The Book of Forbidden Words, a Review by Susan

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Book of Forbidden Words
Louise Fein
William Morrow
384 Pages

Goodreads/Amazon/Bookshop.org

 After reading The London Bookshop Affair, one of Ms. Fein’s previous books, I knew that I would need to read this one.  I am a fan of historical fiction, especially those with a dual timeline.  I have not read all of her novels because many relate to World War II and the Holocaust and I have read a few too many of those in the last few years.  This one was different; the two timelines were in 1552 in Paris and the other in 1952 in New York, during the height of McCarthyism. Ms. Fein focused on the roles and expectations of women, embodies in tracts that were printed by a woman later researched by another in 1952.  The parallels between the two time periods and how women were viewed were striking.  I have no doubt that Ms. Fein meticulously researched the history involved.

            I think the book grew stronger as it went.  It started a bit slow and one needs to have patience.  I am not as inherently interested in the 1500s as I am in the McCarthy era so that it took me some time and effort to read those parts of the book.  I liked the protagonists in both eras but I wished that they were a bit more compelling.  I also think that the males in the book were a bit flat and Milly’s (1952) husband seemed to be supportive at first and different from other husbands during that era but then grew less so, and then he switched at the end again.  Now, it may have been the circumstances presented but I think in order to understand, it would have been helpful to see him a bit more.  I think, perhaps, the author was trying to make a statement about the roles of women being somewhat similar in both time periods.  My own take is that the message may be somewhat at the expense of fully understanding the characters in the novel.

            In any case, this was an enjoyable historical fiction book about one time period which I knew little about (especially with respect to women) and another that I have always found fascinating.  Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with the opportunity to read this novel.  All of the opinions expressed herein are my own.