Book Review | Maggie Again by John D. Husband

Maggie Again: A Novel – Buy this book

Rating

5 stars – a complete surprise but I loved this book!

Why did you choose to read this book?

I first heard about Maggie Again thanks to Lisa Roe – and she was kind enough to send me a copy to read and review.

Description

Maggie is a typical up-beat rural teenager who, in 1926, must leave her idyllic Indiana farm home when her father accepts a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity in New York’s financial district.

In New York, she must deal with the loss of her three teenage friends, including her boyfriend, who disappeared during an attempted trip to visit her. When they finally reappear, the year is 1984, and Maggie is 74 years old.

Book Review

When the book arrived in the post from America I opened it eagerly and have to admit to being disappointed by the cover – it’s certainly not the kind of book I would have picked up at the store and looks a little old fashioned. [Insert plea to the publishers - please try harder with the paperback version!]

But of course there is the old adage – never judge a book by its cover – and it couldn’t be more true about this book – it had me hooked from the first page.

Husband opens the novel with a description of Cobblers Eddy; a place where:

“…passing motorists… catch a glimpse of clothes strung on a line in the back yard and of barefoot children with dirty faces frolicking about unattended and think they have had a privileged peek into the past.

They smile wistfully, perhaps, and drive on by.

Its a timeless place, this Cobblers Eddy, isolated, self sufficient, unchanged, and unchanging.”

This book is a heartwarming and somewhat magical book about Maggie, her boyfriend Tom, his brother Alfie and their friend Gordie. When her father gets the opportunity to make it big on Wall Street Maggie must leave her friends behind and move to the Big City. A few months later her friends jump on a boxcar for a free ride to the city, but when Maggie sees them again 58 years have passed.

Its hard to review this book without giving any of the detail away – and ruining the experience for you – so I’ll simply tell you what you need to know. This book is a pleasure to read, it is relaxing and tranquil, its heartwarming and magical, its an insight into how life used to be – back in the days when life was simple and people lived without automatic washing machines, Kleenex and Calvin Kleins. So what are you waiting for? Head out to the store and buy yourself a copy!

Have you reviewed this book?

If you have reviewed this book on your site please fill in the boxes below to link me up to your review – don’t forget to link to the specific post to make it easy to find: