The Country Girl - Sally Tarpey - ★★★★
AUTHOR: Sally Tarpey
SERIES: Country Girl, #1.GENRE: Historical Fiction.
RATING: 4 stars.
In a Nutshell: A smoothly-written debut historical fiction, based on the life of a courageous young country girl. Flows as expected without any surprises, but covers some interesting topics.
Story Synopsis:
1912. Fifteen-year-old Kate is a strong, intelligent and independent fifteen year old who lives in Micklewell village with her parents and four siblings. She knows that she needs to contribute to the income, and so when she finds work in a nearby town as a nursemaid, she jumps at the opportunity.
Life at the wealthy Winton household isn't easy but having some sympathetic people in the family and some friendly co-workers helps. With the suffragette movement and the beginning of the Great War, Kate's life changes even more.
The story is written mainly in the third person limited perspective of Kate.
Note: If you wish to enjoy this book to the fullest, do not read the Goodreads blurb.
The author began working on this novel when, while researching her family history, she discovered the fact that her grandfather had a previous wife and child in 1918. This is her creative version of what might have happened to this young woman.
Bookish Yays:
👌 I loved Kate's character. A country girl at heart, she doesn't judge anyone but tries her best to keep everyone happy. Her approach towards her young charges is extremely well-written. Her character grows in maturity with the passing of years, which is a nice realistic touch.
👌 There are some interesting and loveable secondary characters in the story. While some of them are quite predictable, some stand out. Mrs. B, Eliza and the five Winton children are especially memorable.
👌 The writing is easy-going, and the author covers a lot without making it feel overwhelming. This also makes the book a quick read, and I didn’t feel the length (280+ pages) at all.
👌 The story is set during the WWI, and as such, there are some chapters that talk of the impact of the war on families left behind, and of the trauma—both physical and mental—that the young soldiers underwent.
👌 While there is romance in the book, it does not take centrestage at the cost of the other plot elements. Also, all the romantic scenes are closed door ones. Both these factors are highly appreciated as they keep the focus on the emotional than on the physical.
👌 I was expecting a straightforward story about a gutsy young girl making her life out of her country home. What I didn’t expect was for her life story to cover the suffrage movement and gender discrimination. The role of women, whether wealthy or maid, becomes the point of focus time and again. That was a refreshing addition to this historical novel.
👌 The writing is tilted more towards plot than prose. This wasn't a great problem for me as I'm a plot-oriented reader, and the plot was interesting in this case. (That said, those looking for lush descriptive prose might be a bit disappointed by the simplistic approach towards storytelling. The scenic descriptions are quite minimal.)
👌 At the end, there is quite an elaborate list of words, titled "Glossary of English Usage for US Readers." Not gonna lie, the phrase "US Readers" made me grin! I didn't need the glossary, of course; I just went with the flow and the meanings were almost always guessable. But looking at the way some American readers have been tearing apart British novels on Facebook for having "wrong spellings" and "weird words", I can understand why the author/publisher felt the need to include this feature. I mention this in my positives list because I appreciate how extensive the glossary was.
Bookish Nays:
⚠ The story gets somewhat repetitive and predictable at times, especially when it comes to Kate's feelings over the men in her life. This is mainly in the middle section.
⚠ The blurb on Goodreads reveals almost the entire story of the book. I would have loved this work far more had the blurb not ended up spilling out every important plot point.
⚠ The author's note at the start reveals how this story came into being. However, the author has yet to establish the link between the ending of this story and the fact that Kate was her grandfather's first wife. This left me wanting more at the end. Of course, she did mention that a sequel is under works, so I hope that will provide the complete picture. Furthermore, I hope she provides a detailed author’s note next time, clarifying how much of the story was based on fact, and how much was creatively filled in.
All in all, this is a pretty good book, especially for a debut work. It offers an interesting blend of real events and imagination. Looking forward to the sequel so that I know what happens next in Kate's life.
The book is marketed as a WWI story, and it does have content connected to the ‘Great War’, as it was called then. However, the story goes much beyond the war. (In the book, the war doesn’t even begin until about the 40% point.) I know many historical fiction readers, myself included, are tired of WW fiction, as the genre has become so saturated in the last couple of years. But this book isn’t a war story at its core, and it should be rebranded so that it can appeal to more readers.
Recommended to historical fiction readers who would love a story with a brave young girl who doesn’t allow circumstances to get the better of her. Despite the emotional premise, it is a story of courage and hope and the importance of family.
My thanks to Joffe Books, author Sally Tarpey, and Zooloo’s Book Tours for a complimentary copy of “The Country Bride” and allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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Author Sally Tarpey:
Sally Tarpey was born in rural Hampshire and now lives close to the sea in Essex. She began writing short stories when she was a VSO volunteer in Cambodia and hasn’t stopped writing since. A retired teacher, she now volunteers with two community projects, her local community shop and an EAL support group.
She is currently working on her second novel. When she’s not writing, she can be found enjoying time with her family, striding out in her walking books, battling with weeds on her allotment or planning her next adventure.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get this book:
Buy Link: https://geni.us/6SwCzh
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This has been a pitstop on the #TheCountryGirl blog tour conducted by Zooloo's Book Tours. (@ZooloosBookTours on Insta) Thanks for stopping by!
thank you so much for kicking off the tour today with your lovely review x
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