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What did you think of The Briar Club and why?
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Just finished reading this and I enjoyed it! I did not expect the twists and the book was well written. I look forward to hearing what others here thought of this book!
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To be honest, I did not think I was going to like TBC because of it taking place in Washington DC and during the time of Senator McCarthy (too much antipathy to what is happening today and some similarities). But I really enjoyed seeing Grace make the boarding house into a home and the boarders into a family. A beautiful story of friendship and loyalty with humor, twists and turns.
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Kate Quinn’s The Briar Club was a five star read for me. She has a knack for drawing me into the lives of her characters immediately. She relays historical information in a way that encourages me to dig deeper/research further to better understand the situation being discussed in the book. It’s a double win for me – I learn more about women in history and enjoy the story I’m reading at the same time.
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I very much enjoy Kate Quinn’s writing. She definitely has a way of drawing you in, like you say Libby. She’s very good at establishing suspense – in this case who is dead on the 4th floor? – and then drawing that suspense out, but never too long and never in a boring way. I wasn’t expecting the short story format and wasn’t sure about it at first, but I ended up liking it and thought it was an interesting way to see into the lives of each of the boarders at Briarhouse. I admit only know a bit about McCarthyism and the Red Scare. I wasn’t so sure how that would weave into the story but I like how Quinn tackled the subject matter and wove in the different historical perspectives.
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Definitely enjoyed it and I did not initially expect to! It had all of the elements I enjoy.
First, a great plot. I did not see the ending coming but it absolutely fit. All along, I was certain that Grace was the first murder victim. It was only when I read the comment about her mistake allowing herself to be photographed that I began to understand there was more to her character than the competent woman who takes care of people, takes principled stands and gets things done.
Each of the characters was human and multi-layered, even Arlene who I would happily have shaken until her teeth rattled. Reka reminded me on many levels of the Ruth of Three Pines, an artist, a bit of a curmudgeon, living on the edge. But, each woman and the men they brought to their home were fascinating.
And, I enjoyed the setting. I could picture the city and the area. Foggy Bottom is now the home of The Watergate and Kennedy Center but it is also, like much of the District, a collection of neighborhoods, people and the places where they live and eat.
This story was set in the history of the McCarthy era but I found some of the similarities to autocratic and arbitrary current government actions chilling!
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I enjoyed the book as well, although I struggled a bit with the Fliss and Bea chapters. I found the plot twists surprising and the setting interesting and informative. Overall, a great read. Well paced and well written.
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I thought The Briar Club was pretty good. It wasn’t as suspenseful or emotional as The Rose Code was for me, possibly because it was a series of short stories like Tara mentions so I felt as a reader I didn’t get as long or as deep back stories of the characters that I sometimes wanted. And perhaps the stakes weren’t as high as WW2, although I agree with you Jane eerie and uncomfortable parallels to the McCarthy era. But I did like most of the characters and Quinn made a good effort in making them all engaging. What I thought was an interesting focus of the book is that all the women are striving hard to be independent in their own way, despite the odds are stacked against them. Each had their own sacrifices and opportunities on their journeys which made the stories fun to read.
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