With thanks to BookBrowse for being able to read Hotel Cuba. Pearl and her younger sister Frieda,like many of the other passengers on the ship to Cuba,are Jewish people fleeing from religious persecution in Russia and Poland and the violence of brutal pogroms. All of my grandparents emigrated to America before the time period of the book but for the same reasons. I was too young to ask about their experiences but really wished that I had. It must have been heartbreaking for them to see the rise of Hitler and the Holocaust. Not knowing the fates of their families and friends left behind must have been awful.
The book was beautifully written and you feel all that the characters are going through. Highly recommend.

Thank you to BookBrowse for offering me the chance to preview this wonderful new book. The book arrived with two gifts from the author and publisher…two specialty flavored tea bags and a small enameled pomegranate. What a nice surprise!

In the Time of Our History is a story about the Johani family, Iranian immigrants living in America in the late 1990s. The overbearing and traditional father, the silent, suffering and submissive mother, one rebellious daughter and one good daughter. The book offers several chapters beginning with the words "In the time of our history", showing characters early lives and culture. A nice addition to the current narrative.
I will recommend this book to my book club! Lots to talk about and enjoy together.

OMG! What a scary storyline! What is happening in the United States now is similarly scary...voting rights,women's control of their bodies,racial divides, neighbors acting as vigilantes,banning books,rioting in our nation's Capital Building...and the list goes on. The author,in her notes says "the techniques of authoritarian rule are sowing division,turning citizens against each other, controlling the media and restricting what people read are the skill sets of dictators everywhere."

Widowland takes place in England thirteen years after Germany wins World War II. England has become the Alliance,rather than be subjugated because it was felt that the English shared the same Anglo-Saxon heritage. Women were separated into seven castes. The lowest caste were Friedas, widows and spinsters over fifty, who had no children, no reproductive purpose and who did not serve a man...there was nothing lower. They lived in decrepit housing on starving calorie rations.

The book is well worth reading and gives the reader much to think about. I will recommend it to my book club!

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to preview "On A Night Of A Thousand Stars" written by Andrea Yaryura Clark. She grew up in Buenos Aires amid the political violence of the 1970's before moving to Canada and then the United States. After graduating college she returned to Argentina where she began to be interested in the stories of the children of the Disappeared. Those stories gave birth to this amazing book.

The book was well written and researched, telling the story in two different time periods. First the late 1970's during Argentina's "Dirty War" and 1998 as the children reach adulthood. Not knowing much about these years in Argentina,I found it a sad, yet fascinating story. Well done!

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and review this book.I also read and enjoyed her first book,The Woman Before Wallis.

"From glittering palaces to field hospitals, privilege to prison life" the book tells the story of the downfall of the Romanov dynasty and their deaths in their last place of refuge, Ekaterinburg in 1918. The book was well researched and an interesting look into their lives. In the author's notes, Ms Turnbull says that she chose only to focus on Nicolas II as a father and didn't mention the atrocities committed during his reign. "The Romanov dynasty and Nicholas II were active participants in the oppression of the peasant class, not only through the lingering after effects of serfdom (abolished in 1860), but also their appalling treatment of Russian Jews." Violent pogroms were common throughout Russia, killing many, burning down houses of worship and forcing many to flee. All of my grandparents were lucky to be able to emigrate to America in the early 1900s.

I recommend this book!

Wow! Thanks to BookBrowse for the amazing opportunity to read Honor by Thrity Umrigar.
I believe that the story takes place in the late 1990's. The abject poverty, superstition and the way women are treated are hard to read about, let alone believe. Meena, a Hindu,has married Abdul a Muslim, without her brother's permission. Smita, a journalist,has lived in America for twenty years but was born in Mumbai. When they meet, their bond is very strong, which makes their story even more heartbreaking.
The write up about Honor references Etaf Rum's "A Woman Is No Man". Neither book offers a happy story but offers a mesmerizing look into these women's lives. Thrity Umrigar is a masterful writer whose characters are well developed. I highly recommend Honor to all readers. I'm giving it to my daughter to read this evening. Book Clubs will have lots to talk about.

Jerusza, a mysterious old woman living alone in the forests of Eastern Europe,who followed the voices that echoed through them. "If one listened closely enough, nature always spilled her secrets, the secrets which were, of course, the secrets of God."

