“Escaping Dreamland: A Novel”

 

Broken, damaged characters seem to make the best storytellers. They have hope, resilience, and the ability to heal. Parallel storylines spanning several generations may have been confusing at first, but the story they tell is mesmerizing. An unexpected love triangle, guilt over a tragic accident set the wheels in motion. The bits of history Lovett added to his novel grounded it and sent me searching for more information. The secrets that we keep, the secrets that we share. I so wanted a happily-ever-after ending...

“Woman 99”

 

“...a Progressive Home for the Curable Insane.” (1)

Macallister’s Goldengrove in the Napa Valley, sounds a lot like the Napa State Hospital that was a fixture of my hometown of Napa, California. We called it Imola, which refers to the neighborhood that grew up around the hospital. Built in the late 1800s, and spanning several hundred acres, what remained in my youth was a far cry from the “Castle” that first inhabited the grounds. As a child, with my mother’s women’s group, we wrapped gifts for patients as part of a community outreach event at Christmastime. Napa State Hospital is what I saw in my mind's eye as I read “Woman 99.”

Running into a burning building is the analogy I draw of Charlotte’s crusade to save her sister from Goldengrove. Sanity vs. Insanity. Women being sent to asylums as a means of making them disappear. Safety, cures, inhuman treatment, compassion. How do you create an environment that works for so many disparate women? And what of the women who weren’t technically insane?

The historical aspect of the story kept me engaged. The storyline had its moments...right up until the end.  How does Charlotte’s sister find her happiness, her sanity? Is a happily-ever-after ending the way this story should end?

“Covet Garden in the Snow”

 

I’m not a great fan of novels set in England. Don’t know why, I’m just not. However, Jules Wake caught my attention with her main character, Tilly. Make-up artist. Wig maker. The London Metropolitan Opera Company. I just had to continue reading. I enjoyed all the behind the scenes peeks, the technologically impaired Tilly, and the romance. Although the story was a wee bit predictable, it was well worth the read. Christmas in London, who knew?

“Woman Last Seen In Her Thirties”

 

Lying, cheating (sort of), scumbag (maybe) spouse. How do you find the courage to move beyond 30+ years of life spent with someone who promised to love you forever?

Perhaps, in starting over, we are able to find a strength in ourselves we never knew existed. Perhaps, happiness is in the chances we take. Where do we find the spark that ignites our passions? How do we know which path is the right one? Should we fall back on what we’ve known and steer our lives in that direction? How can we make decisions when the only voice we hear is ours? Will there be a happily-ever-after waiting for us? Will we acknowledge, that in starting over, we may have the “...good fortune of more chances to fail and succeed, more love to give and receive - more life [?]” (243)

“The Edge of Lost”

 

The mention of Alcatraz is what drew me to this novel. Getting to the island would take a tremendous amount of time and energy. Shifting settings, characters, and situations created a lull in the middle. Would we ever get “back” to Alcatraz? Briefly, and then it was gone. 

The reading group guide suggested that the novel was about “love, forgiveness, redemption, loyalty, and sacrifice.” Which it was, but I saw the theme as being about second-chances. The main character never took his second-chances for granted. However, my sense of right and wrong was put to the test...no character should be given a happily-ever-after when their morals are questionable. 

Well researched. Well written. Believable. 

“Remember the Ladies”

 

“True lasting success [comes] in the form of shaping generations of brave, empowered women…” (386)

Corruption. Greed. Lobbyists. Women’s Suffrage. 

What is it that defines who we are? Is it our charitable nature? Our accomplishments? What will our legacy be? The deals we brokered? Our questionable morals? Our sincere belief in what we are doing is right and true to who we are?

This novel brought more questions than answers. My naïveté about human nature also became abundantly obvious. I don’t want to be jaded. I want to believe that people do things for the right reasons. That those who are called to serve, are serving the greater good, not their pocketbooks.

Remember the Ladies begs the question; do the means justify the end? Does our Congress still run the way Mulligan portrayed in her novel? If so, do I need to send off an email to my representatives in Washington? 

“UnBroken Threads”

 

The “threads” of this novel kept me reading late into the night. The subject matter was familiar but with a cultural twist that tugged at my heart. What did I take away from this novel? Hope.

Hope for the future. Hope for healing broken relationships. Hope for finding one's-self. Hope for connecting the threads of one's life to the past. Hope for empathy. Hope for community. Hope for breaking stereotypes. Hope for respect. Hope for the courage to endure. Hope for a happily-ever-after.