A
blackberry winter is a colloquial expression used in
the Southern and Midwest sections of North America. It refers to a cold snap in
occurs in the later spring when the blackberries are in bloom. To me, it seemed
odd then that this story takes place in the state of Washington, and Google was
no help in researching if the tasty fruit grows in the Pacific Northwest or
not. It’s of little consequence since the title is one of the main reasons I
picked up this novel. The other reason is one that always captures my
attention: dualing timelines.
In
this novel the story vacillates between 1933 and current time. On May 1, 1933,
a snowstorm rattled Seattle. In contemporary times, another snowstorm blankets
the city on May 2.
In
1933, the Great Depression is strangling America. Vera Ray is lucky. She has a
job as a night maid at one of the local hotels. The downside is that she’s
forced to leave her three-year-old son, Daniel, home alone.
In
present day, Claire Aldridge is a feature writer for the Seattle Herald. Her
editor assigns her the task of writing a 6,000 word piece on the blackberry
winter in two days. She isn’t thrilled and is wondering where she is going to
find enough interesting info to create a piece of that magnitude. Not only is
she face with a seemingly impossible task, her marriage is on the verge of
collapse.
Digging
through the archives, Claire discovers that Vera’s son disappeared without a
trace. The only thing she ever found was Daniel’s teddy bear, Max, face down in
the snow. There were no reports of is ever being found. Having recently lost a
child, Claire is eager to learn what happened to Vera and Daniel. And so the
hunt begins.The story weaves back and forth across the decades.
Blackberry Winter isn’t the best
written novel I’ve ever read. However, it kept my attention, and I didn’t want
to put it down. Jio’s third novel receives 5 out of 5 stars for those reasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment