Monday, December 16, 2024

Book Review - Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon

 


Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon is about Beatrice (Bea) Haven, who leaves her daughter, Lucy Pear, under a pear tree and the woman who raised Lucy. Bea is sent to live with her uncle at Cape Ann, Massachusetts after she becomes pregnant out of wedlock. She is the unwed daughter of wealthy Jewish industrialists and a gifted pianist. Bea was headed to Radcliffe college before her pregnancy, and she yearned for a fresh start.

One night, Bea sees a group of people looting the pear trees in her uncle’s garden. She wraps her daughter and leaves her under one of the trees. Bea waits until another woman picks up the infant and takes her away.

Ten years later, Bea returns to her uncle’s farm. Prohibition is in effect, and racism is prominent. Bea feels unsettled that her dreams for the future remained unfulfilled and she feels stuck. She hopes that spending time with her sick uncle will help cure some of her unhappiness as she feels unhappy that her life is unfulfilled..   Bea hires a caretaker to help with caring for her sick uncle. She soon realizes that not only is the caretaker a rum runner but has also been raising Bea’s daughter.

The novel is a cozy read with some intimate moments. I thought it was an okay read but nothing noteworthy. Nothing  was keeping me hooked to the novel. I felt the plot was boring and the characters ordinary enough that I didn’t care what they had going on. The book had a lot of characters, and it was confusing to keep track of how they related to each other. The book was an okay read, but it wasn’t for me.

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