Life, Death And Everything In Between
The Inaugural Meeting Of The Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green is a wonderful historical novel about life, death and everything in between.
Set from 1978-1981, I hesitated to use the term ‘historical’ but realised there are many years separating then and now and the world is quite a different place. Each new year recaps the important events, setting the scene for the reader with the references that follow. This wonderful book is a snapshot in time.
The novel takes place in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is an unforgiving landscape. Life can be hard and isolating.
The book follows a group of women as they band together to share their love of books (many of which I had heard of and some I had read). They form so much more than just a book club. They offer a lifeline for each other. From various continents and of different ages and life experiences, these women become a group of friends. They share life’s ups and downs – births, deaths, divorces, new loves, old loves, jobs, children – the list goes on.