It’s no secret that Jojo Moyes is brilliant at what she does. She has blessed myself and the world with so many beautiful and empowering books, including but not limited to The Giver of Stars. I purchased this book when I saw that it was Reese Witherspoon’s book club book of the month and I only came around to reading it a few months later. I almost could not believe that I had such a GREAT book in my TBR list that was just waiting for me to pick up and be stunned by its beauty.
With the emergence of the MeToo movement, women empowerment and unity became such a global topic, I don’t think there was a better time for this book to be published and more so I don’t think there was a better time for me to read it. It is important to note that The Giver of Stars is based on a true story, the events took place in the 1930’s when Eleanor Roosevelt initiated the Horseback Librarians program in Kentucky. The aim behind this initiative was to educate and inspire those who read the books, by providing them with greater perspective in life, ultimately it also proved to provide the librarians with greater perspectives in their own lives.
The book tells the story of Alice Wright, an English girl with absolutely nothing in common with her own family, trapped in her own home. That is until she meets Bennette Van Cleve, an American man. She fell inlove with him almost instantly and more so fell inlove with the idea of escaping her claustrophobic life and family and moving to America with her new husband.
After her move to America, Alice comes to realise that’s it is not the fairy tale that she has expected, and it was more of waiting around for her husband, having dinners with her father in-law and sitting around all day and doing nothing besides waiting for time to pass by. I couldn’t help but feel so sorry for Alice during this period of time in her life, I was rooting for her to go out into the wilderness of Baileyville and discover herself, discover the world, rather than escaping from one misery only to find herself at her next destination of unhappiness.
“Just a little homesick, Alice answered. It was the truth, she thought. She just wasn’t sure she had yet been to the place she was homesick for.”
After it was announced that the Horseback Riders program would start in Baileyville, Alice, alongside a few other brave women volunteered. To Alice, this was the escape route she had been in desperate need of. The other women were Izzy, Beth, Sophia and Margery O’Hare. Margery O’Hare was a force to be reckoned with. She lived her life in the mountains and was well adjusted to all the routes that the Horseback Librarians had to take. Margery comes from a very well-known family in Baileyville, unfortunately not a family known for its good traits; her father had gained quiet the reputation during his lifetime and the reputation was carried on to her. Despite what the community may think of her, she was nothing like him at all and she grew up to be fierce, independent and kind.
When the ladies come together to begin this new adventure they face a lot of backlash from the community; because not all support women who actually have the desire to work and be productive. Unfortunately for the ladies, this was the harsh reality of the world in the 1930’s (still in parts of the world) but they stuck through and found so much joy in their jobs, each of the librarians found a sense of purpose and found themselves in the process of delivering books. Their personalities grew and evolved with the long and tedious journeys that they took on a daily basis but it was all worth it in the end. This comes to show us that if we believe in something we cannot let the opinions of others get in the way, happiness is within and not some misconstrued concept of what others think our happiness should be.
“And there is the bare truth of it, for her and all the women around here. Doesn’t matter how smart you are, how clever, how self-reliant—you can always be bettered by a stupid man with a gun.”
We live in a world where each individual is faced with numerous obstacles almost every day of our lives, most of which originate from the opinions and preferences of others. If we base our livelihood on others beliefs, we will no longer have a voice of our own.
Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone can be very scary and intimidating, but we never know what’s waiting for us on the other side. Chances are you will love what’s on the other side and you will never know until you try. This book is such a powerful portrayal of the importance of unity and the power of women, so beautifully written, thank you Jojo Moyes.
“She had earned every one of her bruises and blisters, had built a new Alice over the frame of one with whom she never felt entirely comfortable.”
- REEM INK
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