Before
she decided to write a novel, debut author Jennifer Ryan was a nonfiction book
editor. Her novel, The Chilbury Ladies’
Choir, shows remarkable talent for a beginner. I believe she is going to be
a writer with many national bestsellers if her first outing is any indication.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect, but I believe that this work shows incredible
talent.
The
story takes place in England beginning in March 24 and ends on September 6,
1940, as England is inching closer and closer to joining the world at war. The
local vicar of Chilbury has decided that since no men are available to add
their voices, that the choir should be suspended. The
village women completely disagree with the vicar.
It’s
not easy, what with the shortages and all. But they form their own little Band
of Sisters and vow to keep going. This is their story: the struggles, the
heartaches, deceptions, romances, sacrifices.
The
story is narrated in an epistolary manner, through journal/diary entries and
letters. An ensemble, five different women, narrate the events of the five-and-a-half
month time period. And boy is there a lot going on! At first it was difficult to tell the
speakers apart, but after about 50 pages, it was very easy to discern each individual
voice.
According
to her bio, Ryan based her novel “on
the stories of my grandmother who was twenty when the Second World War began,
mostly hilarious tales about bumping into people in the blackout, singing in
the air raid shelters, and the freedoms women had during the war years--the
excitement and romance. She also belonged to a choir, and her choir stories
dramatized the camaraderie and support they all took away; the knowledge that
they weren't in this alone. The The Chilbury
Ladies' Choir uses my dear grandmother's stories as its backdrop.”
I enjoyed the highs and lows the ladies endured. Their last
performance at the book’s ending satisfying, but the story seemed to wrap up a
bit too quickly after that. For this reason and the earlier difficulty, The Chilbury
Ladies' Choir receives
4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I would lie to add that I would like to see
these characters again, perhaps in future novel. I want to know how, and if,
Mrs. Tillings; Venetia Winthrop and her younger sister, Kitty; Sylvie, the
Jewish refugee, and the local midwife, Edwina Paltry, they make it through
WWII.
I
received this book from Blogging for
Books in exchange for this review.
