Ellen Feldman

Ellen Feldman is definitely one of my favorite authors writing historical fiction and this book strikes in all the right notes for me. A smart heroine who comes into her own and a quick-witted hero who gets in over his head, but who each find a way to help each other as the challenges of McCarthyism and blacklists threaten. Also, I absolutely loved the character of Rose, the elderly aunt with a radical past and strong opinions about women making their own choices. I hope Feldman continues writing novels like this, as I'll be happy to continue reading them!… (meer)

3.75⭐

Set in New York in the aftermath of WWII, The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman revolves around Fanny Fabricant, a young mother, whose life is upended after her husband Max suddenly dies after returning home from the War. Grieving for her husband and with a five-year-old daughter, Chloe- who is heartbroken and misses her father dearly - to care for, she is aware that her existing funds could only support them for a limited interval of time. Fanny. a college graduate, having married a doctor, had been satisfied with life as a homemaker. She had never imagined joining the workforce to support herself. Employment opportunities for women were hard to come by. The rise in employment for women during WWII was essentially a stopgap measure to temporarily fill positions left vacant by men fighting in the war. Once the men returned, female employees were let go and expected to revert to their traditional roles of homemakers. With the help of her Aunt Rose, an independent woman ahead of her time, Fanny eventually secures a position as a secretary to a woman who produced radio serials – an experience that motivates her to discover her true potential. The narrative follows Fanny as she navigates her way through her new life as an independent woman, balancing her responsibilities on both the home and work front. She also meets new people including a scriptwriter whose reputation as a troublemaker precedes him and a doctor friend of her late husband with whom she and Chloe could have a life similar to the one she had envisioned with Max.

I loved the premise of this novel and thought it was very well-written. In the changing political and social landscape of the 1950s, Fanny’s story is one of loss, courage, resilience, self-discovery and reinvention. The story is shared from the perspective of Fanny with segments from Chloe’s perspective interspersed throughout the narrative. All the characters were well thought out . I found Fanny to be an interesting protagonist and I felt invested in her journey. I have to say that Aunt Rose was my favorite character in the story. The author deftly weaves the gender politics of the era, the "Red Scare", the HUAC investigations and the subsequent blacklisting of writers/actors and other entertainment industry professionals into the plot. The pace is relatively slower in the first half of the novel but picks up as the narrative progresses. I did feel that the ending was a tad rushed and I would have liked to know more about how Fanny and Chloe fared in the gap years. However, I did like how the author chose to end the story.

Overall, this was definitely an engaging read that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to fans of character-driven historical fiction with strong female protagonists.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.… (meer)

Fanny has had to reinvent her life. She has been raised to be a “good wife”. But life throws her a curve ball and she has to get a job and create a whole new world for herself and her daughter.

If you follow my reviews at all, you know I am a big fan of strong women characters. And Fanny is just that! It takes her a little bit. But when she jumps into the workforce, nothing stops her.

This book is very close to a 5 star read. The only reason it is not is that it slows down a bit in the middle, or rather, it could have been a bit shorter maybe. But, you can’t go wrong with it. The story of Fanny definitely keeps you entertained from start to finish.

I love how once she became dependent on herself, she was not going back. And she had an opportunity or two to get married and become the “good wife” she was raised to be. She outgrew this thought and the constraints of the time period.

The narrator, Kathryn Markey, is the perfect voice of Fanny!

Need a good historical fiction…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.… (meer)

An intelligent novel about post WWII Germany. Some of the too few Jews who were fortunate to get out of Germany safely, and be taken in and educated by the US have returned years later to a bombed and hammered Germany. Millie and brother David Mosbach are just 2 who will work in the process of 'denazification.'

Their memories of what being back on German soil means are heart-wrenching; the losses they've suffered staggering. Can they ever function as normal human beings again with all these painful emotions? Some Jews returned to Germany to take revenge on German citizens for their role in the nazi war machine; many of the American GI's took advantage of the willing 'frauleins,' fathering children who would remain behind in Germany.

Both the dialog and specifically some of the words in this novel stand out, i.e: 'The Germans will never forgive us for what they did to us.'

This book is largely about what it's like to meet your enemy face to face, (who may have killed your family members) and are now lying about it on their questionaires.

This novel helped me learn another dimension of WWII I knew little about.… (meer)