The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

THE CHILBURY LADIES CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan
This was much better than I expected! I was expecting a syrupy sweet little tale and got a sprawling story of people: interesting people, who lived and changed and grew larger with each page. It is also a story of war – how fear and loss change people and places. Of course, there are also secrets, spies, skullduggery, lies, love, friendship, betrayal, kindness, faith, redemption, and the joy of music. Music and its ability to heal wounds, cross barriers and sooth hurting souls is the component that binds all the elements of the book into a pleasing and wondrous whole.
Book groups will love this book. It offers a myriad of topics for discussion as well as enough plot elements to make every show more reader happy.
5 of 5 stars show less

While not a bad book, it does seem like the poor relation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society unfortunately. Similarities between the 2 books include the writing style as well as the fact that the focus is on a small community in England during WWII. However, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir doesn't carry the same gravitas as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. There isn't a sense of horror at the atrocities of war, and some of the characters are rather one-dimensional... It was hard to get attached to any of them.

I don't usually like drawing comparisons between books, but in this case it was hard to ignore. Is it still a decent book worth reading? Certainly. Will I reread it again? Probably not, and show more that's the difference between liking and loving a book (for me, at least.) show less

When I realized the book was in an epistolary format, I quickly checked the end to see how much of the war this Home Front novel covered. Surprisingly, it's just a few months, but months I am sure were some of the hardest of those early days, as it encompasses the time in the summer of 1940 that was called the Battle of Britain. In Kent, most of the men have headed off for the war effort and the vicar wants to suspend the choir for lack of male voices. Newcomer Prim and the begrudging Mrs. B put together a women's choir, arranging pieces as necessary. I was surprised at how little a piece this was of the whole novel. The journal entries and letters mimic ones that I learned from the Acknowledgements, that were something the British show more encouraged among those on the home front. The characters run the gamut of women already widowed by the last Great War, sending young sons off to fight, to women trying to make a living (or extort one) in a time of unrest at home. It's sad, it's happy, it's hopeful--everything an engrossing read should be. show less

It seems odd to say that a book set during WWII, one that addresses death, bombings, child refugees, and so forth is lovely but Jennifer Ryan's The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is just that. Lovely. It doesn't shirk the sorrows and the tragedies that happen in wartime but it does so in a way that celebrates indomitable spirit and the way that life continues despite the raging war.

Chilbury is a small English village not far from the coast. Almost all of the men have left the village to fight, leaving behind a village of women and children. When the local vicar disbands the church choir effective immediately after the funeral of the Winthrop's only heir due to the absence of male voices, the women of the village push back. Prim, the new music show more tutor, transforms the choir into a ladies' choir and the women of the village come together, outside of the usual gossip, rivalries, and other concerns large and small, through the music they sing. They draw together as a caring community, being comforted in their uncertain everyday lives and when faced with the terrors that war inflicts on them, through the beautiful harmonies and the powerful feelings that they stir.

The village and the people in it are not without their intrigues, scheming, and drama and the novel captures these charmingly through letters and diaries. There is an ensemble cast of characters, just as the women form an ensemble choir, who tell the majority of the story. Kitty Winthrop is thirteen going on fourteen, and she chronicles life as a girl on the cusp of young womanhood. She is observant and notices more than many but she is also blinded by a naive lack of understanding in the ways of the human heart, confiding in her diary what her family life is like, her adoration of one of the village sons, and the goings on of those around her. Venetia Winthrop, Kitty's older sister and a flirtatious young woman fully cognizant of her own power, writes letters to an old friend who has moved to London to work for the war effort. At least to start, Venetia is selfish and concerned with bending circumstances to her will, including making the enigmatic artist who has moved into their midst and claims to be exempt from the war by virtue of flat feet fall in love with her. Mrs. Tilling is the local nurse and a timid widow whose only son is leaving for the war, leaving her alone so that she must learn to fend for herself. Her journal entries are those of a frightened mother who must find a way to banish the fear and uncertainty, recognize her own inherent strength, and step up in whatever way the war will require. Edwina Paltry is the village midwife whose methods bring her into opposition with Mrs. Tilling's medical training. Edwina is a fairly unscrupulous opportunist and her letters to her sister detailing her schemes and filled with disdain for those around her are entertaining. These four women's writings tell the bulk of the story although an occasional piece from another character sneaks into the narrative as well.

