A Fall of Marigolds Author: Visit Amazon's Susan Meissner Page | Language: English | ISBN:
045141991X | Format: EPUB
A Fall of Marigolds Description
Review
“Like the golden threads of a scarf sprinkled with marigolds, Susan Meissner weaves two unspeakable New York tragedies—the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and 9/11—into a shimmering novel of love and acceptance. Meissner’s heroines, Clara and Taryn, live a century apart, but their stories are connected not just by a bright scrap of fabric but by love lost. A compelling novel, A Fall of Marigolds turns fate into a triumph of spirit.”—Sandra Dallas, New York Times bestselling author of True Sisters
“Meissner has crafted a thoughtful story about lost loves and times past, illustrating how quickly disaster can take away what we hold most dear, and how ultimately we must move forward with hope in our hearts.”—Margaret Dilloway, bestselling author of The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns
“A transportive, heartwarming, and fascinating novel that will resonate with readers in search of emotionally satisfying stories connecting past and present, and demonstrating the healing power of love.”—Erika Robuck, bestselling author of Call Me Zelda
“Weaves a compelling tapestry of past and present, of love and loss and learning to love again, of two women connected through time in a rich and unique way.”—Lisa Wingate, bestselling author of The Prayer Box and Tending Roses
“Susan Meissner knits the past and the present with the seamless skill of a master storyteller. A beautifully written, moving novel that had me gripped from the first page.”—Kate Kerrigan, New York Times bestselling author of Ellis Island
“Deftly weaves a story of love and loss... an inspiring story of hope and the belief that with tomorrow comes a new day full of promise.”—Lorie Conway, author/producer of “Forgotten Ellis Island”
“Susan Meissner has written a courageous novel, moving with great insight between the haunting parallel stories of two women trying to recover from the losses of a terrible fire in 1911 New York City and the unforgettable fall of the twin towers on 9/11. An uncommon celebration of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable tragedy, A Fall of Marigolds is a beautiful reminder that although life is perilous, love is a powerful healer.”—Kimberly Brock, 2013 Georgia Author of the Year and author of The River Witch
About the Author
A native of San Diego, Susan Meissner is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper and an award-winning columnist. She is the author of The Girl in the Glass, A Sound Among the Trees, Lady in Waiting, and The Shape of Mercy.
- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: NAL Trade (February 4, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 045141991X
- ISBN-13: 978-0451419910
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kim
*Beware of possible Spoilers*
a-fall-of-marigolds-susan-meissnerI give this book 5 stars because of the complexity of the story and they way Susan Meissner wove these two characters together. I actually cried.
Have you ever experienced something so traumatic that your heart and mind can’t wrap itself around it, then to only throw yourself into living but not actually living but just on automation. It’s call the in between place, it’s a place where you are stuck until something or someone finally shoves you into the present where you have to face the past so that there may be a future.
Here we have a story of two different women in a different place and time, one in 2011 and the other in 1911, but both have loved and lost. They both play the horror that’s befallen on them in their mind one way and to find out it’s not the truth as they thought it was.
In present day Tayrn works at a shop that deals in fabric called Heirloom Yard with her best friend Celine, after her husband dies in theattack of 9/11, she has to let go of their home and move into the apartment above the shop. The day of the attack after years of trying, she found out she was pregnant. Sadly, she didn’t get the news to her husband before he perished. So today she’s working and living above the shop trying to raise their daughter.
Then her worst nightmare comes true, a picture of her among the ashes of the twin towers emerges 10 years later and she is finally going to have to face the truth about the day she lost her husband and the day that left her unborn child fatherless. How is she going to be able to tell her daughter the truth of that day when she can’t even face it?
Reading a book by Susan Meissner is like treating yourself to fine chocolate. Her last work was a masterpiece that left me aching to return to Italy. She is a masterful storyteller.
So, when I knew she had a new book releasing, I didn't hesitate to enter a Goodreads giveaway for a copy, even though I knew next to nothing about the story. And I won!
A Fall of Marigolds has been sitting on my shelf for a few months while I tackled other reviews, but I recently finished it and can easily say this book makes my top whatever list of best books I've ever read.
The book opens in Manhattan 2011 with Taryn, a woman whose husband died in the Twin Towers on 9/11. She works in a specialty fabric store and lives above it with her 9-year-old daughter. A picture of her from the day of the tragedy surfaces suddenly and the quiet life she thought she'd gotten on with is disturbed.
Intertwined with her story is that of Clara, a nurse working on Ellis Island in 1911. She was a witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and has come to the island to escape the memories of her loss that day.
Both stories are steeped in heavy sadness, and honestly, I've been avoiding stories, documentaries and movies about 9/11 since the day it happened because I can sometimes still feel the weight of the national despair. I don't often lean in to pain, and I might have been more hesitant to read this story if I'd known that was part of it.
And I won't lie. This story is not all feel-good. There are heart-wrenching scenes as these two women, separated by a century of time, allow themselves to grieve the past and open their lives to the present and future. I had to set it down a few times and let the feelings sink in and pass before starting again.
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