Reply To: TBC: Each chapter takes on a different point of view of the women at the boarding home.
I’m pretty much on the same page as others in disliking Arlene the most. It’s not so much that she’s a villain but that she was ultimately a shallow person. Hopefully with Arlene married off, Grace can go off on her own again and be rid of her. In addition to Grace’s story (which everyone seems to like – it certainly is the one with the most “punch”), I liked Nora’s story. It was a bit cliche at times – girl in love with mobster – but I liked how she was trying to be independent and principled yet surrounded by corrupt men. A woman for the times, I think. Actually, corruption seems to come up throughout the book (especially among the wealthy) with Reka’s story, Claire’s story and even Mrs. Nilsson who seemed more than willing to exploit her son and pocket the extra cash. I think Kate Quinn chose to do the different points of view so she could highlight the backgrounds and lives of different women of the time (I seem to recall she says as much in the audiobook’s endnote interview). But I also think it is a great way to switch up perspectives on the characters as well as raise suspicion and suspense as to which one of them could be the killer. So that’s a lot of fun.
