Katherine Reay’s Dear Mr Knightley is well-written women’s fiction with a lot of heart. The writing is swift and the characters are likable without being saccharine.
A synopsis:
Sam is, to say the least, bookish. An English major of the highest order, her diet has always been Austen, Dickens, and Shakespeare. The problem is that both her prose and conversation tend to be more Elizabeth Bennet than Samantha Moore.
But life for the twenty-three-year-old orphan is about to get stranger than fiction. An anonymous, Dickensian benefactor calling himself Mr. Knightley offers to put Sam through Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress. Will their long-distance friendship unlock her heart?
Reminding us all that our own true character is not meant to be hidden, Katherine Reay’s debut novel follows a young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.
For all the charm in this book, there are moments of grit that balance the story out nicely. Still, there are plenty of unlikely associations, and the story is ultimately very predictable, which makes the ending more of a formality than anything (and you can tell, because it’s very rushed, resolving the entire book in about 4 pages).
What endeared this book to me, though – aside from all the literary references – was that it wasn’t pretentious at all. It felt earnest and solid, and I definitely enjoyed it for what it was.
BOOK:30 