YOU CAN TAKE THE GIRL FROM THE PRAIRIE by Darlene Foster @supermegawoman

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Read about it on Sally Cronin's blog

In a Nutshell: See cover!

This book is an absolute delight, and made me want to go back to the 50s and 60s to live Darlene Foster's childhood!  It's unusual for me to give 5 stars to a short book of short stories, but I was completely absorbed by this, an insight into a world so different from my own.  I could have easily carried on reading more, and was sad when it ended.

Darlene grew up on a farm in the prairies of Alberta, and some of the stories tell of her family and how they got to be there in the first place (A Tale of Two Katharinas - fascinating).  My favourite story was A Hero in a Pickup Truck, about her late father, which reminded me of my own.  I also loved Warm Hugs, about her 10th birthday and her love for her grandmother.

Darlene's deep attachment to her family shines through in all the stories, which are so beautifully written.  By the end of the book, when I read that they'd all, at different times, moved to the city, I felt nostalgic for a life I'd never known.

Loved it.  It's a real gem - and you can make the family photos larger on the Kindle version, in order to study them!

THE WIRE RECORDER by Thomas A Levitt #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: character drama spanning several decades, dealing with sociopolitical issues of mid-twentieth century America.


I was attracted to this book because of the great title, the great cover, and the blurb that spoke of the 1951 campaign to root out communists in the US film industry, something that interests me greatly.  Mr Levitt writes well, and the book flowed along nicely.  I did like much of it, hence the 4 stars, although it was not the book I expected.

The anti-communist witch-hunt is dealt with in a brief fashion in the first ten per cent, after which the novel is about the life of Sophie Hearn, the daughter of Larry, who suffered under the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) campaign.  Running alongside Sophie's story is that of Steve, whose parents were also involved; I found his early development one of the most compelling parts of the book, especially as it took place in a time when developmental disorders went unrecognised.

Mr Levitt creates the atmosphere of 1960s California so well, I would imagine from personal experience, and many of the incidental characters come alive immediately, particularly in their dialogue.

The reason I didn't enjoy the book quite as much as I had hoped is that there was not much actual plot; it is more of a biographical account of Sophie's life, with chapters dedicated to the social issues of the time.  Throughout, I kept waiting for some real conflict, or suspense; opportunities for drama were missed, with any problems (one character's excessive use of marijuana, and, later, the logistics of a mixed race marriage) being resolved quickly and easily, within a page or two, almost as if the author had a checklist of issues to be mentioned.

I enjoyed reading Steve and Sophie's experience at their student parties (and the ridiculous dialogue of the hippie idealists was extremely well done), but few of the scenarios tied together, events happening in isolation.  I wonder if there was perhaps too much material for one book; the author has dealt with not only the HUAC campaign, but also the newly permissive 1960s, sexism, drugs, the women's lib movement, living in a commune, new teaching methods, racism, the difficulties of mixed race marriages, employment problems—all this is crammed into one medium-length novel, whereas any one of those subjects would make a great basis for a story all on its own.  This is a debut novel, and I know it can be a temptation to play all your cards straight away!

The bulk of the book is about Sophie running an experimental school, and her subsequent difficulties in finding a post in a 'public' school.  Sadly, I never got a sense of who Sophie was, though Steve was a rounded, three-dimensional character.

What kept me turning the pages was the writing style, which is extremely readable, the entertaining snapshots of particular aspects of the era, the fact that the author clearly knew his subject matter so well, and the excellent dialogue in the portraits of incidental characters.  In the last fifteen per cent, too, there is more of a coming together of Sophie and Steve's lives, a little more suspense, and an explanation of why and how they were affected by what happened to their parents at the beginning of the book.

To sum up: as a fictional account of the sociological history of the era, this is a most fascinating book; for those who are looking for a plot-driven novel about the HUAC campaign and its affects, though, not so much.

BITTERSWEET FLIGHT by Anne Harvey

3.5 out of 5 stars

1950s family drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber's Review Team

This is the sequel to A Suitable Young Man, and the two thread together well; it could possibly be read as a standalone.  It starts in 1956, when Sally Simcox has run away from her home in Horwich, Lancs to Blackpool, because she is pregnant.   The father is Nick, with whom she had a one night stand after having liked him for a long time; he offered to marry her out of duty, but Sally knew he loved another, so pretended she'd had a miscarriage to let him off the hook.

Once in Blackpool she meets Phil, who is in the RAF, and he helps her find a job and somewhere to live; there is an immediate attraction between them.  Alas, Phil is unaware that Sally has a connection to his family—and he already has a girlfriend, Pam, who is in love with him and hopes they will marry.

It being the late 1950s, Sally has to go into a mother and baby home.  I thought this bit was very interesting, mostly because it shows the difference in attitudes between then and now.  When I was in my teens, having a baby out of wedlock was still seen as a fairly shameful thing, but this is the generation before, when to be an unmarried mother could ruin a girl's life.

Running through alongside the main story is that of Joyce, Phil's young sister, which is connected to Sally's situation.

