What do readers think of As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner? Write your own review.

This book is a loving story of family, determination and hope in the face of great personal tragedy and loss. The author captures the historical significance of World War One and the 1918 flu epidemic and skillfully moves the Bright family through both events into the 1920s. The characters live with death on a daily basis due to war, the flu and in their family business. However, the story is not thoroughly depressing but hopeful and optimistic and the subject of death is presented in a realistic and respectable manner. The characters are likeable and the plot is convincing throughout. I think this is a good book for reading group discussion.

Ms Meissner's story of a family's struggle through the Spanish flu epidemic and it's aftermath is very compelling. As told through the voices of the three sisters, the author weaves an interesting account of life 's seemingly random events. I liked the book very much and would recommend it to a friend.

The turbulent 1918 finds the Bright family moving from rural Quakertown to Philadelphia. The father (Tom) will assist Uncle Fred in providing services from the Bright Funeral Home. Mother (Pauline) and girls Evelyn, Maggie and Willa will be given a "chance at a better life." As the WWI draft looms to include 36 yr old Thomas, he volunteers in the fall 1918, hoping to serve in the field hospital.
The Spanish flu, subtle at first, then strikes the city with a fury.

With each chapter we find one of the females addressing us and updating life from her personal perspective.

I would recommend this as a vivid, touching historical fiction novel. I found many chances for contemplating life throughout the novel. The book's tapestry was complete (no loose ends) but I did find Evelyn's mode of restoration a bit unsettling.

"As Bright as Heaven" was interesting on many levels. The story takes place in Philadelphia prior to, during and after WWI. Many challenges confront the Bright family-including their move to a new city, life in a funeral home, the death of family members and friends, the effect of WWI and the dramatic impact of the Spanish flu epidemic. Secrets play an important role in the story-everyone seems to have one. There are a couple of plot twists which were not especially surprising but welcome. The characters are well developed-especially the female ones. I liked the way the author alternated the narrative from one family member to another-each with their own perception of the same events occurring around them. The reader will get a sense of some of the societal changes that confront the daughters in this family. This was my first time reading something by this author and I definitely would read more of Susan Meissner's work.

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner is an interesting coming of age novel set during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 as well as World War I. Three sisters grow up during the epidemic and the war and lose people they love as well as learn to love new people that come into their lives, and also experience things I never thought possible. It is an interesting story, however, the chapters seemed to be designed as if they are diary entries (to me). This started out ok, but after a while grew tedious. I also didn't like how Willa,a seven year old girl, spoke more like an adult than like a child. It's a good story, I just didn't like the writing style.

This is a very good book if you want a story about the trials of people who lived during the time of the Spanish flu that just skims the surface of what it might have been like. When I read about the book, I was hoping for a deeper story. One that would have gone further into the details and depths of living through that difficult time. So, in spite of that being what I wanted, it was a good book with interesting characters and lives. It just wasn't great for me.

Over the course of this novel, readers are taken from 1918 to 1926 with the Bright family. We learn about the love and devotion that binds this family together and then we read about the Spanish flu and how it devastated the Bright family as well as many other families in Philadelphia. The author does an excellent job of describing the major characters; their choices and actions always fit in their character. I recommend it for young people and for readers looking for a light novel. I would give it a rating of 4 except the plot includes too many coincidences that are unlikely and the ending is a bit too saccharin and predictable to be satisfying.

Overall I enjoyed the story in this book, but found the writing a little flat (hence 3 stars). I received the book and started it, then found it hard to pick up again.
The fine thing about this book is the interesting place in history in which it takes place. World War I and the Spanish Flu plague of 1918. My guess is that few people realize the significance of the flu, which actually killed more people world wide than the war. So with that the book is a history lesson.

I also enjoyed the four narrations into which the book was segmented. The wife and mother, Pauline, and her three daughters, Willa, Evie, and Maggie. The setting of the novel is in a funeral home, which was interesting, as, I imagine most of us are curious as to exactly what goes on in a funeral home.

I would have loved to give this book another star, but I feel 3 stars reflect my feelings about the book.