3heartsandawishkatie's review
4.0
Thank you Booksparks for having me on your Pop Up Book Tour and providing me with a copy of this book.
Don't Put the Boats Away was a delightful post-WW2 historical fiction. It followed the lives of Harriet, a chemist in a field dominated by men, and her brother Nat, an aspiring jazz musician, over a span of 25 years. The book followed each sibling through school, jobs, marriage, children, and divorce, and dealt with a wide range of topics such as nepotism, grief, sexism, and alcoholism.
I think the characters were developed quite well. They all had varying personalities and I felt that they stayed true to themselves over the course of the book. There were definitely likable and unlikable characters. One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Harriet and Nat and their parents. It was very realistic and well thought out, in that things were hard and there was conflict but it was dealt with in a way that was emotional but didn't tear the family apart. It showed that blood is thicker than water, if you will.
The author clearly did a great deal of research about the time period to make this an authentic read. At times, the time period slang seemed a bit forced (over use of "cats", for example) but overall, I felt like I could easily picture life for the characters.
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone that likes reading mid 1900's fiction about families.
Don't Put the Boats Away was a delightful post-WW2 historical fiction. It followed the lives of Harriet, a chemist in a field dominated by men, and her brother Nat, an aspiring jazz musician, over a span of 25 years. The book followed each sibling through school, jobs, marriage, children, and divorce, and dealt with a wide range of topics such as nepotism, grief, sexism, and alcoholism.
I think the characters were developed quite well. They all had varying personalities and I felt that they stayed true to themselves over the course of the book. There were definitely likable and unlikable characters. One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Harriet and Nat and their parents. It was very realistic and well thought out, in that things were hard and there was conflict but it was dealt with in a way that was emotional but didn't tear the family apart. It showed that blood is thicker than water, if you will.
The author clearly did a great deal of research about the time period to make this an authentic read. At times, the time period slang seemed a bit forced (over use of "cats", for example) but overall, I felt like I could easily picture life for the characters.
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone that likes reading mid 1900's fiction about families.
coffeedogsbooks's review
4.0
[b:Don't Put the Boats Away|46357028|Don't Put the Boats Away|Ames Sheldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560891020l/46357028._SY75_.jpg|71381757] is the follow up to Ames Sheldon’s [b:Eleanor's Wars|30828190|Eleanor's Wars|Ames Sheldon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467439431l/30828190._SY75_.jpg|47730229] but can be read as a stand alone novel taking place from the 1940’s through the 1970’s.
The Sutton family has lost their oldest son Eddie who was fighting in WWII. Mom, Eleanor already has PTSD from her experience driving an ambulance during WWI and feels incredible guilt that she did not prepare Eddie to go off to war. Harriet, or Harry to her family, goes to school to become a chemist hoping she can take over the family business now that Eddie is no longer around to run the company when their father steps down. This is highly unusual at this time. Nat, the youngest son, wants to become a jazz musician. George, their father is very unhappy with both of his children for the decisions they have made.
Over the decades we see how the family handles their grief, some through dedication to science or music, some through alcohol, but they all handle it in their own way.
I enjoyed this book and the characters, and their grief, became very real.
Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the review copy and for lowing me to join on this tour!
You can find more of my reviews at Coffee, Dogs & Books
The Sutton family has lost their oldest son Eddie who was fighting in WWII. Mom, Eleanor already has PTSD from her experience driving an ambulance during WWI and feels incredible guilt that she did not prepare Eddie to go off to war. Harriet, or Harry to her family, goes to school to become a chemist hoping she can take over the family business now that Eddie is no longer around to run the company when their father steps down. This is highly unusual at this time. Nat, the youngest son, wants to become a jazz musician. George, their father is very unhappy with both of his children for the decisions they have made.
Over the decades we see how the family handles their grief, some through dedication to science or music, some through alcohol, but they all handle it in their own way.
I enjoyed this book and the characters, and their grief, became very real.
Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the review copy and for lowing me to join on this tour!
You can find more of my reviews at Coffee, Dogs & Books
3heartsandawish's review
4.0
Thank you Booksparks for having me on your Pop Up Book Tour and providing me with a copy of this book.
Don't Put the Boats Away was a delightful post-WW2 historical fiction. It followed the lives of Harriet, a chemist in a field dominated by men, and her brother Nat, an aspiring jazz musician, over a span of 25 years. The book followed each sibling through school, jobs, marriage, children, and divorce, and dealt with a wide range of topics such as nepotism, grief, sexism, and alcoholism.
I think the characters were developed quite well. They all had varying personalities and I felt that they stayed true to themselves over the course of the book. There were definitely likable and unlikable characters. One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Harriet and Nat and their parents. It was very realistic and well thought out, in that things were hard and there was conflict but it was dealt with in a way that was emotional but didn't tear the family apart. It showed that blood is thicker than water, if you will.
The author clearly did a great deal of research about the time period to make this an authentic read. At times, the time period slang seemed a bit forced (over use of "cats", for example) but overall, I felt like I could easily picture life for the characters.
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone that likes reading mid 1900's fiction about families.
Don't Put the Boats Away was a delightful post-WW2 historical fiction. It followed the lives of Harriet, a chemist in a field dominated by men, and her brother Nat, an aspiring jazz musician, over a span of 25 years. The book followed each sibling through school, jobs, marriage, children, and divorce, and dealt with a wide range of topics such as nepotism, grief, sexism, and alcoholism.
I think the characters were developed quite well. They all had varying personalities and I felt that they stayed true to themselves over the course of the book. There were definitely likable and unlikable characters. One of my favorite things about this book was the relationship between Harriet and Nat and their parents. It was very realistic and well thought out, in that things were hard and there was conflict but it was dealt with in a way that was emotional but didn't tear the family apart. It showed that blood is thicker than water, if you will.
The author clearly did a great deal of research about the time period to make this an authentic read. At times, the time period slang seemed a bit forced (over use of "cats", for example) but overall, I felt like I could easily picture life for the characters.
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone that likes reading mid 1900's fiction about families.
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