The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Birdie: It’s early 1930’s, and the Great Depression has hit Mississippi quite hard. Birdie considers herself lucky that she has a job, tedious and underpaid as it is. She has pretty much resigned herself to her single life, living at home with her Mama even as her younger sister has already flown the coup and gotten herself married, informing the family only after the fact. When circumstances become financially dire for Birdie and her Mama, she is encouraged to visit her now wealthier sister to ask for a loan. When she finds her sister and sees the reality of her life there, Birdie finds life can be challenging in ways she’d never dreamed of.

Meg: Being eleven years old at an orphanage during the Depression is hard, but never as hard as when the head of the establishment, the “esteemed” Garnett Pittman, just seems to have it out for you. Having been deserted by her mother two years prior, she continues to have dreams about her mother returning, which her best friend insists she must let go. But since she’s been exiled to a dreary, windowless room to herself all day, leaving only for meals and sleep, she can hardly be expected not to fantasize about her Mama. What else does she have to do? It is only when a new volunteer comes to work on the books for the orphanage and shows her a bit of kindness that she imagines she may have a future other than what Garnett has planned for her.

This is an incredibly beautiful story about women, their limited choices, and the lengths to which people will go for those they love. Written by the author of The Help, this novel is animated by the vernacular, the color, the beauty and the darkness of the South in the 1930’s. I listened to this on audiobook and found it utterly absorbing and entertaining, enjoying the lovely accents, rich characters and wonderfully snarky dialogue. As each of the histories of the main characters are gradually revealed, there is also a sense of horror at the evil inclinations of some and the victimization of many. Women at the time were particularly vulnerable, and those few with power did not always use that power for good.

But we root for these two characters – and many others – as we come to know their kindness, their sensitivity, and their complexity. And as the plot thickens, and takes unexpected curves, we find we worry for their safety and keep turning pages (or listening attentively) just to ensure we learn their fates. There is a great deal of suspense, of caring and of sadness – as there is in real life.

It’s been awhile since I’ve designated a book a “MUST READ,” but The Calamity Club absolutely is one! Whether you read or listen, I guarantee you will be taken in and love it!