Book Review - Jojo Moyes' The Ship of Brides

I've recently begun using NetGalley, where reviewers can request advanced copies of books from publishers, in exchange for an honest review. I felt like I hit the jackpot, when Penguin Books approved me for Jojo Moyes' The Ship of Brides. Moyes is a fantastic writer and I was excited to read another one of her novels.

The Ship of Brides is a fictionalized account of the true story of Australian women who married British soldiers during WW2. After the war, hundreds of women were brought to England on an aircraft carrier, set to be decommissioned. Moyes' novel follows a group of very different women, who share quarters on the ship.

Meticulously researched, Moyes starts off every chapter with a quote or news clipping from the real events, which helps set the scene for her fictional story. On one level, the idea for the story and hearing about how these brides were transported is fascinating. They had to keep these women entertained, safe and protected from mingling with the soldiers on board. Some of the women received telegrams mid-travel and were told that they were no longer wanted by their husbands. There is lot of inherent drama in this story and that's before you even get to Moyes fictional world.

The four main female characters couldn't be more different than one another and they are all forced to share a tiny room. Avice is concerned with her reputation and appearances and she is none too pleased to be bunking with Jean, a brash sixteen year girl who seems to lack all sense of decorum. Margaret is heavily pregnant and has smuggled a dog aboard, while serious Frances, is harboring a dark past. 

I'm not going to give anything away, just know that there is plenty of drama and surprise to keep the pages turning. This story is even a bit of a tear-jerker, so have those kleenex handy.

The only minor story device that I didn't like, was the way Moyes book-ended the story with showing one of the women as an old lady, traveling with her granddaughter. It reminded me of the older Rose sequences in Titanic and even though it gave closure to the story, I didn't care for it. 

Overall, this is a wonderful novel. The history element is fascinating and Moyes really knows how to bring her characters to life. 

Book Review- Jojo Moyes' The Last Letter from Your Lover

Having "discovered" British novelist Jojo Moyes last year, I've been eager to work my way through her books. My latest read is her generation sweeping epic, The Last Letter from Your Lover. 

In the 1960's Jennifer Stirling has been in a car wreck and suffers memory loss. She returns home from an extended stay in the hospital to her emotionally abusive husband. Soon, she discovers evidence of her own infidelity prior to the accident and begins to piece together the puzzle of her former life.

Fast forward to 2003, journalist Ellie Haworth is struggling. She has been having a year-long affair with a married man and she has a new boss who is a tyrant. Ellie's perspective is about to be altered when she discovers a series of love letters in the library of the news office. As she hunts for the owner of the letters, she begins to question the sanity and stability of her own love life.

On the surface, this is a story of two love affairs. However, Moyes doesn't write simple stories. The Last Letter from Your Lover is filled with unexpected twists and emotional heartache. Just when I thought that the story was going in a particular direction, Moyes would throw an unanticipated obstacle into the mix. I admire her ability to keep me guessing.

The story had tones of another story that I really admire, Graham Greene's The End of the Affair. What I liked about Greene and Moyes' stories is even though the protagonist are engaging in something morally wrong, you still feel compassion for their situation. Moyes has layered characters. She doesn't simply make Jennifer's husband a tyrant to justify the affair and make you root for Jennifer. She gives you real, concrete reasons to see why their marriage is failing and why Jennifer would find love elsewhere. She doesn't make Jennifer entirely sympathetic. In fact, sometimes I wanted to shake her. Jennifer can be a total bitch. It's Moyes' roundedness that she gives her characters that make them feel authentic and it is what makes the story such a compelling read.

Thematically, I enjoyed reading about Jennifer's lavish world. She is a wealthy woman living in the 1960's in London. Moyes paints the details of her life in high society in a beautiful way. I loved her descriptions of the gorgeous gowns and fancy parties. 

There was really nothing that I didn't enjoy about The Last Letter from Your Lover. If anything, it makes me want to start the next Moyes novel on my list. She is a gifted story-teller and I want more!

Book Review- Jojo Moyes' Me Before You

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Lou is in her mid-twenties, has never moved out of her parents house and is stuck in a rut in her small England village. Her own view of her life's possibilities is narrow and only becomes smaller when she loses her job as a waitress at a local cafe. Lou mourns the loss of a job that she enjoyed and finds herself on a employment hunt with little education or skills. 

Lou's whole life changes when she takes on a job as a companion to Will, a thirty-six year old paraplegic, who comes from a wealthy family that owns the castle in Lou's hometown. Will is a former jet-setting CEO, who's lifestyle was shattered when he was hit by a car. 

Will is counting down the days until he can head to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide. He has made a pact with his parents to wait six months in case he changes his mind and his parents have hired Lou in hopes that she can help him discover his will to live.  As Will and Lou develop a friendship, it becomes clear that Lou's life is the one in desperate need of saving. 

Jojo Moyes' novel, Me Before You, is a bit sneaky. The emotional punch creeps up on you. Overall, I found the plot to be very predictable, yet even when I could predict what was coming, I still felt left a little raw with the emotions. I connected with the characters on a deeper level than I realized while I reading the book. I felt for all of them

The story is mostly told from Lou's perspective. However, Moyes does a nice thing where she writes few chapters from the perspective of other characters. This was very clever, as it was easy to be heavily judgmental towards those characters, yet when I got into their minds, I felt more compassion towards them. There is very much a theme of judgment and learning to show compassion towards others. 

Occasionally, I felt a disconnect from the story, usually when Lou's family crept in. I felt like Lou was becoming a bit of a punching bag. It felt overbearing. However, the more that I read the book, the more realistic her family became. I started recognizing traits that Lou's family shared with my own family, which was probably what created my disconnect in the first place. It hit close to home. 

The biggest reason that the story works is that I found myself really rooting for the characters. They are stuck with impossible choices and I just want the outcome to be the best possible scenario. I read through it quickly just to find out how it was going to end. 

This story has a lot of heart and compassion. I finished it yesterday morning and it has lingered with me. The best stories are those that make an impact and this one is definitely impactful.