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A review by rachbreads
The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn
3.0
“You suffered an enormous loss, labored under a burden of blame that was not yours to carry, but in spite of all that you made a triumph of your life. You have lived with boldness, with courage. I wish we could all say the same about ourselves.”
I picked up this book because I was promised something like City of Girls. It didn't quite achieve that status for me, but it was an enjoyable read.
The strongest part of this novel for me were the sections set in 1951. Esther's story is both tragic, astounding, and beautifully romantic. It's almost unimaginable to think of a man involuntarily committing his wife to an insane asylum, but we know that these things did happen. This story helped to contextualize that in a very real way, and I thought it was handled quite well. I was intrigued in Esther's story from beginning to end.
The weakness in this book came from discrepancies between this section and the two sections set in present day. Eve & her grandmother's story was honestly quite boring, and I enjoyed Rachel's story but found it lacking in a few details and it especially had a deeply unsatisfying ending that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. We did not get the resolution I felt we deserved for her story.
NB: Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Out now!
I picked up this book because I was promised something like City of Girls. It didn't quite achieve that status for me, but it was an enjoyable read.
The strongest part of this novel for me were the sections set in 1951. Esther's story is both tragic, astounding, and beautifully romantic. It's almost unimaginable to think of a man involuntarily committing his wife to an insane asylum, but we know that these things did happen. This story helped to contextualize that in a very real way, and I thought it was handled quite well. I was intrigued in Esther's story from beginning to end.
The weakness in this book came from discrepancies between this section and the two sections set in present day. Eve & her grandmother's story was honestly quite boring, and I enjoyed Rachel's story but found it lacking in a few details and it especially had a deeply unsatisfying ending that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. We did not get the resolution I felt we deserved for her story.
NB: Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Out now!