Review: Completely Absorbing...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 27, 2014
Author Locke has given us a rare treat with her latest release. This is a collection of interrelated, stand-alone shorts that give us more insights into her characters' lives in the rooming houses of San Francisco during the end of the Victorian Period. Each character is completely drawn and highly memorable with motivations we can completely understand today. As the Nation prepared for the new century, some prejudices and cultural traditions died hard, and the lines of conflict were drawn across almost every facet of these lives. Highly enjoyable reading, it's rendered with the skill and consideration we have become used to in Mary Louisa Locke's writing. For anyone interested in the rise of the middle class, women's rights and immigrant equality, this collection will be both entertaining and educational. I found it deeply absorbing, especially for it's revelations about neighborhoods in one of my old hometowns.