About the novel... "Rose Pavlesic is a straight-talking, gifted nurse who is also controlling and demanding. She has to be to ensure her life is mistake-free and to create a life for her children that reflects everything she missed as an orphaned child. Rose has managed to keep painful secrets buried in her past, away from her loving husband—who she discovers has secrets of his own—their children and their large extended, complicated family.
But, as a stagnant weather cycle works to trap poisonous gasses from the three mills in town, Rose’s nursing career thrusts her into a conflict of interest she never could have fathomed—putting the lives of her loved ones at risk. As the fog thickens, Rose’s neighbors are dying; thousands of people in the community are becoming increasingly ill. Rose comes face to face with the inner demons that can destroy her carefully constructed House of Pavlesic."
The reason I love historical fiction is that, not only am I entertained, but I always learn something.
I had never heard of Donora, Pennsylvania or the "killing smog" that enveloped it on 1948. So, I was very intrigued to read After the Fog. To learn a little about a life and tragedy that is so completely different from my own.
The book begins before the killing smog... really " sulfuric acid, nitrogen dioxide, fluorine and other poisonous gases" (from Wikipedia). We get a picture of a mill town and its residents. I found myself wondering which characters would succumb and which would survive.
I have great admiration for an author who will write her main character so real. Rose, although admirable and almost heroic in the face of such a horrible situation, was not always likable but she behaved as many of us would given her circumstances. As a reader, I think it would be easy for an author, having created the main character, to write her as perfect. It takes talent to imbue that main character with real qualities... not all good but relatable and pertinent to the situations she finds herself in.
I was very impressed with how Ms. Shoop wrote the "disaster". The foreboding feeling was tangible and I felt myself almost reading between the lines to pick up clues as to the oncoming tragedy. When someone walked outside, I wondered if this was "it" but, it was more insidious... it happened so gradually. But when the "killing smog" threatens to suffocate Rose and the citizens of Donora, it highlighted the family drama the more. I felt it was almost a metaphor for the conflict that swirled around Rose and her family as well as others in the community.
Because After the Fog is about real events, the author includes many pages of resources, notes and discussion guides in the back of the book. As tempting as it was, I made myself wait to read those until I had finished the book. I did not want to stumble upon any "spoilers". However, having read all the included information, gave a new appreciation for the novel.
Please go to Kathleen Shoop's website...kshoop.com for more information about this fascinating novel.
~~Thanks to Kim Cecere of SparkPoint Studio...http://www.sparkpointstudio.com/ http://www.booksparkspr.com/... and the author of After the Fog, Kathleen Shoop for sending me copy in exchange for my review.~~
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2 comments:
Kathy, you rock. Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! After the Fog is so textured w/ history and character development--you've really captured that here!
I also had never heard about this episode in history. What an interesting book. Thanks.
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