The Whisper Sister - Jennifer S. Brown - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Jennifer S. Brown

NARRATOR: Helen Laser

GENRE: Historical Fiction

PUBLICATION DATE: September 3, 2024

RATING: 4.5 stars

In a Nutshell: A historical fiction set during the Prohibition era. Great protagonist, great character development, great storyline, great themes, great writing. Basically, just great!

Plot Preview:

1920. When Minnie Soffer arrives with her family to New York, she is surprised to learn that it isn’t as grand as she was told. Her father, who had emigrated to the US some years before, lives in a small house, and the language that everyone at school speaks is unfamiliar. Minnie and her elder brother Max work hard to adjust to their new lives. When her father opens a soda shop, it seems like life is finally going the right way. But the soda shop is just a front for a speakeasy, which soon becomes a bigger part of their life than they had anticipated.

The story, spanning the thirteen years of prohibition in the USA, covers Minnie’s struggles through childhood and young adulthood, and is written in her first-person perspective.

Bookish Yays:

🥂 Historical fiction novels often have stories of refugees/immigrants who come to America with golden dreams and then slog hard towards success. But this is not a typical rags-to-riches novel. It contains a realistic depiction of immigrant life, with financial struggles, adjustment to the new way of life, generational differences, and bi-cultural conflict getting prime focus.

🥂 The women in such narratives are always good, homely, and sacrificing. Minnie is, hence, a breath of fresh air with her spunkiness and rebellious attitude. She is strong, outspoken and intelligent, and doesn’t hesitate to take brave decisions, even if they go against the norm. She is the perfect protagonist for this coming-of-age story that centres on her identity as a daughter, a sister, a business-owner, and a Jewish woman.

🥂 The other characters, whether Minnie’s family or her friend or fellow Jews, or even her fellow workers at the speakeasy, are also well-written. Most of their portrayals are not stereotypical.

🥂 There are many emotional moments in the plot, but the content doesn’t swerve towards OTT melodrama.

🥂 The author manages to capture the historical atmosphere of the 1920s accurately, with the glitzy clubs contrasting with the sleazy speakeasies. There’s a great deal of authenticity in the writing.

🥂 All aspects of the Prohibition era, positive and negative, are tackled in the plot. For a change, I can't complain about too much alcohol in the story because alcohol is the foundation of the plot. Thankfully, the characters in this story can hold their liquor. Even our titular protagonist isn't a weak character who loses it after a drink (or few.) Minnie certainty knew her alcohol, and the author’s note clarifies the reason for the accurate portrayal.😉 The writing is so realistic and descriptive that even though I am a teetotaller, I could actually feel how the varied drinks tasted.

🥂 The Jewish portrayal seems excellent and accurate. (As far as I could make out!) I appreciate how the author provides a genuine representation of Orthodox Jew practices without resorting to clichés or stereotypes or judgemental observations. It was a beautiful portrayal of Jewish culture and traditions.

🥂 The story even highlights how gangs worked during the prohibition. I am not usually a fan of gangland plots, but this book was a welcome exception.

🥂 While I am not fond of romance in non-romance genre books, this plot keeps the romance at just the right level, using it as a genuine plot device rather than as a light distraction.

🥂 The author's note, while entertaining, depicts the extent of her research. Her efforts show in the storyline.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🍺 The title is really good. (I didn’t know its meaning at first, but it is explained in the book.) However, as the actual ‘whisper sister’ part doesn't begin until the second half of the storyline, the first half, though engrossing, involves a lot of waiting to see how Minnie ends up working in the bar. The story thus has two distinct parts: Minnie’s life prior to her working in the speakeasy, and her working as the “whisper sister”. Both parts are engrossing, but the second half is stronger in its content.

Bookish Nays:

🍸 The sexual assault scene was a bit too crude for my liking, though I get why the author may have written it thus. I felt like it deliberately piled on the crassness, perhaps to enhance the impact of the situation, but it didn’t suit the tone of the rest of the book. This may not be a Nay to others as the discomfort is more due to my reading preferences than a fault of the book per se.

Bookish Doubt:

🥤 Why are the time references in the pattern “2 o'clock p.m.” or “4 o'clock a.m.”? Isn’t it either o’clock or a.m./p.m.? I’ve never seen both being used at once! I am not sure if the time references are like this in the book as well, but the narrator uses this format multiple times in the audio version. It was very distracting.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 12 hrs 21 min, is narrated by Helen Laser. This is my first time listening to her, and I am so blown away! She is fabulous! Every single character is voiced almost to perfection. Her rich voice suits Minnie well. I appreciated most that she never makes Minnie sound like giggly even though she is so young.

All in all, this is one of the best historical fiction novels I have read in a long time. It hits the mark with its story, its authenticity, and its characters. The fact that it is set in an era that isn’t often represented and through such a strong character’s perspective adds to its charm.

Strongly recommended to every historical fiction reader. Do check out the content triggers.

My thanks to Brilliance Audio for providing the ALC of “The Whisper Sister” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Content warnings: Miscarriage, sexual assault, imprisonment, parental abandonment, parental death, infidelity, physical assault.