The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman. New York; Kensington Books, 2020. 392 pages. A Reading Group Guide and Further Reading. ****
It's 1918 and the streets of Philadelphia are crowded with men, women, and children jostling each other to get a better view of the Liberty Loan parade. There is a flu hitting Boston and New York, however, Philadelphia residents aren't worried because the Board of Health advised keeping their feet dry, staying warm, eat more onions, and keeping their windows and bowels open, they'd be fine. Thirteen-year-old Pia is uneasy in such a large crowd and can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Her mother admonishes her and reminds her that they must prove themselves to be loyal Americans after President Wilson said that all Germans are alien enemies. Poor, hungry, and missing her father who has enlisted in the military, Pia doesn't understand why her mother lost her job and there is so little to eat. Within seventy-two hours of the parade, hospitals are filled to capacity and many Philadelphians are dead. Signs appear on doors, "Quarantine Influenza: Keep out of this house." Crepe ribbons are hung on doorknobs signifying who has died. Stores close, people stay indoors and food is scarce. When Pia's mother becomes ill, Pia is forced into the role of mother to her twin brothers. Ill-equipped and riddled with guilt, Pia makes tough choices for her family.
An intense book, this novel is not for the faint of heart during a pandemic. I have seen pictures on social media from that pandemic and have been curious as to how people survived without sanitation, clean water, antibiotics, food sources, etc. My family lived in Philadelphia during that time and yet very few died from the flu. Wiseman describes the conditions in Philadelphia Orphanages and my father grew up in one in the 1930s, not much changed it seems. He rarely spoke about his life in the Asylum, he and his brother were sent there when his mother died and his father could not provide for six children. She does not spare us the gruesome details of the flu and the hardships of the families left behind. The lengths to which people will go for self-survival and greed is evident as well as the innate goodness and the kindness of strangers. I found myself holding my breath at times and wanting to know what happens and yet, not wanting to know. Well-researched, Wiseman provides a guide for Further Reading. Add this book to your TBR list when you are ready for it.
Information about the 1918 Spanish Flu:
Born and raised in Three Mile Bay, a tiny hamlet in Northern New York, Wiseman is a first-generation German American who discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in New York state. Since then, her novels have been translated into eighteen languages and published worldwide. A mother of two, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and dogs.
For more information on Ellen Marie Wiseman. https://ellenmariewiseman.com
Follow me on IG at flamazing_books
#bookstagram #historicalfiction #1918SpanishFlufiction
No comments:
Post a Comment