Klik op een omslag om naar Google Boeken te gaan.
Bezig met laden... The Second Life of Mirielle West (editie 2021)door Amanda Skenandore
Informatie over het werkThe Second Life of Mirielle West door Amanda Skenandore
Geen Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. I was really drawn into this story. I had no idea that leprosy was prevalent in the United States nor had I heard of Carville. The author tells a compelling story based on history. The characters are so real and believable. My heart was touched profoundly as I read of the struggles, stigma, heartaches and joys. ( ) What an interesting story based on an actual leper colony in the U.S. Who knew such a thing existed? And to think that patients were forcibly whisked away from their families at the first sign of the disease and locked up, perhaps never to see their loved ones again, is inconceivable to me. Mirielle/Pauline was a fascinating character, too. The grief and guilt she felt over her dead son and the two little daughters she had to leave was all too real, but she was so resilient! She really found a way to adapt to her new circumstances and showed that her husband's assessment of her self-absorption was not all there was to her character. I had to laugh at my mental picture of her climbing fences, slogging through mud, and falling into swampy waters in her beautiful clothes and dainty shoes, but I also admired how she stepped up and showed how she truly cared about the people she encountered in her second life. It was satisfying that she found love again with Frank and that Jean found a surrogate mother. I'm sure not many of the real people who inhabited Carville had such a happy ending. We liked "The Second Life . . ." Thought it was a good Summer read. We felt much like you did. All the (wrong) clothes she brought!! On the train, when she brought some water to Hector, could be called "a baby step" to her caring for others. One thing, we would have liked to know some about her background. It was hard to believe she actually found Jean's father and, then, that she found Jean but we were glad she did. Frank was a favorite character, glad he, Mirielle and Jean got together and made a family. Yes, Mirielle certainly did change. This novel gave me an insight to how people with leprosy, Hansen's disease, were treated in the 20s. Mirielle, the main character, was not very likable at all in the beginning, the society wife who married a film star, but as the novel progressed, I enjoyed how she changed. I knew very little of any leper colony in the US or how it was handled. The book did drag in the middle to the point that I did some skimming. It certainly picked up as the end approached, although I did feel that the ending was rather abrupt. It's another example of what I imagine is an author's being told to write X number of pages and cutting off a book to meet that specification. I doubt that happens, but it seems that many books end this way. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Fiction.
Historical Fiction.
1920s Los Angeles: Socialite Mirielle West's days are crowded with shopping, luncheons, and prepping for the myriad glittering parties she attends with her actor husband, Charlie. She's been too busy to even notice the small patch of pale skin on the back of her hand. Other than an occasional over-indulgence in gin and champagne, which helps to numb the pain of recent tragedy, Mirielle is the picture of health. But her doctor insists on more tests, and Mirielle reluctantly agrees. The diagnosis-leprosy-is devastating and unthinkable. Changing her name to shield Charlie and their two young children, Mirielle is exiled to rural Louisiana for what she hopes will be a swift cure. But the hospital at Carville turns out to be as much a prison as a place of healing. Deaths far outnumber the discharges, and many patients have languished for years. At first, Mirielle keeps her distance from other residents, unwilling to accept her new reality. Gradually she begins to find both a community and a purpose at Carville, helping the nurses and doctors while eagerly anticipating her return home. But even that wish is tinged with uncertainty. How can she bridge the divide between the woman, wife, and mother she was, and the stranger she has become? And what price is she willing to pay to protect the ones she loves? Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
Actuele discussiesGeenPopulaire omslagen
Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
Ben jij dit?Word een LibraryThing Auteur. |