In June of 1920, she saw a shining above the treetops, beckoning her north to Berlin and a glowing baby. After 2 years of watching the baby, Jerusza finally steals her to live in the forest with her, naming her Yona for the dove birthmark behind her wrist. Jerusza dies at the age of 102 in 1941 and Yona is on her own.

Yona encounters a group of Jewish people hiding in the forest to escape the Nazis. The story continues with how they survive with the help of Yona's knowledge.

Beautifully written, well researched and inspired by incredible true stories. A great addition to my Holocaust library, which I highly recommend.

With thanks to BookBrowse for giving me the chance to read and preview Agent Sonya. While I found the book beautifully written and researched and an interesting look into the world of espionage, I prefer historical fiction or my husband’s spy thrillers.

Ursula was a young Jewish woman of Russian heritage living in Nazi Germany,whose choice of attending a Communist demonstration was the catalyst for her future actions.It must be remembered that at that time when most European and German Jews were being annihilated in the Holocaust she was rising in the Soviet espionage system as Agent Sonya.

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and review StoriesFrom Suffragette City. I usually do not like short stories but was intrigued by the subject,so I requested a preview copy.
The book is comprised of 12 stories centered around the huge Suffrage Parade in New York City in 1915, each written by a current popular author,most specializing in historical fiction. There is one character,the young niece of Charles Tiffany,who appears in more than one story connecting them. The women range from socialites to factory workers,immigrants,students,orphans and men supporting their wives. Black women were not included. A young Chinese student who marched was not able to vote until 1943.
I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and review "I Want To Know We're Still Here" by Esther Safran Foer. It is a deeply personal and riveting memoir by the author of her family's Holocaust history, those lost and those that survived.

Her tenacity and perseverance in researching this story involved her three sons, one of whom published the novel "Everything Is Illuminated", a fictional account of their story that started In Ukraine. Having read this novel, it gave added insight to her memoir. The author also mentions "The Holocaust by Bullets" by Father Patrick DuBois which chronicles the thousands of Jewish deaths by bullets in the killing fields of Ukraine.

This book is a wonderful addition to my Holocaust library. Esther also mentions Mi Polin,a Warsaw Judaica company whose tagline is "We make Judaism tangible". They travel all over Poland,where more than 3.5 million Jews lived before World War ll, to find traces of the mezuzah's that had been on the doorposts of the Jewish homes. A mezuzah is a rectangular case with a piece of parchment inside that holds a prayer for the house and its inhabitants. My mezuzah is from the city of Krakow and a visible reminder of all that was lost.

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and preview this remarkable book by first time author Dr Rita Woods. I have always loved the magic in novels by Isabel Allende and Alice Hoffman,so truly loved this story woven together by Rita Woods.
It follows young slave Abigail from Haiti in 1791 just growing into her powers as the island erupts in the slave rebellion. In New Orleans 1857,18 year old slave Margot,losing her promised freedom,escapes to the dream of Mother Abigail's Remembrance sanctuary. In present day Ohio,nursing home aide Gaelle is caring for Winter,Mother Abigail's successor, as her own powers are discovered.
The characters and their stories are beautifully written and weave an amazing story. I highly recommend Remembrance. On a personal note though...the description of being able to taste the vomit at the back of her throat was a bit overused!

The Secrets We Kept is a fabulous debut novel about Boris Pasternak's struggle to publish his literary masterpiece Doctor Zhivago, which ultimately won the Nobel Prize.

In 1965 when Doctor Zhivago the movie was released I was a teenager, newly in love with my future husband. I saw the beautiful Lara and her love for Zhivago and never knew the story behind its publication or of Boris Pasternak and his love Olga. I probably would not have believed the CIA's involvement!

The novel alternates the stories of Pasternak and Russia with the Agency and the "secretary spies" in Washington,DC seamlessly. Lara Prescott wrote a truly wonderful book which I highly recommend. Many thanks to BookBrowse for the chance to read this extraordinary book.

Thank you to BookBrowse for sharing this wonderful book with me. It was beautifully written and the characters were human and deeply compelling.

The book follows the Milton family through three generations from 1935 until the present. Kitty and Ogden are from prominent, upper crust New York families. Ogden runs a private bank that he inherited from his family and Kitty is a devoted wife and mother, both believing that perfect manners and their insular and quiet life are what matter most.

