By: Susan Meissner
Dakota County Library hardcover 336 pages plus author's note
Published: 2025
Genre: historical fiction
This was an interesting book to read, but I missed the discussion. I've really enjoyed Meissner's writing in the past but she seems to have moved away from Christian fiction and barely acknowledged the Lord. Her author's notes were interesting. She researches well. Despite me not loving this book, I have a lot of post-it notes hanging out of it! I may cull some.
Page 35: "Maybe it was time to gauge her resilience. How did a person know how strong they were if their strength was never tested?"
It's interesting that this is in reference to Eva, but the sentiment could definitely apply to the other main characters Melanie (a blacklisted actress) and June (neighbor caring for reclusive b-i-l). This is an interesting question for me. How strong am I? I've been tested in the past and want to believe I rely on God for strength.
Page 70 has so many interesting clues about Elwood that Eva picks up on . . . I love that she doesn't tell Melanie her suspicions and instead befriends June. An experienced cleaner picks up on details that others would easily miss.
Page 79: "Perhaps because she understood better than anyone that life doesn't always hand a person good options at the same time it is handing them terrible circumstances."
This makes me think of something I often say, "There are always choices." True, but sometimes life gives us various hard choices with no pleasant, easy one.
Page 98 talks about blacklisting and how this went down in the 1950s. I knew this info, but was reminded how awful fear, suspicion, accusations, government strong-arming, etc. can be. Lives were destroyed by McCarthyism. It's hard to believe our current president is trying so hard to be buddies with Communist leaders and yet enacting some of the same strong-arm tactics in our country today.
Page 108: "What they are asking people on that stand is a violation of basic civil rights. Read the First Amendment. We have the right to assemble, the right to discuss political ideas, even if they aren't popular. The right to dissent if we so choose. You want to talk about who is being un-American, it's that committee. They have no legal right to ask what they are asking."
Carson was one of my least favorite characters in the book, but he was the typical wealthy, handsome, self-centered, use-other-people actor. This rant is good, though. He says it in a phone call with Melanie and it obviously doesn't make her feel any better!
Page 256: "A surprise could be both hard and wonderful."
In general, I only love delightful surprises. When Melanie's brother Alex shows up with his son Nicky, the shock is a bit much. Then Melanie decides to take her nephew to visit her own parents. I can't imagine not hearing from a child in over a decade and then finding out we had a grandchild! That's beyond a surprise.
Page 258: "Because there is no map to paradise."
I love seeing where the title comes from within the book. This can be taken literally or figuratively. The fires have made it hard to navigate back to Paradise (Avenue, Street, Road, whatever) but there's no easy way to find the paradise our hearts crave. This is one of the places I think Meissner missed the opportunity to glorify God.
Page 264: "If I've learned anything from these months on the blacklist, it's that it does no good to wish you could change the past. Or the future. It's impossible."
Oh my, regretting or wishing the past were different . . . what a waste of energy! (Been there, done that.)
