It is hard to live in a small town — but it is yet harder to be the wife of a Rector in a small town, as Anna has found to be the case. When her husband is passed over for a promotion within the Church and he withdraws emotionally, she finds she has nowhere to turn. The struggle for Anna is to find herself amidst the loss, even while upholding her responsibilities to the Church, her children, her husband, and ultimately, to herself.
This is a portrait of the struggle of women, particularly as seen historically within religious institutions. They are typically only seen as instruments of support for the men who are doing the real work (the work of God in this case, but it can be applied to most any work, really); that is, the men are married to the church and the women are married to the men. Anna, here, struggles to find who she is and what she can do herself. She finds herself a part-time job – all she is doing is stacking jars at a local grocery store to make ends meet – and this is perceived as utterly rebellious by not only the parishioners but by her own husband. Fortunately, she is strengthened by her experience and resists the pressures around her and when life suddenly turns around in an unexpected plot twist she sustains that strength and her dignity as well.
This happened to be a little paperback novel I picked up at a second hand book fair– I didn’t expect all that much and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the writing, the characters, and the story. Although written in the 1990’s, it was not so dated that it wasn’t relevant, including themes of bullying (although not calling it out as that), and harassment of women. It also taught me a bit about the Protestant church and the hierarchy of its ministers, which I feel I can always learn more about.
There were some issues with believability. It seemed that Anna was someone that every man fell in love with (or at least the most handsome and the richest ones!) and every woman was jealous of. Her daughter seems to have difficulty relating to her peers but gradually makes friends magically. And so on… But for the most part, it’s a reasonable read.
So, it’s not a “must read” but it’s certainly a thumbs up!
kindread spirits 