The Afternoon Book Discussion Group of the Dighton Public Library is discussing The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant on Thursday, May 30 at 4:00. All are welcome to join the discussion. Copies of the book are availableat the library.
From Library Journal: Eighty-five-year-old Addie Baum reminisces about her life in Diamant’s step back in time. Addie’s been asked by her 22-year-old granddaughter, Ava, to explain how she became the woman she is.
Born to Jewish immigrant parents in 1900 in Boston’s heavily populated North End, Addie and her two older sisters lived in a tenement with their unhappy parents who did not acclimate to this new world. But Addie’s caring and loyal sisters are there for her. In 1915 she is a young teen, interested in her activities at a library group held at a neighborhood settlement house.
Recalling situations with her compassionate eye and remarkable sense of humor, Addie observes upheavals large and small: changing women’s roles, movies, celebrity culture, short skirts, and the horrible flu pandemic of 1918. She explores feminism, family, and love as well. VERDICT Diamant offers impeccable descriptions of Boston life during these early years of the 20th century and creates a loving, caring lead character who grows in front of our eyes from a naive young girl to a warm, wise elder. Readers interested in historical fiction will certainly enjoy this look at the era, with all its complications and wonders.
[See Prepub Alert, 9/8/14.]— Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA –Andrea Tarr (Reviewed October 15, 2014) (Library Journal, vol 139, issue 17, p78)
