Silent Hearts by Gwen Florio

Set mostly in the early 2000s and post 9/11, SILENT HEARTS by Gwen Florio is a recently published novel that explores parallels and contrasts through the intertwined lives of two women. Liv is an American expatriate in Afghanistan with her professor husband and Farida is an educated Pakistani who is newly married to the son of an Afghan businessman whose trade involves drugs and guns. Yes, despite clear differences, both women are often defined by their husbands’ roles and impacted by the men’s emotions: “Liv thought of her life in the sheltered embrace of the college campus, first as a student, then a researcher and Martin’s wife. Of the things in that universe that depended upon the whims of men. A door held open for her, or not. A date. A promotion. In this world [Afghanistan] a woman’s very life could turn on whether a man had had a bad day.”

With Farida acting as translator, Liv interviews Afghani women about their life experiences, preparing reports for an NGO named Face the Future. Both Farida and Liv display resilience and develop a mutual regard for each other, even bonding over Alice and Wonderland, the story of “a girl whose curiosity led her to ever-stranger places, who did her best to adjust to incomprehensible circumstances, but who inevitable called stupidity what it was.” Gwen Florio is a prize-winning journalist who has reported from Afghanistan and she movingly conveys the difficulties and dangers there as well as explaining cultural and religious differences. SILENT HEARTS received a starred review from Library Journal, has a helpful discussion guide here, and is definitely recommended for book group discussions.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy which was provided in exchange for this honest review.

 

The Late Bloomers' Club by Louise Miller

THE LATE BLOOMERS' CLUB by Louise Miller is a light, gentle read and focuses on two adult sisters, Nora and Kit, who grew up in a small town called Guthrie in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. As background, the sisters lost their mother to cancer when they were just 13 and 5 years old so Nora had to shoulder much of the responsibility of raising Kit and helping her Dad run the family diner. Now 42 and recently divorced from a high school sweetheart, Nora still lives in town and runs the family diner, but she feels a bit trapped by both the town’s and her younger sister’s expectations.  Kit is much more of a free spirit and makes a surprising visit home with her latest romantic interest, Max, who also works on her current creative project to be a filmmaker and director.  Both sisters face financial difficulties which they may be able to solve due to an unexpected inheritance of property from Peggy Johnson, the local “cake lady.” Yes, there is an attractive developer who wants to buy the land and build a big box store.  And, of course, some of the small town residents welcome the progress while others (including Nora) worry about its impact on a quaint and comforting way of life.

The sisters’ relationship ebbs and flows in this story as they both struggle to balance their needs for a creative outlet with economic reality. Hidden talents from cake bakers, artists, and an orchardist appear which reinforce the novel’s multiple messages about how little we sometimes know those close to us and about the importance of living in the moment and following one’s passion. Miller does an excellent job of evoking warmth through a sense of community and place in THE LATE BLOOMERS' CLUB with passages like this one: “Bring your family on a hayride through the sugar bush between the McCracken farm and the Sugar Maple Inn. Hop on at either location. Pumpkin cookies and sweet rolls, along with hot cider, tea and coffee will be served at the inn. Pick your own pumpkin at the McCracken farm. Saturdays and Sundays, 10-3, until the leaves have passed.” Guthrie sounds like a wonderful, welcoming place, doesn’t it?