The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

I'm a little late on the ball on reviewing this book, but my excuse is because I find really good books so much harder to talk about than bad ones. Do you feel that way too? It's so easy to pick something apart, or talk down about it, but trying to find the words for a really good read? I find it incredibly challenging.

Enter The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman. Some of you might be familiar with Hoffman's other pieces of work, most notably The Dovekeepers and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, two well-known and well-received novels. Of course, I have read neither of these, but that's besides the point and they are both now on my ever-growing to-be-read list. I was intrigued from the synopsis of this book and I knew it was one I was interested in reading.

From the publisher: 

As a young girl in a small Jewish refugee community, Rachel dreamed of a life in Paris, far away from her difficult mother. That dream is extinguished when she is forced to marry a local widower and become stepmother to three young children. When her husband dies suddenly, Rachel finds herself in the throes of unimaginable passion after meeting Frederick, her late husband’s nephew who has come to help her settle the estate. 

A forbidden love story. A tropical island. Scandal. Paris. The Marriage of Opposites, in a nutshell, is the retelling of the story of Rachel Monsanto Pomié Petit Pizzarro, the mother of Camille Pissarro, the father of Impressionist painting. The novel sets out from when Rachel is just a little girl, and follows her life as she navigates a difficult relationship with her own mother, a marriage not based on love, raising step-children, bearing children of her own, deaths, illnesses, a forbidden love, betrayal and loss. It's an epic saga, one that pulled me in from the beginning and had me savouring the last few pages as I was not ready to say goodbye.

It's not often I read a book of such grand proportions anymore. I was reminded of other great sagas I immensely enjoyed (The Thorn Birds, Outlander…), and it's a shame they don't fall into my lap more often. There's something special about a story that spans several decades and is full of such detail. The character development is excellent; you grow attached to not just the storyline, but to the characters who become people to you. Nothing is held back and while I didn't want the book to end, I also didn't feel like there was more story to be told or parts of it left out.

The setting is important to note too. Taking place mostly on the tropical island of St. Thomas (now the US Virgin Islands), the imagery, detail and descriptions were palpable. I could feel the heat and humidity, I could envision the colourful plants and wildlife, and I could easily picture the homes and what life on the island in the early 1800s must have been like. Hoffman is a brilliant and beautiful storyteller.

So if you're looking for your next great read, I don't hesitate to recommend The Marriage of Opposites to you. Plus, it's always a little fun to learn a bit about history while immersed in a great story.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own. 

*affiliate links have been used

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

I have never met a historical fiction book about World War II that I won't read. It's a topic that I will always find fascinating and never tire of reading about or learning about. There are so many different stories to be told about the war, from so many different sides and points of view. When The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley came on my radar, I immediately requested it at my library and as luck would have it, there were no prior holds on the few copies out there.

I'm writing about this book because I want every single person I know, and even those I don't know, to read this book. I honestly cannot imagine anyone not enjoying this story. And to further convince you, The War That Saved My Life is a young-reader (middle grade) book, so it's a quick read, but worth every minute that it does take you.

The War That Saved My Life is the story of Ada, a ten year old English girl and her six year old brother, Jamie. Or, at least that's how old we think they are, as neither of them have ever celebrated a birthday before and don't even know what day they were born on.

Ada and Jamie live with their mother, in London, in a one room apartment above the pub their mom works at. Ada was born with a club foot (although she doesn't know there's an actual diagnosis for her disability) and her mother has treated Ada as a cripple, with utter disgust, disrespect and embarrassment, since the day she was born. Ada has never stepped outside the walls of their apartment, she doesn't know how to walk, and she's often the victim of her mother's abuse, both verbal and physical. Her world is tiny and the only thing that gives her purpose is taking care of Jamie.

As the war becomes more serious, children in the town are being sent away by train to live in the country, away from Hitler's war and imminent danger. Ada's mom, forever ashamed of her "condition", only intends to send Jamie away, telling Ada that no one would want her with her ugly foot. But Ada has other plans, and without their mother knowing, Ada sneaks off with Jamie early in the morning, and makes it on to the train with him.

The world that they are met with comes as quite the culture shock. They aren't used to kindness, baths, clean clothes, full stomachs or an adult that won't hit them when they disobey. This new life with Susan, their caregiver, presents them with new opportunities and experiences, and opens up their whole little world. Imagine Ada's bewilderment when she discovers that her club foot is nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to be locked up for: "your foot's a long way from your brain". But despite all this, Ada and Jamie can't fully accept their new situation as surely it will be ripped away from them as soon as the war is over. The inner turmoil that Ada struggles with over accepting their new situation and not taking things for granted was so well done.

The War That Saved My Life is heartbreaking, heartwarming, sad, funny, hopeful and also a bit scary. I felt every single emotion immensely. How will Ada and Jamie adapt to their new life with Susan if they can't fully trust her? What will happen when the war ends? Will Ada's and Jamie's mom ever come look for them, and what will she do if she does?

I don't think I can fully express, in words, the effect this book had on me. I couldn't put it down, and when I had to, I couldn't wait to get back to it. Ada, and Jamie, and Susan were such real people to me, people I wanted to reach through the pages and hug and then have a cup of tea with. I still think about them and it's been several days since I read the last pages.

I have read my share of historical fiction books on World War II, and I can honestly say that this one is in the running for my all-time favourite. I beg of you, make this a book you read too. I promise you won't be disappointed.


Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? 
What's your favourite book on WWII?