What to say about this book? It was one of the books I needed to finish prior to leaving for camp, thus I did rush through it a bit more than normal and now it is over two weeks since I completed it. I want to say that I liked it, but I think my overall impression wasn't quite so good.
Sarah Blake's The Postmistress is based on the premise of a letter tucked away in a pocket instead of properly delivered. Set during World War II, the story revolves around two quiet women in a New England town and one intrepid young woman reporting from the action of the war in London. Iris is the 40 year old postmistress in the small town of Franklin, MA. Emma Trask is the newlywed wife of the town doctor. Both women follow the advancement of the war while listening to the emotionally charged, first-hand accounts of Frankie Bard.
The time period was interesting. The idea of a letter undelivered held great promise. However, the story just didn't really draw me in as much as I had hoped. Plus, it felt overwhelmingly depressing. There was nothing in the story to affirm life. I merely felt discouraged by the tale.
I did read on Amazon that the author spent 7 years writing this book. These three characters each wanted to go off in their own directions, thus Blake pared things down to interweave them together in this story. I am wondering if the three separate books might not have made the reader feel more invested in the characters.
2 comments:
I listened to this on an audio book in March. I liked it, but did find it to be very sad and a bit long. I wanted to like it more than I did, but it was just so sad. I just finished reading Secret Daughter and now I'm reading Brooklyn.
Thanks for stopping by, Anon. I'm always thrilled to hear what others are reading. I looked up both of the other titles mentioned. The Secret Daughter sounds really intriguing!
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