Thank you UpLitReads & Berkley Books #partner, for the finished copy of Only the Beautiful in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: April 18, 2023
Summary:
A heartrending story about a young mother’s fight to keep her daughter, and the winds of fortune that tear them apart by the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War.
California, 1938—When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser’s daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert’s spacious house with a secret, however—Rosie sees colors when she hears sound. She promised her mother she’d never reveal her little-understood ability to anyone, but the weight of her isolation and grief prove too much for her. Driven by her loneliness she not only breaks the vow to her mother, but in a desperate moment lets down her guard and ends up pregnant. Banished by the Calverts, Rosanne believes she is bound for a home for unwed mothers, and having lost her family she treasures her pregnancy as the chance for a future one. But she soon finds out she is not going to a home of any kind, but to a place far worse than anything she could have imagined.
Austria, 1947—After witnessing firsthand Adolf Hitler’s brutal pursuit of hereditary purity—especially with regard to “different children”—Helen Calvert, Truman’s sister, is ready to return to America for good. But when she arrives at her brother’s peaceful vineyard after decades working abroad, she is shocked to learn what really happened nine years earlier to the vinedresser’s daughter, a girl whom Helen had long ago befriended. In her determination to find Rosanne, Helen discovers that while the war had been won in Europe, there are still terrifying battles to be fought at home.
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of Susan Meissner for quite some time, having read just about all her historical fiction novels. I attended a zoom chat a couple years ago for her last book, The Nature of Fragile Things and she hinted at the next book she was working on, briefly mentioning that it would be about eugenics and I have been waiting for that book ever since that chat…and let me just say the wait was so worth it. This book, as heartbreaking as it is, is also going to be one of my favorites of the year!
I have been struggling with how to write this review. I sometimes feel that my words cannot do justice to the love and awe I have for such a powerful, brilliant story like this one. This book took such a hold of me, and even now, weeks after I have finished it, I am still thinking about it. That is when you know you have something special in your hands.
I loved the way this one unfolded because it is quite the layered story. Not only do we see what the Nazis are doing in Germany during WWII, but we see that many similar practices are being done right here in our own country at the same time. I had no idea that the practice of eugenics went that far back. It is stories like this that need to be told for us to shed light on history – otherwise, how do we not keep repeating the same terrible mistakes?
I think what makes this book stand out, besides the topics covered, is the characters. They are so well-drawn that it is easy to feel connected to them and become invested in their stories. I felt so many emotions throughout this book – hurt, anger, confusion, outrage – over what was being done to Rosie and others like her. And then there is Helen – I loved how she continued to risk her life to save others. She is someone to aspire to be like, someone that reminds me in a lot of ways of my mom, constantly doing for others, constantly putting others before herself.
As heartbreaking as this story is, it is also such a powerful read, one I will not be forgetting any time soon. It is beautifully written and I highly recommend picking it up if you haven’t already read it.
