THE GOOD WOMEN OF SAFE HARBOUR
Bobbi French
Harper Collins
March 8, 2022
304 pages
I started this book with no expectations. My sole reason for choosing to read it is that it is set in Newfoundland by a Newfoundland author. It turns out that was reason enough.
Frances is a 58 year old woman, living in St John’s, diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. She has decided that she will die on her own terms but first she has a lot of things to settle (things in her mind) before she is mentally ready.
While the subject matter is heavy, there is so much to love about this book. So many emotions: anger, love, conflict, resolution, loss, acceptance, friendship. Relationships between women are the pillar of the story.
Characters are very well developed. Their differences make the story believable. The story is told in the present but through Frances’ musings, we get the back story of her life, all that had brought her to this point. This method works well.
Despite the subject, I did not find the book morbid or off-putting. I loved Frances’s matter-of-fact attitude. She is very stoic about her situation. She has a relationship with her tumour, has even named it The Squid.
This story made me laugh and made me cry.
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