Author: V. S. Alexander
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Literature
Rating: 5/5 stars!
This book is absolutely brilliant. Parts of it are based on true events or known situations which only makes the circumstances and treatment of the girls more tragic. Even without the tidbits of truth I believe Alexander would make anyone care about her characters.
I have always been intrigued by the way we, as humans in history and today, decide a person is unsuitable, mentally unstable or a harm to themselves or others. While there are many obvious cases in which intervention is needed ; I believe there are likely twice as many cases where prejudice, personal preference or other circumstances resulted in the incarceration of someone unjustly.
The problem with a lack of true scientific or compelling evidence (ie: video) is that suddenly the situation and what happened becomes subjective. The Magdalen Girls does an excellent job of showing how one person of power can ruin someone. I couldn't help but imagine, what if that someone was me? It's chilling.
This is an excellent book club choice. Lots of great content and moments that should spark conversation and possibly some good debates. For those who tend to shy away from religious books or women's literature let me assure you that this novel is really about injustice and how easy it is for things to get out of control. The means in which we are told the story are actually quite irrelevant at the end of the day. I didn't feel hindered at all by the religion (and I'm not Catholic or Christian so sometimes religion ruins things for me). This book is just written so well that I knew while reading it that this wasn't about priests, nuns or convents; instead it's about how unfair life can be. And a reminder that we all may be one misstep away from a very bad day that changes the course of our lives; because keep in mind this set-up is based on truth.
I highly recommend this book and am so grateful to have received an eARC copy. I liked it so much that it will be added to my list of eBooks that need to be on my print shelf.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. Don't believe me? Check out the other books I've had eARCs for that I gave poor reviews to. I always give my opinion whether good, bad or neutral. ;)
4 comments:
Oooh, one for my wish list - thank you!
That's interesting - doesn't sound like my usual reading but it sounds good. I've just started listening to The Power by Naomi Alderman which is very promising!
Another one for the to-read list, thanks for sharing :)
Another great review!
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