? And who will make us waffles?” “We’ll build our own house,” the boy responds. “And we’ll grow our own waffles!” From there, the pair go on their walkabout, encountering a garden gnome, a pair of snails, and a gang of animated coins who have lessons to offer about making choices. Though the author suggests in the introduction that adult readers might enjoy the book on their own, those looking for a follow-up to the memoir or a foray into adult fiction should be warned that this is not that book.
A sweet bedtime story.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593729960
Page Count: 128
Publisher: One World/Random House
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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