gilda_elise

On Christmas Eve, 1930, in America's dust bowl, a young woman delivers her baby alone. Plain, warmhearted Martha Drusso takes the downy-haired infant she names Belle to raise as her own, along with another orphan in her care, a little boy named R.C.

But when Belle is three, her stepbrother mistakenly puts her on a train bound for Los Angeles, then leaves to get her a treat. The train takes off, and Belle is pitched into a child's worst nightmare: a series of orphanages and foster homes. When she is adopted into a loving Japanese-American family, it seems Belle's troubles are over -- until World War II breaks out. Never defeated, Belle is adopted again, and her beautiful singing voice ultimately leads her to Hollywood, and to love and marriage.

All the while, Martha and R.C. steadfastly continue to search for Belle. For thirty years they believe that the persistence of their hearts will bring their little family together again . . . .

"The power and integrity of Harris's prose turn this novel into something valuable." -- Atlanta Journal & Constitution

The book has a lot going for it. An intriguing plot, some interesting characters, and the background of a changing America.

Martha and R. C. are especially appealing. Their lives are often hard, but they manage to overcome adversity and carry on. They enjoy what they have, yet always in the background is Belle, the lost child.

Unfortunately, that’s where things go off the rails. Belle is too perfect. She’s beautiful, and has a voice like an angel. She’s brilliant, but her naivety, which I suppose is supposed to show the pureness of her heart, can be a bit much sometimes. She overlooks, and I guess the reader is supposed to, too, the manipulative and insensitive nature of her boyfriend’s father. What would happen next was pretty obvious. And kind of creepy.

I think the book could have done without the last ten years. At that point the story started to get redundant, as they almost find each other, their paths almost crossing.

The ending left me wondering if there was going to be more to Belle and R.C.’s relationship. Not sure how I would have felt about that.