Today's book review: Mrs. Mike, by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
Way back in seventh grade, I was a member of my school's Accelerated Reader club (book nerds for the win!). After school, a teacher would roll in a metal cart of books, and we'd take turns choosing ones to spend an hour or so reading.
(In retrospect, I'm not sure I understand the point of the club, as we never discussed the books we read, and would have been more comfortable curling up with a book at home rather than a hard plastic desk, but whatever.)
On one of those days, I picked up a little paperback and found myself tickled by the tagline on the cover: "THE HEARTWARMING CLASSIC STORY OF THE BOSTON GIRL WHO MARRIED A RUGGED CANADIAN MOUNTIE." First published in 1947, I did not have high hopes.
To say I was surprised was an understatement, and Mrs. Mike remains one of my favorite books to this day.
This book taught me everything about making someone's (true) story accessible to readers. Katherine and Mike were sympathetic, enjoyable characters, for sure, but they were terrific guides into the world of wild Canada, somewhere I had certainly never been. The minor characters are even more enjoyable. Reading this book teaches you about so much, but it is written in such a beautiful way that you feel like it was a story made up just for you.
Should this have been a Pulitzer Prize winner? Probably not. Are there some sappy, romantic parts? Yes. But this book has stuck with me so much that I still get choked up at the trials that Katherine has to endure.
So do yourself a favor - especially for you memoir/biography writers out there:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3y8xinh
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/89876/9780425183236
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