Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Park Lane

Park Lane 
Frances Osborne 2012
Vintage; A division of Random House Pub.

Summary:
The bestselling author of The Bolter returns with a delicious novel about two determined women whose lives collide in the halls of a pedigreed London town home.

When eighteen-year-old Grace Campbell arrives in London in 1914, she’s unable to fulfill her family’s ambitions and find a position as an office secretary. Lying to her parents and her brother, Michael, she takes a job as a housemaid at Number 35, Park Lane, where she is quickly caught up in lives of its inhabitants—in particular, those of its privileged son, Edward, and daughter, Beatrice, who is recovering from a failed relationship that would have taken her away from an increasingly stifling life. Desperate to find a new purpose, Bea joins a group of radical suffragettes and strikes up an intriguing romance with an impassioned young lawyer. Unbeknownst to each of the young women, the choices they make amid the rapidly changing world of WWI will connect their chances at future happiness in dramatic and inevitable ways.
Personal Reflection:
I really liked this book. I had trouble with the tense of it though. It was written in present tense. At the same time though it was in a past tense. The whole fact that it's written in present tense was really hard to get used to. Especially because this book is historical fiction.  The characters are quite hard to relate to. They are not necessarily the most relatable. Sure they have flaws but because of the time setting their flaws aren't one that you would find yourself going, "I know what that's like!" The book is fast paced and a speedy read. It kept me interested throughout. There is some swearing that's out of place. It adds a strange air to the book. Bea seems distant from most of her family. And Grace lies to hers making her even more distant. A pretty good read.

Grade: +++ 
Book to Read This Week: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

-Maggie

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