Month: October 2019

I knew that the musical, Come From Away, was quite successful. However, since I was living in Manhattan on that fateful 9/11, I thought that I would never see Come From Away. I thought that it would bring back too many memories of an impossibly stressful, sad and difficult time. Then, this past spring, a friend got tickets for us and off we went, only for me to conclude that Come From Away was a fantastic show and one that was uplifting. I immediately began proselytizing for this musical, telling friends to see it. Of course, not everyone can get to Broadway, but this book will give readers a rich flavor of the play and its context.

Illustrated with photos of Gander and its surroundings, with sections on history and context, comment and information on the folks whose creation it was (the authors of this book, by the way), interviews with the cast and residents, and dialogue from the play’s book, Come From Away includes so much.

Given how much I loved the show and the people of Gander as they were portrayed, I was absolutely thrilled to be given an e galley of this title by NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. I give it 4.5/5 stars.

Sophie Mayhew is married to an English politician who is poised for great things, hopefully to be the next P.M. Devoted Sophie is the perfect spouse.  She is intelligent, beautiful, supportive and kind with a tragedy in her past.  She is the one who shows compassion for her husband’s constituents and stands by his side to enhance his profile.

However, Sophie, though well-educated and seemingly perfectly suited for this role, is quite unhappy.  Things come to a crisis point (no spoiler as this happens early in the novel), when she learns of her husband’s second affair.  Groomed carefully on what to say to the media, Sophie instead says what she wants and of course, chaos results.

Sophie escapes to the one place where she had been happy, lives under an alias and begins to know what she wants for herself and to feel entitled to this.  Along the way, she forms friendships and a potential romantic relationship.  However….Sophie knows that she must return home.  What will happen then?

This is a delightful escapist read so, of course, readers can imagine what will happen.  Still, getting there is enjoyable and I very much enjoyed this light read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

Editorial Reviews