Hardcover, 304
pages
Expected publication:
July 9th 2019 by St. Martin's Press
With the
writing chops of Ian McEwan and the story-craft of Lisa Wingate, Karen Kelly
weaves a shattering debut about two intertwined families and the secrets that
they buried during the gilded, glory days of Bethlehem, PA.
A young woman arrives at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, hoping to fortify her cracking marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed.
Inspired by the true titans of the steel-boom era, Bethlehem is a story of temptation and regret, a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them, a story of forgiveness. It is the story of two complex women—thrown together in the name of family—who, in coming to understand each other, come finally to understand themselves.
A young woman arrives at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, hoping to fortify her cracking marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed.
Inspired by the true titans of the steel-boom era, Bethlehem is a story of temptation and regret, a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them, a story of forgiveness. It is the story of two complex women—thrown together in the name of family—who, in coming to understand each other, come finally to understand themselves.
My Thoughts…
Karen Kelly is
a new author to me so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found Bethlehem to be a book that kept me
wanting to turn pages to learn more about the characters and the town of
Bethlehem.
The story of
Frank and Joanna who go to live at Frank’s family home along with their two
children are set in the 1960s. In the
home resides the two matriarchs of the family, Frank’s mother and
grandmother. This leaves Joanna feeling
like she is a visitor in her home, decisions are made without her being asked,
her children are given freedoms and without her consent, and Frank is always at
work. Joanna feels like she is losing
herself. The mother-in-law, Susannah, also
gets to tell her story that starts in the 1920s and leads to the revealing
secrets that she has kept close to the heart to not cause any family problems.
I felt that the
start was a little hard to follow because there were so many characters
introduced at one time. I struggled to
keep them straight and to follow who’s story I was reading. As the story continued it became easier to
figure out and I grew more attached to both the characters and the story
itself.
Bethlehem is a
woman’s historical fiction. It tells of
life in a town that is supported by the U.S Steel industry but goes on to show
the bond between a mother and daughter and the struggles of marriage. The cover should draw your attention but the
storyline will keep you entertained.
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