⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5 Stars)
After loving Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her long-awaited follow-up, The Calamity Club. While it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, there’s still plenty to love about this ambitious historical novel.
Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, The Calamity Club follows three very different women whose lives intersect. Eleven-year-old Meg has been abandoned by her mother and is stuck in a miserable orphanage where older girls are considered unadoptable. Birdie arrives in Oxford hoping her wealthy sister will help save their family home, only to discover that her sister’s life isn’t quite what it seems. Then there’s Charlie, a down-on-her-luck woman with a troubled past and a daring scheme that could change all their lives. I loved these colorful characters and their unlikely friendship.
But I do have a bone to pick. The book was billed as one that would make me laugh, cry, and cheer. Laugh? Not so much! This is a pretty serious story, and at a whopping 656 pages, it’s far too long. The heavy subject matter and deliberate pacing made much of the beginning and middle drag.
Stockett is a terrific storyteller, but this book needed a good trim. Otherwise, it would have been a five-star read!
** Thanks to Spiegel & Grau for a complimentary copy. Opinions are my own.