Sandy M’s review of On Isabella Street by Genevieve Graham
Romantic Historical Fiction published by Simon & Schuster 22 Apr 25
As usual, Genevieve Graham gives readers a captivating retelling of Canadian history, along with unforeseen romance, all interspersed with danger. Late 1960s this time, events during the Vietnam War, a war Canada did not participate in, though some of their men decided it was their duty to join anyway. We also get a glance of the country’s taking in American war resisters of the time. All around, a wonderful look inside hearth and home during a terrible time in history.
Marion and Sassy live on the same floor in a building on Isabella Street in Toronto. Marion is a psychiatrist and against the coming deinstitutionalization for her patients. Sassy is younger and loves her music, while also protesting the war. The ladies see each other only a couple of times before life drastically changes for them both and they become the best of friends.
Sassy’s brother is one who decided his duty is in Vietnam, despite how she feels about the conflict. Hoping against hope she and her father will see Joey again, when tragedy strikes, it sends Marion across the globe to help in a foreign environment. Sassy steps up in the family business, something she thought she’d never do, and finds she actually enjoys the work, as well as getting to know Tom, a partner in the firm. Marion travels with Daniel, a former Marine and former patient she helped before the institutional closings. Despite his issues, she’s drawn to him and is glad he’s watching out for her overseas.
I really like the romance thrown in against such chaotic and dangerous times. That brings Marion and Daniel much closer together, and Sassy has her own way of giving back, especially to veterans returning home. Both have gone in much different directions than they ever imagined their lives would go. Intriguing dichotomies all the way around for every one of these characters.
I always learn so very much about our northern neighbors when reading Ms. Graham’s books. If you’ve never read her, do so now. All of her books will draw you in, keep you invested and reading into the night until the end.
Grade: A
Summary:
Toronto, 1967. Two young women with different backgrounds, attitudes, and aptitudes are living in an exciting but confusing time, the most extreme counter-culture movement the modern world has ever seen. They have little in common except for the place they both call home: an apartment building on Isabella Street.
Marion Hart, a psychiatrist working in Toronto’s foremost mental institution, is fighting deinstitutionalization—the closing of major institutions in favour of community-based centres—because she believes it could one day cause major homelessness. When Daniel Neumann, a veteran with a debilitating wound, is admitted to the mental institution, Marion will learn through him that there is so much more to life than what she is living.
Sassy Rankin, a budding folk singer and carefree hippy from a privileged family, joins protests over the Vietnam War and is devastated that her brother chose to join the US Marines. At the same time, she must deal with the truth that her comfortable life is financed by her father, a real estate magnate bent on gentrifying the city, making it unaffordable for many of her friends.
The strength of their unlikely friendship means that when one grapples with a catastrophic event, the other must do all she can to make it right.
