"Life is more important than death." -Thoughts of Addie Baum upon the death of her mother in The Boston Girl, 2014, by Anita Diamont.


"When they lowered the coffin into the ground, I remember thinking, She won't be able to make me feel like there's something wrong with me anymore.

But when the first clump of dirt hit the coffin, I realized that I would never stop wanting my mother to tell me that I was all right and that's when I started to cry."

These again are the thoughts of Addie Baum, the main character in The Boston Girl, a historical fiction book that I read this weekend. You may remember that Diamont also wrote The Red Tent, a popular book that I read several years ago. Diamont wrote other novels and non-fiction books as well, so she is very prolific. I'm glad that my friend, Anita, recommended this book because she understands what kinds of books that I read. There's nothing like an "old" friend of 40 years who shares your love of reading and knowledge, so I often ask Anita to recommend a book for me. I'm so thankful for Anita because she has been invested and committed to our friendship since the 9th Grade at Scott County Junior High School. We remained friends through high school, college, grad school, weddings, the births of our children, and beyond. The last time that I saw Anita was in May of 2014 when our son graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. We met at the Waffle House in the Mt. Juliet area and had a great talk. So Anita, THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU.

I got The Boston Girl from the library and read it in just a few sittings. I didn't want to put it down because the main character's life was so interesting and emotional. Addie was born in America to Jewish immigrant parents in 1900, a time of uncertainty and great difficulty for most Americans, and especially the immigrants. As I read I realized how this story brings to mind other historical novels that I've read in recent years, books such as War Brides, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. While War Brides is about young women who lived through deplorable conditions during World War II in Europe, the others are about people who endured poor living conditions, unfair treatment, and a suppressed economy in the cities of America. I highly recommend all of these well-written books because they depict an important part of our past.

The Boston Girl begins with a chapter set in 1985, when the speaker/narrator is a grandmother. The next chapter goes back to the year 1915 when the speaker, Addie Baum, was a child. As the story begins, Addie and her family live in a one-room apartment in a Boston neighborhood that smelled of garbage. There was no indoor plumbing, and a trip to the outdoor toilet wasn't pleasant due to the filthy floors that were covered in dirt and grease. Addie was considered the "smart one" in the family so she got to go to school all the way through some of high school. She was a curious person and loved to learn. As she grew up she acquired some secretarial skills that helped her avoid some of the more severe types of work that her sister had to do. Her life at home was very difficult because her parents were constantly fighting. Her mom never said a kind word to her, as is reflected in the quote above. She desperately wanted her mother to say something positive about her, but she never heard it until her mother was somewhat delirious at the time of her death. I think there are a lot of people like this - even though a parent has hurt them so badly, they still cling to the hope that someday, somehow, somewhere, that parent will show that he/she loves the child. Although Addie didn't feel loved by her parents, she did get emotional support from her two older sisters. Yet her life was filled with sorrow and loss - she lost her sister, two nephews, and her mother too early. But at least she knew her sisters cared about her. It was through a Saturday girl's club that Addie began to feel positive about herself, and she received mentoring from the women who led the group. This was her salvation out of despair, and it made all of the difference. As the story continues, Addie works as a secretary and a newspaper journalist before she marries the love of her life, a young lawyer who genuinely cared for people and was eager to share his life with Addie. I hope you will take the time to read this book.

Here are the next ten books that I've read since 1984:

1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (a memoir - I enjoyed the movie too)
5. The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
6. Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
7. Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
8. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
9. Cabin by Lou Ureneck (nice story about a man who built a cabin)
10. Finding Grace by Liere Van

Have a great week -

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Seller of used books on Amazon: MCH Seller