Saturday, November 13, 2010

Grim History: No Moon

I worried throughout Irene Watt's No Moon, which luckily for me is quite short, because it's about the Titanic, and so the potential for death is quite high. The cover does feature a lifeboat, which is reassuring, but not everyone can fit in a lifeboat...

Book cover for the forthcoming book No MoonThe view of the Titanic is from the top, but from beneath, because Louisa is the nanny for the preschool daughters of a rich British family. She's really the nursemaid, but has scaled to the heights of temporary nanny because of a last-minute accident. Most of the story follows her from her home to her first job, where she struggles to earn the approval of her direct supervisor, the strict martinet of a nanny who has been with the family for generations.

The historic feel seems right. The characters aren't modern people teleported back for this story; Louisa doesn't argue about social injustice or women's rights or how shockingly little time the children spend with their parents. She worries about bringing money home to her parents, about whether her sister is prospering in her shop work, about whether Nanny's complaints will escalate until she loses her position. B+

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