Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... A Fall of Marigolds (edition 2014)by Susan Meissner
Work InformationA Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Susan Meissner juxtaposes the Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 with the 9/11 Twin Tower tragedies and the aftermath for two women in this novel that are connected by a scarf decorated with marigolds. Clara Wood, a nurse on Ellis Island, lost a man with whom she felt very connected despite few encounters prior to the factory fire. Taryn, newly pregnant, lost a husband on 9/11. Most of the story concerns Clara whom I found to be self-absorbed and cold. She is pining for what might have been with a man she didn't know very well and is indifferent to anyone offering solace or solutions to her self-imposed exile. A young doctor on Ellis Island is especially concerned about her welfare. I expected to like this story more than I did because I like Meissner's novels, but I couldn't find myself caring much about Clara. Taryn's grief was much more understandable; however, the tie-in with the scarf seemed implausible. Reason Read: Bookclub This book is a historical fiction story set in two different time periods. One story line is US during the 1911 and involves the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the other is the 9/11 event of 2011. The two story lines being so far apart and not seeing a connection made this a bit difficult to engage. I enjoyed both character story lines, it was just hard to see why as a reader I was following these two story lines. The book explores the impact of grief and trauma. I also think it looks at providence and that good often comes out of great difficulties it didn't develop that line as successfully. Each character also struggles with ethical dilemmas. I do look forward to the bookclub discussion and hope we look at these aspects. no reviews | add a review
"September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries...and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she's made. Will what she learns devastate her or free her? September 2011. On Manhattan's Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers...the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. Will a chance reconnection and a century-old scarf open Taryn's eyes to the larger forces at work in her life?"-- No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
As a survivor of a tragic house fire, I related to both of their reactions to witnessing historic tragedy: the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, and the 9/11 Twin Tower collapse. Both women retreat into an "in-between place". This is a common reaction.
The book also has a strong sense of place. Having worked in the World Trade Center, Meissner took me back to downtown NYC when writing about Taryn's experience. Clara, a nurse at Ellis Island, interacts with immigrants suffering from scarlet fever. One of these is a tailor. I thought about my grandparents who came through Ellis Island during the same period, one of whom was also a tailor. This story fleshed out their experience for me.
I also liked how she used Keats' "Ode to a Grecian Urn" as a means of understanding longing and loss. The poetry book itself is a McGuffin within the story, just to name a few.
Lastly, I love scarves. Having lost my collection in my house fire, family members have lovingly shared theirs with me. My new, small collection is dear to me because I can relate each scarf to the person who shared it with me, as do the characters in this book.
( )