The Giver Of Stars – Historical Women’s Fiction
The Giver Of Stars – historical women’s fiction lives inside the pages of this marvelous book written by the talented and outstanding author, Jojo Moyes. I suppose many well-read women will find it hard to believe, but this is my first Jojo Moyes read. However, those same women will find it quite easy to relate to me when I say, “As soon as I finished reading the this story, I quickly picked up all of the books in Moyes’ Me Before You trilogy.” I feel as though I have come way late to the Jojo Moyes readers party. All I can say for myself is, better late than never!
I thoroughly enjoyed Moyes’ story based on the Kentucky pack-horse librarians. And if you are also a Jojo Moyes fan, you may be surprised at how different this book is from other books by Moyes. Don’t get me wrong, The Giver of Stars is an outstanding piece of literature. I have learned that Moyes has an exceptional talent for writing women characters of depth. She depicts women in all their glory, and in all their misery as well. This author boldly brings us intelligent and marvelously strong women.
In the Giver of Stars, Moyes presents us with a wide array of women from various levels of education and intelligence, as well as women who are rich, poor, savvy, innocent, backward, sweet, forward-thinking, different, and downright tough. And by golly, the packhorse librarians make it their mission to bring books to those who have no access to literature. I really loved it when the packhorse women, were told by men, that Sophia, who is black, was not allowed to “use” the library. The women quickly replied that Sophia, was not “using” the library, on the contrary, she was “working” in the library.
But just because these women are determined to do good by women less fortunate, doesn’t mean that they look down on those same women. For me, The Giver of Stars is a story about watching a sisterhood of women come together to grow and flourish. And an old saying comes to mind, “If I could, I would give you the stars.” In the Giver of Stars, the growing sisterhood of women are determined to be “the givers of hope, love, friendship, strength, and courage, along with the tools to make a difference for all women. What a glorious and marvelous book Jojo Moyes has written. She is surely a Giver of Stars!
Note: As soon as I finished reading this story, I quickly made it the next book club selection for my women’s book club. And much they loved it, was no surprise to me! I highly recommend this book for women’s book clubs.
Publisher Book Description:
From the author of Me Before You, set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond.
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.
The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.
Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, this story is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic–a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.
