Jeannette Brown

A book of short essays about women chemists, many of them black. Each biography is pretty bare-bones, consisting of dates, names of employers, names of spouses and children, a few personal details. They are grouped into six chapters: early pioneers, educators, industry and government, chemical engineers, etc. There is an extensive listing of sources as well as a chapter about the author and why she wrote this book. Very useful information to have collected together. I wish the writing was better, and I wish there was more about each of the women.… (mehr)

Jamie Wright heads back to the small town where she grew up—then later gladly escaped—to visit her dying father, Big Jim Wright. He is a looming presence in the town of Silver Falls; his fat wallet seemed to fund every town improvement as well as the life choices of everyone involved with Jamie. Once he dies, secrets aplenty are revealed, some amusingly revelatory and others earth-shattering. And Jamie’s view of the town—and father—she used to despise, changes. It’s like a tornado has ripped through her past into the present, both figuratively and later literally.

Brown puts on a master class of character development, introducing Jamie as an older woman with selfish desires to use the inheritance from her father’s large estate for what she deems as much-needed plastic surgery. But there is much more to Jamie than that, as her character blooms with every revelation about her father and ex-husband, deep-rooted secrets that would make many weaker characters shrivel. Brown excels at offering clues, dropping them like enticing crumbs starting at Big Jim’s somber viewing the night before his funeral, then unleashing them one after the other at the will reading and onward, a deluge of backstabbing, backroom dealings of the heart, and not-so-subtle life meddling. Jamie shows herself to be a strong and adept woman, much stronger than she gives herself credit for. And as such, she becomes much more than the reader initially anticipates: a harbinger of change for herself and the town of Silver Falls.

In addition to small town secrets being revealed, this novel reveals other more important secrets: that such a lively, humorous, and cathartic story can live within a book with such a staid and unassuming book cover. I didn't think initially that I would enjoy this novel as much as I did. Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. There's some truth to that here. The Illusion of Leaving is humorous, life-affirming, and a fantastic read for our times right now. This great novel deserves more coverage than it will get during this pandemic. Fans of literary fiction will discover a lot and should rejoice. Highly recommended! I give this novel 5 stars.… (mehr)