Rachael English

The Paper Bracelet. Rachael English. 2020. I think I would have enjoyed this book more, had I not just read The Girls of Ennismore. I didn’t finish it as I just couldn’t get interested in the characters, and I have read enough about the homes for unwed mothers run by the nuns to know the horrific story. A woman who was sent to such a home and later became a nurse in the home secretly saved the paper bracelets put on the babies when they born and taken off when the babies were adopted. No girl was given the option of keeping her baby. This woman puts an ad in the paper and an announcement on the Internet and offers to try to help the mothers and children find each other.… (mer)

The Letter Home by Rachael English juggles three story arcs dating from the present back to the Great Famine (1845-49). Each is compelling and woven together the whole is powerful.

Most readers will likely have their favorite of the three characters and their particular arc, the key is not to be so negative toward the others just because you prefer one. That said, these three women are very different and having strong reactions to them, while important to get the reader invested, also runs the risk of turning us off of one of them. If you can give each the attention and empathy they warrant, you will be richly rewarded.

I find that my favorite historical novels tend to be ones with multiple timelines, I think I like having one foot in the present (or something close to the present). Jessie's story serves that purpose for me very well. I also think that having the time difference makes the story have an even better big picture feel. We see what yesterday's events have caused in today's world.

I would recommend this to not only readers of historical fiction but also readers who like to read about characters who are seeking something because their present situation isn't suiting them well. From the horrific (famine), through the embarrassing (public humiliation), to dissatisfaction with seemingly ideal situations (high power yet unfulfilling career). Seek something better, or different, or just for a better understanding of oneself.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mer)