THE BOSTON GIRL

My first read of the new year.There was something about this black and white cover which was alluring.I had not read much about this book before deciding to read it.I had not read anything by Anita Diamante before to give me an idea of what I was in for.I let the book choose me this time around.

In this book eighty-five year old Addie Baum tells the story of her life to her twenty-two year old grand daughter who has asked her how she got to be the woman she is today.The story is divided into years and begins in the early 1900's when Addies parents come to the North end of Boston from Russia.Addie is the only one amongst her siblings to be born in the US and is a true Boston girl .Being Jewish and trying to settle in a foreign country is full of difficulties for her family.Her mother can never get over the fact of coming to live in a foreign place.The story moves from the one room tenement she shares with her parents and sisters to the library group for girls she joins at the neighbourhood settlement home ,to her first disastrous love affair,to the precious life-long friendships forged during those years,to family tragedies,to marriage,kids and grand-kids.Addie recalls all her adventures and this makes it a vibrantly spontaneous memoir.

My Views:This book makes me believe in fate.That things happen because it is all pre-destined sometimes.The book got really interesting mid-way and then it was unputdownable till the end.It got me emotional reading it and very few books manage to do that.I loved Addie for her fiesty spirit and never give up attitude.This story weaves together a beautiful quilt of friendship,loyalty,familyties,integrity,love,loss and honour.Despite having very difficult parents who constantly bicker,Addie finds a way to escape by joining a reading club for girls.There she meets a different class of people who introduce her to games and books and life beyond what she knows.However life is not all sweet and rosy and Addie has her fair share of heartbreaks but what I liked about her is that she chooses not to dwell on the bitter parts and always sees that ray of hope and counts her blessings.How many of us are able to do that?How many eighty-five year old's can look back at life without having too many regrets?I loved Addie for being able to do that and admired her for the kind of person she is.

This book really spoke about a lot of issues of that time like the flu epidemic,orphan trains,voting rights for women,women against lynching,child labour,prohibition,illegal abortion,WW1 but at its heart it is a simple story about the life of  Addie Baum, a boston girl and does not have any sensational plot or twist but it talks about a life well lived.It is also narrated in a matter-of -fact tone without a lot of drama and I liked that.I got to know about immigrant jews,the problems they faced,their customs,the difficulties of the times gone by.The story did take time to pick pace and engage me but by the end of it I really got to know the spry Addie Baum and liked her.This is a book I wont forget!

I rate it a 4 out of 5.