Heirlooms
Set in modern day and mid-20th-century Whidbey Island, Washington, Heirlooms focuses on life-sustaining friendships between women, fraught mother-daughter relationships, and the way women push through loss. The heirlooms of the title refer both to heirloom plants—gardening is central to this story—and precious objects handed down through generations.
One of the primary friendships of the novel, between a Korean war bride and a White nurse, both Navy widows, deals with issues of racism against Koreans within the military base of Whidbey Island and beyond. The novel also depicts an episode of verbal sexual harassment of the nurse in a Navy hospital work environment.
The opening sentences provide a good taste for its historical setting and benign tone and style: “Helen Devries carefully removed her nurse’s cap, fluffing her platinum backcombed bouffant, crackling the Aqua Net lacquering it in place. On the television in the back of the living room, Elvis offered a flirty smile and almost wink as he was measured for his uniform.”
At each turn when the main characters face problems that threaten to undermine their well-being, events swing in their favor, creating an unswervingly optimistic novel that at times feels bland and tensionless as a result. For readers looking for an uplifting story that depicts strong Christian beliefs as a saving force, this will serve well.
