I'll Be Your Blue Sky

by Marisa de los Santos

Reading a Marisa de los Santos novel is like listening to the most intricate of melodies, layered with exquisite detail that places you in the centre of the story. I have read every one of her novels and pick up each one in both anticipation and unspoken expectation. I’ll Be Your Blue Sky is the third in an unofficial series, following Love Walked In and Belong to Me. This one is readable on its own or in succession with the other two, and as with De los Santos’ other novels, it does not disappoint.

Clare Hobbes is getting married. She should be the happiest she’s ever been, but all she wants to do is run away. While picture-perfect Zach is everything Clare could ever ask for, she can’t let go of the nagging sense that she is with the wrong person. On her wedding day, an overwhelmed Clare runs from her pre-wedding brunch and meets Edith, an elderly lady who reminds Clare of the importance of carrying a place inside her that feels like home: something Clare has forgotten. This seemingly minor interaction, however, flips Clare’s life upside down when she learns just a few weeks later that Edith has died…and has left her a house. Armed with a jangling set of keys and a pile of indeterminable ledgers, and with her best friend, Dev, by her side, Clare sets out to resolve an endless list of questions. Who was Edith? What happened at Blue Sky House so many decades prior, and how does it relate to the ledgers left behind? And, most pressing and perhaps most impossible, why would Edith leave Clare, a near-stranger, such a mystery to solve?  

Alternating between Clare’s experience and Edith’s, the reader is given almost a sense of dramatic irony, understanding Edith’s story before Clare does while still coming to the same conclusions. Readers who are left with a new understanding not only of Clare, but of all those who have helped to make her who she is (which is particularly satisfying if you have read the other two books in this line). I recommend this book as a camping read for summer or just as an evening wind-down (preferably accompanied by a warm blanket and a bottomless cup of tea). 

The Shoemaker's Wife

by Adriana Trigiani

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani is a love story that spans a lifetime, yet also brings us so much more. Enza’s family lives modestly in the Italian Alps, the family’s meagre income supplemented by Enza’s talented stitchery. Ciro lives with his brother Eduardo in the local convent, having been left there by their mother as young boys. Although they live in neighbouring villages, Enza and Ciro only meet as teenagers. They begin to develop a friendship just as Ciro is forced to leave his mountain home after catching the local priest in a scandal. Ciro is sent to America and begins an apprenticeship as a shoemaker. Shortly afterwards, Enza and her father also travel to America to earn money to build a house for their family.    

While Ciro and Enza both begin to make their way in America, they do not meet up again until a chance encounter just as Ciro is about to leave to fight in World War I. While Ciro is away in the War, Enza’s sewing talents lead her and dear friend Laura, into a glamorous life in the Metropolitan Opera House, sewing for the great Enrico Caruso. Laura and Enza are living a beautiful life and Enza is set to marry when Ciro returns from the War to take up his shoemaking career. Such is the love story of Enza and Ciro, their paths cross and part until finally the title of the book is fulfilled and they leave the bright lights of New York and begin their life together in Minnesota.  

Trigiani’s story does not end with the final uniting of Ciro and Enza as there is so much more to their story than the chance encounters that bring them together. Both characters have made lifelong friendships in their new American life, and maintain their strong family ties; these are an integral part to their story as their journey continues, strengthening the beautiful and historical tapestry that is the story of the shoemaker and his wife.  

The Honey Bus

by Meredith May

I am one of those people who walks through the park in the Spring and Summer and watches the bees amid the blossoms, fascinated by the industrious creatures that make our world work. Meredith May’s The Honey Bus captures this same sense of wonder, narrating a troubled childhood that only begins to fall into place when her world is transformed by her eccentric grandfather and his “honey bus”.

When five-year-old Meredith’s parents split up, her mother, dealing with severe depression, moves with the children to her parents’ house. With her mother unable to care for her, and grasping for ways to cope in her unraveling world, Meredith finds unexpected solace in an old military bus, where her beekeeper grandfather has constructed a honey farm. With time, little Meredith learns to navigate the crumbling world around her by building a new one with the help of her grandfather’s bees, discovering resilience she did not know she possessed.

Now a beekeeper herself, May narrates her childhood with a gentle balance of wit, heartbreak, wonder and journalistic curiosity. The Honey Bus combines May’s extensive knowledge of bees and beekeeping with the story of one little girl who found herself when she felt she had nobody left. This is a must-read for anyone interested in bees and beekeeping or simply anyone who seeks inspiration from an author who was fortunate to find it and to make it her own.

The Henna Artist

by Alka Joshi

It is 1950’s India, a time when the traditional is merging with the modern, yet the castes are still very much defined. Teen-aged Lakshmi escapes an abusive marriage to the city of Jaipur and becomes a highly sought-after henna artist. She has worked hard to earn the trust of her ladies – the wealthy upper class who share their secrets at their henna sessions, yet Lakshmi’s secrets remain hidden.

Lakshmi has carefully cultivated her reputation through her wise advice and unique henna designs that enhance the women’s lives. She has learned a lot about herbal remedies and her henna is known to have healing properties. Being high in demand has allowed her to scrimp and save enough money to build herself a house, a major step on the road to her independence. As with any life that is built on secrets, whether your own or others, the life is a fragile one that can easily shatter.

One day, Lakshmi’s life is thrown into tumult when her husband tracks her down and brings with him not only his own troubles, but also a younger sister she did not know she had. Despite this new development, Lakshmi takes her sister, Radhi, in and tries to continue to work in the life she has so carefully fostered. With a few hiccups, she manages to hold on until a serious complication threatens to ruin everything she has built.

This is a deeply layered story showing the struggles of one young woman who works to carve out a new independent life for herself at a time when women are still the lower class, and poor women are below that. It is Lakshmi’s strength and determination that help her to carry on and support her family and survive her being cast out by those who once welcomed her.

I highly recommend Joshi’s novel. It gives you a lot to think about and draws a colourful picture of life in India in the transitioning 1950’s.