Three articles about Laura Moriarty's superb new novel, The Chaperone, showed up in today's Kansas newspapers. The novel tells the story of the woman who accompanied 15 year old Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the changes both experienced in each others company. It is a great read, and highly recommended.
The Lawrence Journal-World ran a piece titled "A cut above: Local author’s novel generates national buzz," by Terry Rombeck. And the Wichita Eagle ran a story titled "Author Laura Moriarty takes a step back in time," by Lisa McLendon. The Eagle also ran a book review of The Chaperone in today's paper, "Laura Moriarty’s ‘The Chaperone’ brings 1920s Wichita to life."
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| Image courtesy of Riverhead books |
This book is a very engaging tale that takes place during the time when women's corsets are being loosened. While it is an easy read, it has a lot to say, and I think that most readers will enjoy it as much as I did!
ReplyDeleteThis is NOT a coming-of-age story, rather it is a "coming into one's own" novel, or maybe even a bit more like a drama (or "dramedy") of manners. What reading the book really resembles is watching a flower opening. Cora, our protagonist, begins to unfurl and finally come into her own in the course of the book.
In flashbacks, Cora's life story is revealed. In each phase of her life, Cora does for others and does exactly what society expects from her. She spends her early years in an orphanage run by nuns in New York City. She is put on the "orphan train," is adopted by the Kaufmanns, makes a very respectable marriage to Alan Carlisle, and raises two sons. To all outward appearances, Cora has a wonderful life, and she does all that society expects from her.