Elegantly written, though a little low on narrative energy.
A middle-aged narrator forced to give up her own athletic dreams becomes surrogate mother to four girls heading for the 1928 Olympics in Patterson’s latest (This Vacant Paradise, 2011, etc.).
The Amsterdam games in 1928 were the first to allow women to compete, and a patronizing, blatantly misogynic editorial in the Toronto Daily Star (“No female should be seen swaggering around pretending to be male”) makes it clear that plenty of people still think it’s a terrible idea. Narrator Mel Ross, the girls’ chaperone, knows this prejudice intimately; as a young married woman, she was ordered to give up running, blamed as the cause of her miscarriages. Recruited by hard-drinking Jack Grapes to chaperone the female Canadian track team he’s assembled, Mel observes the external and internal battles her charges—dubbed “the Peerless Four” by the press—must wage to compete. Bold, reckless Flo pulls a muscle while racing a boy for fun and blows the 800-meter final. Anxious, desperate-to-win Bonnie, enmeshed in an affair with her coach, is disqualified after two false starts. Pretty, aloof Ginger effortlessly wins the high jump, but all the media fuss about her as the team’s “Dream Girl” alienates her from the sport she once loved. Only calm, stable Farmer, who wins the javelin toss, knows exactly who she is and what she wants. Mel herself isn’t sure until the end of the novel, which is as much about her evolving relationships with Jack and with her husband as it is about the girls. Mel’s narration has a meditative, often melancholy tone that’s slightly odd in a sports story, but this is not a rah-rah tale of women triumphing against the odds. Quietly scathing about the outrageous treatment of female athletes, the novel also shows the toll that competitive pressure takes on a quiet, shy male runner. Surviving, Patterson suggests, is more important than winning.
Elegantly written, though a little low on narrative energy.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61902-177-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Counterpoint
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gentle exploration of tragedy, hope, the power of Christmas, and the possibility of miracles.
Preparing for Christmas in Cambridge, Massachusetts, church members face challenges aided by faith and friends and inspired by the eponymous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—who, in an alternate storyline, fights despair as he confronts personal tragedy and the Civil War.
Christmas is fast approaching, and St. Margaret’s Catholic Church is a hub of activity. The children’s choir, under Sophia’s talented guidance, is practicing its program, which includes “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” the lovely carol based on the poem by Cambridge’s own Longfellow. Sophia is determined to remain optimistic this season, despite her recently broken engagement and the threat of losing her job next spring. After all, these children lift her spirits, and she can always depend on Lucas, the saintly accompanist, to be there for her. Particularly talented are the red-haired siblings, serious Charlotte and precocious Alex, whose father is serving with the National Guard in Afghanistan and whose mother is overwhelmed by the crushing news that her beloved husband is missing, a fact she's trying to keep secret. Father Ryan loves his calling and his congregants and is doing his best to aid them in their trials even as he navigates his own fractured family. The odd but cheerful, elderly Sister Winifred offers help and reassurance with eerily perfect timing and perception. Meanwhile, in a separate historical storyline that is lightly attached to the contemporary one, we follow Longfellow through the Civil War and the life-altering events that tested his faith and nearly crushed his spirit. Chiaverini stitches together a series of lightly interlocking contemporary vignettes in an intriguing way and manages to tuck away all the ragged edges in the emotionally satisfying conclusion. In the background are Longfellow’s tragic Civil War–era experiences, which, while poignant, feel emotionally distant.
A gentle exploration of tragedy, hope, the power of Christmas, and the possibility of miracles.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-525-95524-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
Fashion lovers will enjoy descriptions of the design of clothing and accessories and the machinations of running fashion...
A widowed American woman navigates the world of fashion in 1938 Paris, getting caught up in the rivalry between two famous designers.
Lily Sutter is teaching art at a girl’s boarding school in England when her brother, Charlie, invites her to Paris. Drowning in the memories of her husband, who died two years earlier, and living in a world of gray, Lily has been unable to paint. Once in Paris and caught up in the glamorous circles of her brother and his married lover, Ania, Lily begins to see the world in color once again and picks up her brushes. The novel is divided into three parts, each section labeled with an oft-referenced primary color meant to symbolize the emotions described within it. The first, blue, is a paradox, representing longing, sadness, joy, and fulfillment. The second, red, is for love, death, and passion. And the last, yellow, is for sunshine, gold, and new beginnings but also warning and fear. Creating a world where fictional and real worlds overlap is tricky, particularly when famous events and people (in this case Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel) are a major part of the narrative. The novel includes as a plot point the reported real-world instance when the rivalry between Chanel and Schiaparelli became physical—accidentally or on purpose—and Chanel caused Schiaparelli’s costume to catch fire at a party. Mackin (A Lady of Good Family, 2015, etc.) goes beyond the facts, however. A substantial portion of the novel is composed of hypothetical interior monologues, thoughts, and motivations of the two real-life fashion icons. Readers interested in historical accuracy may find this distracting.
Fashion lovers will enjoy descriptions of the design of clothing and accessories and the machinations of running fashion houses before World War II.Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-99054-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
