This is the third book by Denny S. Bryce that I have read. She discovers fascinating historical characters and writes amazing historical fiction about their lives. I always learn something new with each book that I read by this author.
This book made me question how little race has been addressed in this country. It is a mix of historical, cultural, ethnic, and religious issues with so much complexity and a need for common sense. For instance, I recently discovered that the Census Bureau finally created a new race category for Middle Eastern/North African folks. This was an easy fix to make everyone feel welcome and a part of our country.
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Denny can write beautifully. Her writing is easy to read, yet nicely descriptive without getting bogged down in SAT words! Denny did include some of the slang of the period and different language usage of the time which was great!
Character development: 4.5 stars
The two main characters, Alice Jones (wife) and Kip Rhinelander (husband) are married even with the challenges of being from different races and socio-economic backgrounds.
The secondary characters are the two families - the Jones family is welcoming to the marriage and Kip; however, the Rhinelander family is vehemently opposed to the marriage and fights the marriage from the beginning.
The most difficult character to qualify and quantify is race in this novel.
Storyline: 4.5 stars
The storyline is only something that could happen in the USA. Two people of two different races meet and fall in love when they are from radically different parts of society.
The novel is told in two different periods during the 1920s and 1940s with an epilogue in the 1980s. It was a great way to tell the story with Alice talking about her life to her niece.
The main location was New York City with a little Connecticut.
Memorable/Informative: 3.5 stars
Obviously, race is a piece of this story. Unfortunately, I don't understand why the Jones family didn't think that the father and daughters were Black (used as Colored or Negro during the period and in the book). Was it because race was not as much of an issue in England, where the parents emigrated, versus the USA?
Book cover: 4.5 stars
So very pretty.
Book title: 5.0 stars
Exactly on point.
HIGHLY recommend
BOOK INFORMATION
NetGalley ARC (ebook)
The Trial of Mrs. Rhinelander by Denny S. Bryce
352 pages
Kensington Books
Release date of 07/23/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
No comments:
Post a Comment