The World Below by Sue Miller, published in 2001, has a dual storyline about a twice-divorced woman, Cath, and her deceased maternal grandmother, Georgia, who both lost their mothers at a young age. At age 52 with three adult children, Cath leaves her home in San Francisco and moves into Georgia's Vermont home for a while to regroup. While there, she finds Georgia's diaries, and learns all was not as it seemed with her grandparents' marriage. In 1919, Georgia, age 19, was sent to the tuberculosis sanitarium by her twenty-years-older doctor because he felt she needed a break from taking care of her parents and younger siblings during and after her mother's long illness and death, not because she has tuberculosis. Georgia marries the doctor soon after her short stay, but her time at the "san" changes her life, and the parallels to her granddaughter's life are remarkable. This was a nice, quiet, introspective novel to read at the end of the tumultuous Christmas holidays of 2020-21. It's the first book I've read by Miller, but I'd like to read more.
I was reading A Miracle for St. Cecilia's, by Katherine Valentine, just before and after the attempted coup by Trump via his fanatical supporters' violent assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Right book, right time, I guess, as the book had been sitting on my to-be-read shelf for over 14 years.
St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Dorsetville, Connecticut, is slated to be closed, due to dwindling membership after the shutdown of the local wool mills, coupled with increased maintenance costs for the aging building. Father James has to prepare his parishioners and his elderly assistant, Father Keene, for the closure and moves. But of course, a miracle happens.
The book is full of realistic, funny characters, and overall doesn't get too serious or preachy. I enjoyed reading a "Christian fiction"/inspirational book that actually featured Catholics (I am one) rather than the Amish or some other sect. Some readers have complained about various blunders or misrepresentations concerning Catholic doctrine and rituals, but the only thing that bothered me was the singing of "How Great Thou Art" on Easter Sunday (page 274). That would not be likely to happen in the Catholic Churches I know!
The charming Early American style cover is by JT Morrow, "best known for his parodies and imitations of the Great Masters," like naïf style painters Grandma Moses and Michel Delacroix.
This is the first book of five in the Dorsetville series. I am not a fan of "Christian" fiction, nor inspirational books, but I might be tempted to read another book in this series in a time when I need some hope about the world.
The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel - historical fiction, contemporary realistic fiction, local book club. World War II story set in the Champagne region in France, with a parallel storyline running in the present day. Somewhat predictable.