The book is very readable, certainly enough to keep me turning the pages because I wanted to know what happened, although I found it information heavy in parts; at times the dialogue was a little unrealistic.  Near the end there is a revelation of sexual deviance which examined the darker side of working class life in those days, and an explicit sex scene, the latter of which I found incompatible with the otherwise 'clean read' tone of the book; it kind of jumped out and made me go 'woah, what happened there?'  Aside from this, though, I would say that the many readers of nostalgia/family dramas will enjoy this book, as it's a basically good story, and well plotted.  Sally is real and likeable, and Phil's dilemma very believable (though I thought Pam's character and reactions could have been developed more).   There is plenty of day to day detail about life during the 1950s, too, that will appeal to this market.

A Suitable Young Man by Anne Harvey reviewed HERE

 

A SUITABLE YOUNG MAN by Anne L Harvey

4 out of 5 stars

1950s Family Drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
 

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team

I enjoyed reading this, and was very impressed by some parts.  It's a family saga, set in the working class Bolton area in the 1950s.  Kathy is a secretary who wants to be a journalist in a time when women aren't supposed to want careers.  She gets herself a 'suitable' boyfriend, but finds herself falling in love with Nick Roberts, Teddy Boy, of whom her family disapproves.

The story is told mostly through the eyes of Kathy and Nick, in alternating chapters, with a few snapshots from the viewpoint of Joyce, Nick's 16 year old sister.  It's obvious that the author has written about a time and circumstances that she knows well, and what struck me most was how very different those times were, though only 60 years ago, as I read about the poor families with the tin bath tub hanging on the back of the door, the way in which women of that class had nothing to look forward to but the lifestyle of their mothers.  In other ways, though, history repeats itself; the Teds of Anne Harvey's novel could have been the hippies of the 1960s, the punks of the 1970s, the Emos and Goths of later. 

I loved the portrayal of the Saturday night dances (how tame when compared to young people's entertainment of later decades!), the families sitting round listening to the radio as the only form of entertainment, the cinema as an exciting place to go to, to hear the new music (and those travel film opening features; I think they were still being shown when I was a teenager!).  Also how Nick's mother, at only around 40, was already an old woman.  Nick's a lovely character, I liked him a lot.

Later in the book there is a death that I found heartrending, I thought this bit was very well done without laying it on too thickly.  I enjoyed this novel more and more as it went on.  At times I found the dialogue a little contrived; I felt too much emphasis was put on sticking in yet another bit of nostalgia about the period, or giving information, rather than concentrating on making the dialogue realistic, but this doesn't occur very often. 

The story ended as I expected it to, but I was delighted to see a nice little twist in the epilogue, and I look forward to reading the next book, 'Bittersweet'.  If your preference is for these sort of 'warts and all', post war family dramas, I imagine you will love this; I'd definitely recommend it.

CHANGING PATTERNS by Judith Barrow

4.5 out of 5 stars

1950s family drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Now, this is what I love to see ~ a sequel that is better than the first!  Ideally, writers should improve on their craft all the time, even if they do so without realising; I've read a few books from series this year and been pleased to find this the case, every time, and particularly so with this novel.

Pattern of Shadows followed the fortunes of the Howarth family in working class northern England during WWII; Changing Patterns takes the story into 1950.  I read this book over a period of about 48 hours and thought about it when I wasn't reading it.  What made it good?  It's easy to read, a bit like watching a soap opera; yes, it's an everyday story of simple folk.  Its main USP, though, is the realism, which made me feel two different things.  Firstly, a comfortable nostalgia; I was not born until 1959, but know that people of my parents' generation see those post war years as something of a golden age.  You know, when people had proper family values and were so grateful just to live in a time of peace that they were more appreciative of seemingly trivial pleasures.  The other side, though, is somewhat darker: the prejudices, particularly amongst the ill educated, and the sense of being in a social straitjacket.  This book portrays both sides so well.  

In the first book I did not warm to the main character, Mary Howarth, but I came to like her much more in this one, along with ex POW, Peter, and Mary's sister, Ellen.  Oh, and the horrors of living with the battleaxe mothers in law!  The book is sometimes very graphic in its realism and made me extremely glad the stork didn't drop me in Ellen's situation; Mrs Booth was quite revolting.  And then there is the gross and despicable George Shuttleworth...
I'd say that if this sort of family drama is your favourite thing to read, you will love this book; it's very well written and is a fine example of the genre.  I shall definitely be reading part 3 when available; it's about the next generation and is set in the 1960s.  I so look forward to Ms Barrow's take on an era I really do remember.

A note to the proofreader: at 66% Ms Barrow has used the word 'scran', which is northern slang word for food.  "Good scran that, our kid,".  Alas, the proofreader/editor has changed it to 'scram'!  This made me laugh, as I am a southerner who has moved to the north east in recent years, and before that I hadn't heard of the word, either.  There - you learn something new every day, indeed!


PATTERN OF SHADOWS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS by Judith Barrow reviewed HERE