Title: Bloomsbury Girls
Author: Natalie Jenner
Pages: 370
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publishing Date: May 17th 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes:
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4*
Bloomsbury Girls introduces us into the world of a London bookstore, five years after the end of World War Two. The novel mainly focuses on three women, all employees of Bloomsbury Books: Vivien Lowry, Grace Perkins, and Evelyn (Evie) Stone. They come from different walks of life, but become friends, and in the end they are tied by a common goal they'll see to fruition.
Readers who've enjoyed The Jane Austen Society, the author's first book, will enjoy this one, too. Characters from the first book make appearances in Bloomsbury Girls. One aspect I really liked is how the author managed to make the novel sound as if you're reading something written in the mid-20th century. I sometimes had the feeling I'm reading a classic. Yes, some choice of words did sound precious, but I loved this aspect. No bland writing here!
Another thing I enjoyed tremendously was using real life people as characters. Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, Sonia Mary Brownell Orwell, Daphne du Maurier - all these become people of great impact in the novel. Besides there, there are a lot of characters in this book. The list at the beginning of the novel comes in handy, but for those reading an e-book version, keep a list, it'll be helpful. However, they all tie in well together, and no one is an unnecessary character. Each character, no matter how disliking they might seem in the beginning, is given enough background to help the reader understand them as a human. Looking back, I can't say there's a character I ended up not being interested in.
This is a historical novel, but we are not told a lot about the political, social, or economic state London is in 1950. The focus is more on the library's history and on its employees' personal histories. This is clearly what we call an inclusive novel, also one with lots of feminist tendencies. The desire to push the limits and go beyond the pre-prescribed norms of the past is reflected even in how each chapter begins: with one of the 51 rules of the store's general manager, Mr. Dutton. The chapters then go to show how they are, subtly or less subtly, broken. I thought that was a nice touch.
I also liked the observations sprinkled throughout the novel, via the characters' thoughts. The observations are mainly on a person's purpose and ambitions, the norms and regulations society imposes that constrain and never liberate. It's something that reminded me of her first novel, where the author would go into "a lecture" on various things. It's not something bothersome, especially since you get to understand the characters more. I must confess that at some point I was rather not in the right spirit to read, but upon further reflection, I realised this is not the kind of book to rush through. Nothing major happens, although the action takes place over a few months. It's more of what people would call a character driven book. I am glad I read it, though. I am sure I'll read anything else Natalie Jenner writers: she has a way of making a time period come alive and transport you in that setting.
I received a free copy of the e-book of this novel from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
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