My Rating: 5 starsI'm usually not a huge fan of short story collections and when it comes to books related to politics, I try to steer as far away as possible -- based on these two reasons alone, I most likely would not have picked up this book under normal circumstances. However, I ended up being drawn to this anthology mostly because of the 13 authors involved, as several of them are among my favorites in terms of previous works of theirs that I've read and adored – plus this one being historical fiction definitely helped, since it's one of my favored genres to read. Also, this anthology is different from the typical short story collection in that there is a distinct connection between all the stories: the women's march for the right to vote that took place in New York City on October 23, 1915. One of the things I loved about this collection was how each author was able to weave into each of their stories some of the themes from their own works, yet still have it tie so perfectly back to the theme of the collection and the specific events that took place. I thought the flow of the stories was wonderful as well and I absolutely loved seeing some of the same characters "show up" in each other's stories, even if it was only for a small "blink and you'll miss it" scene. I also loved the diversity of the women in the story and how they were from all different walks of life, with a variety of experiences and backgrounds, yet all were impacted by the suffrage movement in a meaningful way. Overall, what blew me away with this collection was how well it was put together (especially given the confines of the premise): the flow was seamless, the writing was stellar, the stories were compelling, and best of all, the characters were wonderfully drawn. Of course, this should come as no surprise given the 13 authors involved with this collection are all accomplished writers at the top of their craft. I went into this one with high expectations and it absolutely delivered!
As this book is meant to commemorate the 100thanniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, I found this to be a fantastic tribute to all the women who played a role (whether directly or indirectly) in helping our voices be heard. With most short story collections, each reader will usually have certain stories that they enjoyed more than others, but for me, that wasn't the case here – I can't say which stories I liked more because, to be honest, all the stories stood out and I loved all of them equally. I definitely highly recommend this one, especially to historical fiction fans whom I'm sure will find much to enjoy with this collection, regardless of whether you've read these authors' previous works or not. For me though, reading and loving this collection has inspired me to seek out the works of the other authors that I'm less familiar with and add those to my TBR list!
Received finished copy from publisher Henry Holt via BookBrowse First Impressions program.
No comments:
Post a Comment