The Briar Club: The Briar Club

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved that the house was a character and had “feelings” towards its occupants. I liked getting a glimpse into the day to day lives of different types of women living in the same boarding house in the 1950s. I liked the mystery of who done it and was surprised at the end, I didn’t see that coming. Witnessing the beautification of the house along with the developing friendships and recipes given throughout gave me the feeling of being part of the Briar Club. As outside characters were mentioned (Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, E. Fredric Morrow, etc ) I was quick to google them and get the historical significance of their mentions in the book. I also liked the Authors note at the end explaining the true people behind the characters, including Grace’s room (which of course I also googled). It wasn’t lost on me the parallels of US events that happened in the 1950s with events of going on today. I’ll part with words and statements from Sen. Maragret Smith’s Declaration of Conscience speech as they really resonated with me. In her speech she endorsed every American’s right to criticize, to protest, and to hold unpopular beliefs. “Freedom of speech is not what it used to be in America,” she complained. “It has been so abused by some that it is not exercised by others."

We all enjoyed this book, most gave it an 8 or 9. It is a feel good book with a happy ending.

this was a great book! i really enjoyed the deep dive into each character (character development) it was such an interesting way to tell the story! loved the recipes!!!! i learned some things about the 50’s that i never knew. the narrator was the absolute best ever! my new favorite! i highly recommend this book.

Favorite book of all time. Beautifully written 👏🏽

Somehow I expected this to be a lightweight, entertaining woman’s novel. In reality, it’s so much more. I found it to be truly absorbing. The author’s historical note at the end gave me perspective in considering each of the characters. I would definitely recommend reading the note after you finish the novel. Each character was based on a real woman of that time.