The intertwined stories of three American women during World War II.
My thoughts
Frankie Bard is an American broadcaster reporting from London during the Blitz. Her stories bring the war into the sleepy Cape Cod living rooms of postmistress Iris James and newlywed Emma Fitch. Frankie's story is haunting, especially when she travels to the continent and connects with Jews who are desperate to leave. But then she returns to the United States and the action grinds to a halt. In the meantime, Iris and Emma's storylines have progressed at the speed of molasses before getting completely stuck. Once Frankie connects with the other two I decided I was just about done with the book. They just sucked the life out of her storyline.
I always looked forward to Frankie's chapters because they were such a relief after the tedium of Iris and Emma's. Sarah Blake's writing comes alive when she writes from Frankie's perspective and it's noticeably more awkward when she uses Iris and Emma's voices. Blake's writing is beautiful, but it's not effortless and that makes it distracting.
Sarah Blake worked hard to make everything come together seamlessly at the end. But the drama felt manufactured and then it fizzled into two huge narrative copouts. Instead of the confrontations I'd been promised, I came away absolutely empty.
Bottom line
Not recommended. Read Frankie's chapters and skip the others (or skip the entire book).
Fine print
The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake
Genre: historical fiction
Photo from Goodreads
I borrowed this book from my library.
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