1959 brings both a Jewish man and a black man into their orbit and their prejudices are shown. The author uses the stereotypical mannerisms for both men. Len being gregarious, money grubbing and noisy and not knowing his place in their polite society. Reg is portrayed as the angry black man.

I finished The Guest Book wanting to start reading it again. It's a perfect discussion book for my book club.

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to preview this interesting slice of history.

Germany 1943:Rosa has lost both of her parents and her husband of one year has enlisted in the German army. She makes the decision to leave Berlin to live with her in-laws in the countryside. Once there she is conscripted by the SS to be one of Hitler's food tasters at the Wolf's Lair with nine other women. Her life is changed forever, living with the guilt of her actions and what she has seen, never to fully recover. It is a sad accounting of one young woman's life, her past, present and future.

The book is well written and most memorable. My book club won't read anything this sad!

With thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to preview The Kennedy Debutante. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre and I enjoyed this look into the lives of the Kennedy family. Kathleen"Kick"Kennedy was a spirited young woman,deeply enmeshed in her Catholic upbringing,who yearned for an independent life like her brothers Joe and Jack were able to enjoy. Her ultimate struggle was to mesh her love for the aristocratic Protestant future Duke of Devonshire with her strict religious upbringing.

The novel starts on page one with"Kick rising out of damp sheets due to the sour sweat that drenched her the night before. Fear had plagued her dreams for weeks,encouraging one of her most embarrassing and least ladylike bodily functions-perspiration." Then,surprisingly the sweating continues the whole book! I lost count of the times that sweat was mentioned. I think that the editors should have noticed the "sweat problem" and changed the wording somewhat. I was glad to have read the book but found it just OK.

With thanks to BookBrowse for the chance to review Meet Me at the Museum. The photo of the author, Anne Youngson ,is close to the image I had of her main character Tina Hopgood. Both are grandmothers living on farms in England but I hope that the author has a happier marriage and enjoys her life choices more!

Tina's marriage has been more duty than love and when she begins an unexpected correspondence with a Danish Museum director everything begins to change. The book is written in the form of the letters that they exchange...opening themselves to a new friendship and understanding.

It is a charming story celebrating second chances. Not sure if my book club would find it to their liking but it would open a lively discussion to their own dreams and realities.

Thank you to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and review Eternal Life. I loved the story and its main characters, the two thousand year old Rachel and her lover Elazar in Roman occupied Jerusalem. To save the life of their son they must vow before the High Priest to live an eternal life. Rachel smells the offering of her burning hair in the Temple and it is "a smell she would inhale again and again in the years to come,every time she burned herself alive" in order to be reborn. They both live many lives with numerous spouses and children and grandchildren, watching each generation age and die.

The writing was lyrical and thought provoking. I highly recommend this book!

With thanks to BookBrowse for the chance to read and review Almost Sisters. I was happy to discover its engaging characters and its deeper conversation about racial prejudice and issues of privilege. Our country has made enormous strides but the racial divide still simmers. Adding the religious prejudices and the roiling immigration issues,a lot of discussion still needs to be faced.
You will root for Leia and the future of her unborn child. Book clubs will find a lot to discuss and enjoy.

The year is 2022 and the dysfunctional family portrayed in the novel is planning to kill their bullying father to protect their dying mother. I really didn't connect with story until reading the mother's story near the end. It reminds me that I was happy growing up as an only child!

The author writes of the demise of the state of Israel after a 3 day war and the rise of virulent anti-Semitism that the world's Jewish people are facing. It was disturbing to read because anit-Semitism is on the rise in America today.

A sad, yet uplifting life story of Christina Olson and her relationship with artist Andrew Wyeth. They met in 1939 when Wyeth was twenty two and Christina was forty six, and spent many summers in Maine talking together while Wyeth sketched and painted. An undiagnosed degenerative disease stole her mobility but Wyeth was able to paint the core of Christina's self.

I raced through the story and enjoyed every moment. I wasn't sure that I would this book as much as The Orphan Train, but I did. Christina's character was beautifully written and the times and places well drawn.

Many thanks to BookBrowse for the opportunity to read and review A Piece. Of the World.