The English Wife

This story is told in several parts, with different perspectives: all which build on one another to present a story that leaves readers with a solid sense of a circle coming to completion. Sophie is an architect, heading to New York on September 11th when her plane is re-routed to Gander, Newfoundland. Never actually “ hearing the story of her aunt, living in Newfoundland since the war, Sophie decides to ask the locals about her – and soon finds herself immersed in family she’s never met, in a place that is utterly foreign to her. Sophie’s aunt Ellie married a Canadian serviceman during World War II, in effect fracturing her relationship with her sister Dottie, and moving to Newfoundland as soon as possible. A big change for the girl from England, with a now disabled husband who was prone to drink, a mother-in-law who didn’t accept those from “away” and the beautiful but often stark landscape and life on “The Rock”. While Ellie was struggling with adjusting to being far away from family and all she knew, Dottie was nurturing her grudge, trying to ‘make it big’ and always keeping tabs on Ellie’s former boyfriend, the man she’d had a crush on for forever. Add in the widower of Ellie’s daughter, his hearing-impaired daughter, the story of how Ellie came to Newfoundland and Dottie came to marry her former boyfriend, and answers to Sophie’s questions all start to be answered. Until the planes are again functioning and she leaves to pursue her own life – not to return for years. With solid history and background, easily accessible emotions and struggles and the unique flavor and approach to life that is found in Newfoundland, Chinn has created an engaging story that blends beauty and struggle and comes up with an opportunity for a second chance at life and happiness for Sophie. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

This captivating tale was quite the saga, I couldn’t seem to put it down and despite its impressive length of 450 pages, I absorbed most of it in a day and savored every well-chosen word. The storylines were skillfully nuanced, devastating, cunningly contrived, and brilliantly paced; my curiosity was well and truly tipped from beginning to end. The characters were cleverly constructed, curiously compelling, and realistically flawed. Poor Ellie, she was forever to be screwed over by her sister, as dramatic Dottie was a piece of work. I realized I was woefully unenlightened of Newfoundland other than a vague awareness of where it resided on a map. I adored the frequent use of their Creole and argot with such colorful and imaginative phrasings, although their gut-foundered menus of scrunchions and cod and brewis, as well as their frigid weather, sounds simply ruinous. And while I was quite taken by their belief and understanding of fairies, personally, I much prefer Tinkerbell.