January 22
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: January 22, 2019
Pages: 285
🍊🍊🍊/5
My Review:
This is a historical fiction title set in the early 1940s in Springfield, Massachusetts and Brooklyn, New York. The main story revolves around Ruth and Millie and their relationship as adults.
To begin, I was interested in the sisters and how Ruth felt so threatened by Millie her younger sister. Ruth was so abrasive and “woe is me” always complaining that her sister got preferential treatment. Even years later they have become estranged and distant.
There are hints about a great big secret between the sisters. When we hear Millie’s side, she seems to want her sister’s approval desperately. She has made poor decisions and wants to escape them. I did feel sorry for her.
Moving along, Millie and her young son go to live with Ruth and her husband at the Springfield Armory. They are both hoping they might reconnect as sisters and adults.
Lillian and Arietta were lovely additions to the cast. They showed kindness and generosity and they were strong and important secondary characters.
The Springfield Armory is a real place in Massachusetts and the author does a great job of imagining and filling in the blanks of this historic site and I could really picture the town square.
In the end, I was fairly entertained by this story of strong women overcoming past wrongs for the sake of family, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it historical fiction – it felt more like a women’s drama set during wartime.
About the Author:
Lynda Cohen Loigman grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. She received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a law degree from Columbia Law School. Lynda practiced trusts and estates law in New York City for eight years before moving out of the city to raise her two children with her husband. She wrote The Two-Family House while she was a student of the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. The Two-Family House was chosen by Goodreads as a best book of the month for March, 2016, and was a nominee for the Goodreads 2016
QOTD: What’s one thing you could never forgive your sibling for?
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The OC Book Girl 
I so agree, Jaymi. I gave it three stars as well. It was billed as wartime, yet I felt this book time’s period could really be any time period. I was a tad disappointed.
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Great portrayal of sibling rivalry! Histfic? Not so much! I enjoyed your review. 👍
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Thanks Carol! I appreciate you stopping by!
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Oh dear, I have this one to read, assuming it was Historical Fiction. Too bad.
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Have you read her other book? It was really memorable and interesting – The Two Family House.
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No, but it is on my TBR. Maybe I will start with that one.
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