hosborneauthor's review
4.0
Reviewed on behalf of Readers' Favorite:
The Quince Tree Blooms Again by Elide Bors is a memoir of the author’s life growing up in poverty in Romania between and during the world wars. Ellie, as the youngest child of a dysfunctional family, struggles to find her place in life, trying a variety of different vocations, and struggling with a string of poorly chosen romantic partners. As a young child, her mother sought to leave her father, due to his drunken behavior, and she faced life with a misleading benefactress. Reclaimed by her mother, Ellie decides on a life in the circus, where she again faces domineering abuse by the ringmaster. With two illegitimate children by the time she reaches adulthood, Ellie overcomes all set in her path to try and make a better life for her offspring.
Miss Bors is candid in her descriptions of the times between the wars. Choosing not to focus on the obvious, she keeps her narrative to her personal experiences. I was a bit surprised by many of them, because they were contradictory to what I believed cultural norms may dictate at the time. I felt the language clearly reflected a girl who had had minimal schooling, which made it all the more realistic upon reading. I would have liked to hear more about the country itself, perhaps how they coped during and after the war. It seemed like the narrative brushed over that to stay focused on Miss Bors’ life. A simple memoir of courage and strife, The Quince Tree Blooms Again by Elide Bors will open your eyes to the poverty-ridden communities of Romania, and the people who struggled to survive in terrible circumstances.
The Quince Tree Blooms Again by Elide Bors is a memoir of the author’s life growing up in poverty in Romania between and during the world wars. Ellie, as the youngest child of a dysfunctional family, struggles to find her place in life, trying a variety of different vocations, and struggling with a string of poorly chosen romantic partners. As a young child, her mother sought to leave her father, due to his drunken behavior, and she faced life with a misleading benefactress. Reclaimed by her mother, Ellie decides on a life in the circus, where she again faces domineering abuse by the ringmaster. With two illegitimate children by the time she reaches adulthood, Ellie overcomes all set in her path to try and make a better life for her offspring.
Miss Bors is candid in her descriptions of the times between the wars. Choosing not to focus on the obvious, she keeps her narrative to her personal experiences. I was a bit surprised by many of them, because they were contradictory to what I believed cultural norms may dictate at the time. I felt the language clearly reflected a girl who had had minimal schooling, which made it all the more realistic upon reading. I would have liked to hear more about the country itself, perhaps how they coped during and after the war. It seemed like the narrative brushed over that to stay focused on Miss Bors’ life. A simple memoir of courage and strife, The Quince Tree Blooms Again by Elide Bors will open your eyes to the poverty-ridden communities of Romania, and the people who struggled to survive in terrible circumstances.
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