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A review by findyourgoldenhour
As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
4.0
I love historical fiction, especially about times in history I know little about. After finishing this book and reading the Author’s Note at the end, I found myself wondering why the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 hasn’t been used as a backdrop for more storytelling: 50 million people died worldwide, and it was an equal opportunity disease, killing young and old, poor and wealthy alike. As the author says in her note at the end, it’s not just one story, but millions of stories, of parents and brothers and sisters and children, just like us.
Anyway, back to the book. It’s really almost two novels in one: the first part is about this young family moving to Philadelphia, how the flu and World War I impacts their lives, and the immediate aftermath. The second part is all new story lines as their lives continue. Both are compelling and kept me turning the pages; I cared about the characters and wanted to know how things would turn out for them.
This book isn’t for the squeamish. The family runs a funeral home, and there is a lot of talk of handling dead bodies, particularly during the height of the flu outbreak. At times it seems macabre, but I think that’s just because we aren’t used to reading about the logistics of funeral homes so openly discussed. It’s not overly done, just be forewarned going in.
Toward the end there was a little bit of over-the-top coincidence to make the storyline work, but you’ll probably forgive the author because ultimately, it works.
Anyway, back to the book. It’s really almost two novels in one: the first part is about this young family moving to Philadelphia, how the flu and World War I impacts their lives, and the immediate aftermath. The second part is all new story lines as their lives continue. Both are compelling and kept me turning the pages; I cared about the characters and wanted to know how things would turn out for them.
This book isn’t for the squeamish. The family runs a funeral home, and there is a lot of talk of handling dead bodies, particularly during the height of the flu outbreak. At times it seems macabre, but I think that’s just because we aren’t used to reading about the logistics of funeral homes so openly discussed. It’s not overly done, just be forewarned going in.
Toward the end there was a little bit of over-the-top coincidence to make the storyline work, but you’ll probably forgive the author because ultimately, it works.