The novel has a quiet dignity to it. It shows the women (and remaining men) as they face the war with determination even as their smaller, but no less personally important, domestic dramas continue to pull at them. The large cast of characters is people with characters who are all vibrant and alive, some good, some bad, and some still growing. The various plot threads and the four main narrators are all evenly balanced so that the reader is happy no matter which letter, or diary she is reading at any given time. And the novel has everything: love and death, heartbreak and friendship, community, service, and rivalries. Taking place over a mere 6 months in 1940, the story is a touching encapsulation of the daily life, the sacrifices, and the character, courage, and mettle of the country in a time of great strife and danger and fear. Readers who enjoy cozy stories or epistolary novels, those who are attracted to tales of the home front during WWII, and those who want to read touching stories, full of heart, will thrill to this delightful novel. show less

I really enjoyed The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan. Composed entirely of letters and diary entries, we are pulled into the day to day affairs of Chilbury, a village in Kent. The time is the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain is underway and Chilbury is on the flight path of the Nazis coming to bomb London. The village consists of mainly women as the men are off fighting, and we particularly follow the women who have gotten together and formed a ladies only choir.

The choir binds both the women and the story together, but between practices and performances we also read of bombings, a baby-swapping scheme, love affairs, spies and black market operators. I found the characters, from the village nurse to a plucky thirteen year show more old both varied and interesting. The war has affected everyone in the village with shortages, rationing, blackouts, air-raid drills, worry over their men and the ever present fear of England being invaded.

The Chilbury Ladies Choir is well written and moves along at a good pace. Absorbing the story through letters and diaries made the emotions seems very real to me and this will be a book that I remember for some time. show less

Despite being Jennifer Ryan’s debut novel, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir is a self-assured, wonderful book. A gentle read, it nonetheless tackles some difficult issues, and gives the reader great insight into a small village in Kent, Great Britain during World War II.

When many of the men of the village are called away to serve their country, the local vicar decides the church choir can no longer continue. Undaunted, the women of the village decide to continue the choir, and the friendships (and rivalries) made through this collaboration form the various plots of this book. The story itself is told through the diary entries and letters of many of the women in the village, and this gives the book an intimate feel. Family secrets, the show more possibility of spies in the community, female gender roles, homosexuality, the home front and the constant pressure of living in a war situation are all subjects that are tackled in this novel, and Ryan does so with aplomb. I look forward to reading more of her work!

The characters in this book are memorable: from the flighty Venetia to the reliable, kind Mrs. Tilling, to the glamorous and mysterious Prim who leads the choir, to Kitty Winthrop, who reminded me so much of the equally charming Flavia de Luce in Alan Bradley’s mystery series. It’s a perfect Sunday afternoon novel, to be devoured with a cup of tea and something sweet close to hand. show less

Let me start by saying I loved this book. Couldn't put it down and now I am aching for more from this author.

We start with a notice pinned to Village Hall noticeboard:

As all our male voices have gone to war, the village choir is to close following Cmdr. Edmund Winthrop’s funeral next Tuesday.

The Vicar

This is an era where women didn’t usually speak up for themselves but there were a few strong female voices in this village. Why not continue and have a ladies choir? It would be a morale booster in such dismal times. Scandalous! These stories focus on the resourcefulness of women during very difficult times. It's not solely about the choir so if that sounds like a snooze - think again.

There is quite a cast of characters in this book. show more The stories are told through diary entries from several points of view as well as letters penned to friends and loved ones. As you read bits and pieces the story lines dovetail into a fairly satisfying conclusion – tales of affairs, deception, blackmail, love, bravery and great sadness. If your reading tastes include stories set in the WW II era in England and you like a journal and letter writing format – you will LOVE this book.

You’ll get to know so many personalities from the village in the early days of WW II.

There are the Winthrops, a high society family with an overbearing father called the Brigadier. He bullies everyone and has secrets which could land him in jail. His daughters, Kitty and Venetia, tell the stories of the village, the war effort, and the forming of the Ladies Choir.

From Kitty Winthrop’s Diary
“ They announced on the wireless that keeping a diary in these difficult times is excellent for stamina, so I’ve decided to write down all my thoughts and dreams in my old school notebook…..”

Besides Kitty's diary entries you have the point of view of Mrs. Tilling, a nurse, and 10 year old Czech evacutee Silvie. Between the diary entries and the interspersed letters from Venetia Winthrop to her friend Angela Quail living in London and letters from Miss Paltry to her sister, you will enjoy several interwoven stories and slowly piece it all together.

I became a fan of Mrs. Tilling and loathed Miss Paltry. Now I am wondering when the author will produce another novel because I am anxious to read more.

As I like maps, a bonus was the legend and map in the beginning so you can follow the characters around.

Photos of food I prepared as inspired by this book will be posted on my blog Novel Meals on Friday 2/21 show less