⭐⭐⭐⭐
An extremely well-written sweet, simple
story set in the 1950s. This is a slow unfurling romance (distinctly different from slow burn) in keeping time period it is set in.
Alice Johnson is leading a fairly unremarkable
life in a small town. She is ‘different’ in the sense that she doesn’t want to
get married and that in a day and age when women working was not exactly
encouraged, she chooses to work. Despite having a clutch of siblings, Alice is
closest to her Aunt May who is just about a decade older. Alice and May work in
the phone company and have a little Friday evening ritual of special food and music.
On one such Friday, Alice is captivated by a voice in a song by a trio of
sisters. She goes hunting for the record the next day and is assisted by Bill
in the record store. Bill informs her that one of the sisters, Dorothy Long,
has struck out on her own and is going to be playing in a honky-tonk not too
far away soon. Alice goes for the show and finds the woman as alluring as the
voice that had captivated her. She finds herself writing songs for that voice
and for Dorothy. The next time she goes for Dorothy’s show, she is invited for
an after-party by the guitarist, Dirk. She plays a couple of her songs for
Dirk, catches Dorothy’s ear and soon she is a member of the band.
The story is uncomplicated but so
excellently written that it keeps you turning the pages without any flagging in
attention. Dorothy is a complete charmer. Alice is in the coming-of-age phase with
all the accompanying emotional gangliness it involves. There is some conflict
in the end with Alice behaving in a childish, unreasonable, petulant manner and
the conflict being resolved by Dorothy’s sweetness and steadfastness. It’s
worth mentioning that Dorothy’s character here becomes even stronger because
just like Alice, the whole situation and relationship is a first for Dorothy
too.
This book is definitely recommended.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
