Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Elizabeth has been raised in propriety, and in 1944 Richmond there are things a lady simply doesn't do. Her grandmother Mary - Nan to those close to her - does them all. She drinks what she wants, speaks when she wants, and doesn't hesitate to help a colored boy on the street with no concern for who might see.

In awe of her grandmother, Elizabeth also wants to be a good daughter, and no one is more concerned with what people think than her mother, so different from Nan it's sometimes hard to believe she came from the woman's womb.

When Nan gets sick and needs full-time care, she invites Yankee nurse Ariel Brandt into their lives. Smart, funny and beautiful, Ariel is a lot like Nan in a lot of ways, and Elizabeth is drawn to her at once. As her feelings for Ariel grow out of her control, Elizabeth finds herself torn between her own desires and the deeply-ingrained rules of the society in which she lives.

Her brother at war, a new suitor trying to court her, and Ariel keeping a safe distance, Elizabeth is charged with an errand. Nan wants her to travel to New Orleans to find someone she once knew and pass along a wooden box that holds an important letter.

Can the unexpected journey into Nan's past help Elizabeth find her future?

 

Book Review

This is a special book that touched me very deeply and I highly recommend it. Set in the later years of World War Two primarily in Richmond, Virginia, with a remarkable trip to New Orleans, where for several days two women have an extraordinary adventure including an astounding visit to Club Storyville. Everything is primarily and pointedly experienced through Elizabeth's eyes, heart, and soul. I love reading and books often take me soaring, but this story transposed my inner being, allowing me to come to terms with a myriad number of life-altering realities. What a beautiful gift from this author that I hope countless readers can enjoy. Miraculous!

It is through Elizabeth's eyes, sensations, and traumas that this story unfolds. A major force in Elizabeth's world is her grandmother who is affectionately referred to as Nan. In fact, Nan is the architect and reason for the stunning trip to New Orleans, too. Additionally, at home Nan is Elizabeth's closest confidante and a magnificent role model. However, the entire dynamic of this family from Elizabeth's point of view is shifted and continually tilted after Nan hires a nurse named Ariel Brandt. It is a delightful and impressive happening when Elizabeth attempts to understand her transformation in light of her exposure to and near-mesmerism by Ariel. In a pivotal scene early on during a bout of extreme outdoor heat in Richmond, Elizabeth notices that Ariel's perspiration has her clothes sticking to her body creating a near see-through effect. What might have been simply mildly embarrassing to witness, this incident floors Elizabeth. This vision opens a floodgate within Elizabeth by the intensity and profoundly moving sensations she feels.

Elizabeth's thoughts are very much slanted by her upbringing; she knows she cannot pretend that she felt something wholesome. Through her contorted and tangled viewpoint, she unquestionably comprehends that she is depraved. The author packs such a wallop into a few sentences, then periodically plunked me back into Elizabeth's conscience for short but recurring remembrances to that mind-boggling event that locked in Elizabeth's perspective. What a stroke of writing brilliance and there is still three quarters of book yet to be traversed. Elizabeth has many more moments of confusion and despondency paralleling her every growing love, need, and want for Ariel. This story may bring up uncomfortable memories, recollections, or the lightening bolt events when someone first learns there is something very different about them. Even if you are not overwhelmed personally, being in Elizabeth's shoes and core is a remarkably transfiguring tribulation. I found it powerfully jolting, but exquisitely cathartic!

Ariel Brandt is truly adored by Elizabeth. Additionally, she is worldly wise, a professional and proficient nurse, stunningly beautiful, plus a charming companion. She does have some frailties, but Elizabeth has some difficulty seeing them. Ariel is superb with Nan and touchingly convivial with Elizabeth's brother and friend. Early on Ariel and Elizabeth are quite comradely and share some treasured moments. Things definitely shift after Elizabeth becomes besotted with Ariel and I think Nan is the rescuer for them in the way she cobbles together the exceptional death-bed request for both of them to deliver a package to a close friend of Nan's in New Orleans. I adore, possibly love, Ariel. She is a nearly perfect winner. Indubitably impressive!

This book was fabulous and everyone should read it. Monumental!

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 87160 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	18-April-2014
Price	$6.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/430387