Kathleen Shoop

First, I want to mention that while this is the second book in the series, the previous plot doesn’t carry over to this one, they can be read in any order, they’re set in the same place though different time periods with different characters (it sounds like the third book will be a direct sequel to this one).

It’s 1910, in a Pennsylvania mill town, Mary, in her early teens has left school to split her time between working in a wealthy household and at a mill to help with the bills at show more home, it’s a struggle that doesn’t leave much time for dances or the boy she crushes on, but none of it deters Mary from dreaming about a more luxurious, lemon-scented life than the one she’s grown up in, and choosing her own husband, not the one her parents want her to marry. Meantime, in Poland, Lucasz is dreaming of a different life, too, perhaps a more humble one than Mary has in mind, but more than his current fortunes allow, so he’s determined to get to America to make it happen.

This is quite a large book, though happily I didn’t really feel the length. Some readers may not find enough twists and turns in a novel of this size, but this author has such a strong grasp on her characters that I didn’t feel the need for a whole lot of bells and whistles, it’s the investment in Mary and Lukasz that had me turning the pages with ease and eagerness.

There is a love story here, however, their romance doesn’t monopolize the book, there are brief interactions between them throughout, accidental moments, little sparks of something, the occasional charming coincidence that in their respective cultures signify a potential future together, but, for the most part, their relationship isn’t the focus, this is much more about getting to know Mary and Lukasz on their way to one another.

I really liked Mary’s subtle growth and resilience that felt realistic for her age range, the stops and starts of learning to assert herself with her parents, and gradually figuring out that maybe she should require more from a partner than height, and I thought Lucasz was well-written, too, how optimism was much more of struggle for him at times, there was his alienation as an immigrant who speaks very little English, and having to swallow that the American dream he was promised isn’t quite what is delivered, along with a relationship forced upon him. Also, as far as secondary characters go, Mrs. Dunn, Mary’s mentor, even though it’s a small role, she stood out to me in the sense that I always enjoy it when I expect a character will at some point go a certain way and she surprises me.

Lukasz expecting his American life to live up to a photograph, Mary’s collection of idealized trinkets/household items and her obsession with that clean lemon scent, all of that reminded me of the social media image of perfect versus the reality of living an actual life, and the immigrant experience in the book, the judgment, the laws, the integration or lack thereof, in many ways, that, too, echoed what’s going on in the world now, as did Mary’s experience with harassment. For me, that was probably the most interesting aspect of this book (aside from the cultural traditions), it was just how often this felt relevant to now which for me was a fairly unique experience when it comes to historical reads.

If you enjoy well-told stories rich in character and fascinating historical details (for instance, in this book, you find out that at that time an American woman relinquishes her citizenship if she marries an immigrant), absolutely give this author’s novels a chance, you won’t be disappointed.

I received this book through a giveaway. show less

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from A Puff of Silk. I certainly was not expecting to feel so deeply for Amelia's freefall from a charmed life, or from the house fire that her life becomes. There's a dark comedy hidden among it all, and in the end, Amelia is driven to take a look at her life, and what matters as things continue to blaze out of control. You can't help but cheer for this heroine who flew a little too close to the sun and is now forced to reevaluate and rebuild her life.

Rose, a community nurse, finds her carefully controlled life coming undone with her brother-in-law gambling the family savings, her children veering away from their college plans, her husband keeping secrets and her own past creeping into her present, all as an intense smoky fog settles in, endangering everyone.

The specific time and place of this story was such an asset, it sets this apart from so many other historical novels by fictionalizing an event that I’m not sure is all that widely show more known, or at least I certainly wasn’t aware of it, and I always like accidentally learning something while reading for pleasure. Plus the fog and soot make for such an atmospheric backdrop, perfectly suited to this family in crisis already choking on the secrets they’re keeping.

Speaking of those secrets, the story hinges on a lot of them, which I do sometimes find problematic in a book but I thought they were handled well here, doling out reveals at the right pace to have an impact, and maybe more importantly, I was never annoyed thinking a character should have figured something out before they did. I also appreciated that the end took its time in coming so we could see everyone, especially Rose adjust to living with their truths.

Rose will probably be the make or break factor for most who pick up this book, she isn’t likable all the time, she has a slew of flaws. I’m fond of heroines with hard shells and vulnerable insides, so right from her first interaction with the dog she claimed to dislike yet had a soft spot for, I was on board with her. I did have frustrations with her, some of the cruelty that came out of her mouth, particularly in regards to her daughter was cringeworthy, but the author does such a great job of helping you understand those moments, of establishing why Rose is the way she is, showing you all the labor, the guilt and the hurt piling up on her to the point of emotional and physical exhaustion. Some readers may find Rose to be too much, mostly I just found her wonderfully complicated, conflicted, and human. show less

Donora, Pennsylvania lived by and for its steel mills. The Donora Fog of 1948 was caused by chemical effluents from its steel and zinc plant that were trapped low to the ground by a temperature inversion. Many people with respiratory problems died and literally thousands of the local residents became sick. This book focuses on a local public health nurse, Rose, whose professionalism is superb, but whose personal life is in shambles. Just as the fog makes the local world visibly impenetrable, show more all of her family have stories they hide from her and she has an early history that she has never revealed to her family, though it haunts her.

I thought the personal story and the historical events in Donora were mingled together very very well. Though the personal drama leaned heavily toward soap opera, the characters, especially Rose, were well drawn and had substance. show less