#BookReview of The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

[ About The Calamity Club ]

Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.

Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one.

Ever since her beloved mother failed to come home last Christmas Eve, she’s been one of the ‘unadoptable’ girls at the town’s orphanage, where she fights each day to keep her wits sharp and her spirit unbowed.

When she meets Birdie, a young woman who has come to Oxford determined to remind her socialite sister of the impoverished family she left behind, for the first time in a long while it seems someone else might care about Meg’s future.

But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie begins to suspect her sister’s charmed life may be founded on a tapestry of lies. Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman haunted by loss who has been pushed to the brink with nothing left to lose.

Drawn together by circumstance, they find unexpected kinship among a disreputable, determined band of women.

But in a town steeped in hypocrisy, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences …

[ My Review ]

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett published May 21st with Figtree/Penguin and is described as ‘bold, heartwarming, and riotously funny,  an unforgettable story of resilience and friendship, and a sisterhood of underestimated women who risk everything to take back control of their fates.‘

1933 in Mississippi life was tough. Following The Great War, the economy in America plummeted with much of the population in dire straits as The Depression took hold. Unemployment was rampant and with the value of stocks dropping so fast, those who once held positions of authority in society found themselves penniless and distraught. The streets were filled with paupers and the homeless, with starvation and mistreatment common among some strata. Meg Lefleur had only ever known poverty but she had also always known love. Her mother did her best to look after her but one Christmas Eve, she disappeared without a trace. With nobody to care for her, Meg was taken into the custody of the local orphanage in Oxford where, for inexplicable reasons, she was treated with vehemence and distrust. She was never put forward for adoption, instead she was placed on a path for employment in a cannery once she reached her twelfth birthday. Meg was smart but also confused. Where was her mother? Why had she been abandoned so suddenly?

Birdie left her hometown with a view to borrowing some cash from her younger sister, Frances, who had married into wealth. At home, alongside her mother and grandmother, they had all been feeling the pinch so this trip was a last resort to raise some much needed funds. Birdie was a practical sort, one who folk would rely on to get things done. When she arrives into Oxford she is initially a bit overwhelmed with her surrounding but as the days pass, she begins to see the veneer slowly slip. Is Frances really living the dream in Oxford?

As the cards begin to fall, Birdie crosses paths with Charlie, a woman made of steel but with a sadness at her core. Charlie has one intention and is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve it but she needs assistance.

What transpires is a story full of warmth, heartbreak and hope as the threads of many lives are knitted together into this most beautiful and fulfilling tale. The Calamity Club can be a daunting prospect due its 600 plus pages but I am here to tell you to go for it. The writing will transport you back to a different time when desperation was rife and souls were lost but yet, humanity and kindness prevailed. The cast of characters is wonderfully portrayed bringing a certain authenticity to the storyline. There is much sadness within this book as lives are destroyed with the collapse of society but it also a tale imbued with hope and resilience. One strong-willed woman is a force to be reckoned but a group of strong-willed women banding together is unstoppable. Dazzling, stirring, heartrending yet uplifting, The Calamity Club is a powerful and emotive read. Absolutely stunning.


[Note – It is really worth reading the historical notes at the end of the book which references some really shocking moments in American history that left me reeling and in search of more information]

[ Bio ]

Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. Her first novel, The Help, has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.