As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meisssner. New York: Berkley, 2018. 387 pages. ***
It's 1918 and the Bright family moves from Quakertown to Philadelphia in search of a better life for their three girls. Uncle Fred, an undertaker, invites them to live with him and he will teach the trade to his nephew and pay for the girls' schooling. Reeling from the death of their infant son, the plan provides hope for all of them until the 1918 Spanish Flu invades the city. Many of the young men have left to fight in the Great War and no family is left untouched by the flu. Bodies pile up at the mortuary and given the unsanitary conditions, masks are ineffective against this pandemic. How anyone survived is a miracle and the Bright family is no exception in their loss.
This story may be too soon for some readers after Covid. Having experienced life during a pandemic, I have been curious as to how my family survived in Philadelphia in 1918. Blue collar workers of modest means, I have seen pictures from that time and marveled that here we are. Meissner touches on the parade which caused a resurgence of cases and deaths. While a sad tale, love and hope prevail. Each of the girls adapts to their new environment and disappointments, while finding love and a purpose in helping others. The first half of the book was stronger than the second half, a strong start and weak finish.
From her website-
Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than three-quarters of a million books in readers' hands and translations in eighteen languages. She is an author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include The Nature of Fragile Things, which earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly; The Last Year of the War, named to Real Simple magazine’s list of best books for 2019; As Bright as Heaven, which earned a starred review in Library Journal; Secrets of Charmed Life, a Goodreads finalist for Best Historical Fiction 2015; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist’s Top Ten Women’s Fiction titles for 2014.
She attended Point Loma Nazarene University in California and makes her home with her husband and yellow Lab in the Pacific Northwest.
Visit Susan at her website: https://susanmeissnerauthor.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/susanmeissnerauthor/ on Twitter at @SusanMeissner or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/susan.meissner
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