The Cherry Robbers is a hauntingly beautiful story about the Chapel family. The Chapels are best known for Chapel firearms which is where their family fortune comes from.
The story starts in 2017 when Sylvia Wren, a famous reclusive artist gets a letter from a journalist who claims to know that is actually Iris Chapel. Sylvia (Iris) begins the story of her life at The Wedding Cake, her family home. From there, the story of the Chapels in 1950s Connecticut begins.
"This is jagged, could cut deep wound. It isn't a story I can tell with a thread and a needle, stitching in clean lines. It's shards or nothing."
The Chapel sisters Aster, Rosalind, Calla, Daphne, Iris, and Hazel grow up with distant parents and a mother who sees the ghosts of the victims of Capel firearms and is convinced something terrible is going to happen to her daughters once Rosalind gets engaged. No one believes Belinda, but shortly after tragedy does begin to visit the family.
This book kept me engaged the entire time. The writing is so poetic and beautiful and this is a very unique story. It deals with themes of death, feminism, and the expectations of women in that time period. It was heartbreaking and I found myself crying many times. Walker wrote the sisters so vividly and realistically that I felt as if I actually knew them, especially Iris. This would be a wonderful book for a book club discussion as there are so many things worth talking about in these pages. I have so many quotes flagged and I can't wait to discuss this one with others. This is one the best books I've read so far in 2022. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes historical fiction with a bit of a twist.
The story starts in 2017 when Sylvia Wren, a famous reclusive artist gets a letter from a journalist who claims to know that is actually Iris Chapel. Sylvia (Iris) begins the story of her life at The Wedding Cake, her family home. From there, the story of the Chapels in 1950s Connecticut begins.
"This is jagged, could cut deep wound. It isn't a story I can tell with a thread and a needle, stitching in clean lines. It's shards or nothing."
The Chapel sisters Aster, Rosalind, Calla, Daphne, Iris, and Hazel grow up with distant parents and a mother who sees the ghosts of the victims of Capel firearms and is convinced something terrible is going to happen to her daughters once Rosalind gets engaged. No one believes Belinda, but shortly after tragedy does begin to visit the family.
This book kept me engaged the entire time. The writing is so poetic and beautiful and this is a very unique story. It deals with themes of death, feminism, and the expectations of women in that time period. It was heartbreaking and I found myself crying many times. Walker wrote the sisters so vividly and realistically that I felt as if I actually knew them, especially Iris. This would be a wonderful book for a book club discussion as there are so many things worth talking about in these pages. I have so many quotes flagged and I can't wait to discuss this one with others. This is one the best books I've read so far in 2022. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes historical fiction with a bit of a twist.