Prize Women- A Novel by Caroline Lea
Product Details
Web ID: 16778002Must read for historical fiction lovers
I really loved this book! Set in Canada near the time of the Great Depression. The premise is based on a true life situation of a very wealthy man with a twisted sense of humor who leaves his money to the woman who has the most children in the ten years after his death. The rest is fiction and it follows two different women from different places and lifestyles who become friends. Prize Women gave me a book hangover when I was done, and while I was reading it, I was looking for ways to emulate it in my own writing. The characters were well developed, the story arcs interesting and the ending satisfying. It kept me up reading into the wee hours of the night. If you liked The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate and The Immigrant’s Wife by JB Harris you will love Prize Women
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Mothers will do anything to help their children!
Toronto Canada, childless millionaire Charles Millar a known prankster leaves behind a fortune and the money will go to a woman who has the most children from 1926 to 1936. It became a contest, known as the Great Stalk Derby and as the deadline approaches the media ruthlessly peruses the mothers who are in the race to win the money. Friends, Lily di Marco and Mae Thebault are two of the women who could possibly be in the running to win the cash, they come from very different backgrounds and due to their circumstances they desperatly need it. Liliana is the daughter of Italian migrants, she marries the sweet talking Tony, who struggles to keep a job, drinks too much and knocks her around. When an earthquake hits Chatsworth, New Brunswick, Lily flees the destruction with her son Matteo and she assumes Tony has died. When she arrives in Toronto, she meets Mae Thebault, her husband Leonard owns a steal works, and she has five children and needs someone to help her. Mae is struggling being a mother, she’s constantly pregnant, tired and she's at the end of her tether. The two women become best friends, Lily understands how Mae feels and helps her, men didn’t have a lot of sympathy or empathy towards women at the time, and they were expected to bear as many children as the couple were blessed with, look after them and not complain. Set during a decade when two major things occurred, the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, so many men were out of work and businesses went bankrupt, people struggled to feed and clothe their families, and it caused rioting in Toronto. Ms. Lea uses a real historical case as bases to create her story around, it’s extremely interesting and the topics covered really make you think. The narrative explores the truths about motherhood, women’s roles at the time, what was expected from them and it was no laughing matter. Ms. Lea explores the boundaries of friendship, motherhood, pregnancy, child loss, poverty, racism, abuse, prejudice, desperation, and the lengths a mother will go to protect, look after a sick son and feed her children. Five stars from me, I’m keen to do some further reading about Charles Millar, the Stork Derby Fortune and the court-case.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great historical fiction that encourages empathy
Wow. I'm not even sure where to start. This book was compelling from start to finish, and that was even before I learned from the author's note that the Great Stork Derby was an actual event in history. Caroline Lea is a force to be reckoned with. She has managed to take a wildly bizarre event in Canadian history and weave together a complex story filled with controversial topics that are relevant even today. I'm honestly still unpacking it all... This novel speaks to the heart of ALL women and recognizes the vast difference in feelings, beliefs, and opinions held by us all. The author lays bare the struggle we all have, in different ways, of understanding our personal role in this life: some women have a strong desire to bear children, some have none at all, and some have no choice in the matter. It is certainly a novel that makes the reader think beyond one's own experience, and therefore, it encourages empathy. That, my friends, as I've said before, is what life is all about, in my humble opinion.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com