This is an affecting novel that examines a family of four sisters, their parents, and William, the man who first marries Julia, the oldest sister. There are references to Little Women, as the sisters occasionally try to cast themselves as Meg, Jo, Amy, or Beth, in their conversations, but their mother is definitely no Marmee, and their father no Mr. March. William is nothing like Laurie, in terms of his personality, though he is an orphan, if not literally, then in the sense of his complete estrangement from his own family (and no kindly grandfather figure to take him in).
The Padavano sisters grew up in Pilsen, a working-class area of Chicago. Their father, Charlie, is a kind-hearted man with the soul of a poet, but he is a poor provider and too much of a drinker, so the family constantly struggles to make ends meet. Rose, their mother, is a devout Catholic, who throws herself into tending her backyard garden to help grow food to help feed the family. Her wish for her daughters is that they all attend and graduate from college, something she didn't manage, as she became pregnant with Julia before her marriage.
Julia is a true go-getter, organized, ambitious, and determined to create a successful life for herself with help from William, whom she meets in college at Northwestern. William is an unusually tall, thin young man who loves and plays basketball, which was his escape from a loveless childhood. William had an older sister who died as a toddler, when he was an infant, and his parents never recovered from the loss, leaving him to grow up feeling that it was he who should been the one to have died. At first he is all too willing to let Julia take over his life and decide what he will become. They marry and Julia sets the course, but eventually it all falls to pieces when William suffers a serious breakdown.
Sylvie, the second sister, is the apple of her father's eye. She loves books and reading, and works at the local library branch. She and Julia are so close that they fall asleep in each other's arms on the sofa when Sylvie visits Julia and William during Julia's pregnancy.
The other two sisters are twins: Cecilia and Emmeline. Cecilia becomes a mural artist and sculptor, and Emeline is the nurturer of the family.
When William walks out on Julia and their baby daughter, he is in the depths of depression. His suicide attempt is thwarted at the last minute by Sylvie and his basketball friends who find him in Lake Michigan at the last moment. He and Sylvie had already found a bond which both had suppressed, but they ultimately marry after Julia and William divorce, and Julia moves to New York with their daughter and cuts contact with her family.
It is Sylvie's love that saves William, but it is ultimately William who brings the family back together. Love, family bonds, and caring are the crux of this novel, and while this review may cast it as a soap opera, it is far more than that. It is an enjoyable and moving story, despite the sadness of certain events. Highly recommend!
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