Thank you to GetRedPR, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Letter in the Wall in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Spark Press
Published: May 24, 2022
Summary:
It’s 1971, and Joan Dumann fears her former business partner wants her dead—but her anxiety is less about dying than it is about feeling disrespected and invalidated. As she constructs a letter about her predicament, she revisits her past.
Born into a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family in 1915 and raised with privilege and opportunity, Joan wrestles with her turbulent thoughts and unfulfilled desires—an internal battle that often results in self-destructive tendencies. When she attempts to push against the norms for women of her time in order to forge her own identity, she is met with resistance. Yet she might also be her own worst enemy, often alienating those who care deeply for her. Both manipulative and vulnerable, naive and conniving, Joan is, like many people, complex and misunderstood.
Inspired by a letter written by the real Joan, found hidden in the wall of a Pennsylvania home more than half a century later, this story is a fictionalized imagining of who she was and what motivated her. Moving through several decades and events—from the 1918 influenza pandemic to Prohibition to the Great Depression to Vietnam—A Letter in the Wall examines the internal and external factors that influence one woman’s journey toward independence and empowerment.
My thoughts:
This was the inaugural bookclub pick for our #GetRedPRBookclub that I am hosting online, and it was such a great book which with to kick off our bookclub. Not only did we have an online discussion with the bookclub members but then the author joined us halfway through to talk about her inspiration for the book and answer any questions we might have. It was such a great meeting, and I am so excited to see what other great books we end up discussing!
I found this book to quite such a great read. It is both a historical fiction novel and a coming-of-age story that kept me glued to the pages. Joan, our main protagonist, is a complicated character and at times, she is not always the most likeable, but I think this is what keeps you interested in all that she goes through. We see her move from young child when she loses her mother during the Influenza Pandemic to a teen, trying to find herself, to an unfilled housewife and mother, to a smart, savvy businesswoman. She really goes through quite the metamorphosis and while she does make some questionable choices throughout her life, we also get glimpses of what it was like to live during a time when women didn’t have the freedoms that they do now. I really appreciated how the author balanced this – this fictional story of this larger-than-life woman and the expectations of what life was like for women throughout the decades.
I love that this book was inspired by an actual event – the author did find a letter in the wall of her home. The author explains this in her author notes, but of course, hearing her talk about this she goes into more depth. I love how authors are able to take such small incidents and create such vivid and creative stories like this one.
I enjoyed going on Joan’s journey and found myself completely captivated by the story from start to finish. It’s a thought-provoking read, one that makes you think about the choices you make, and it certainly makes for a great bookclub pick!
