Even so, the scene’s seeming inevitability makes it all the more heartbreaking. While violence against women of color during this time period is not unexpected, the use of this experience as a learning moment for the white main character is certainly cliché. In one instance, the sole black female librarian is accosted and harassed by a group of drunk white men in the book depository. While the basic tenets of the plot are a bit familiar (readers of books like “The Help” may find it even more so), this inevitability of certain moments, often of male-orchestrated retaliation, makes the story that much more compelling. This portrayal of female characters is not groundbreaking, but Moyes makes it easy to sympathize with her character’s quest for liberation and the inevitable and predictable obstacles they would overcome. While this causes the town’s scorn to fall on them, it deepens their relationships with one another. In fact, all the women of the library are outsiders, or “others,” in their own way. Chief among the secondary characters is Margery O’Hare, a kind yet tough individualist - a product of her harrowing childhood life: “If you had survived Frank O’Hare, not much else was going to stand in your way.” Although born and raised in the area, Margary is seen as the “other” to the people in the town. The supporting characters and Alice’s relationship to them give this book its heart.
Though the “Giver of Stars” falls victim to a formulaic plot, the compelling characters and heartwarming tone make for a captivating read. In spite of their seemingly inoffensive mission, Alice and the other women begin to disturb the sensibilities of their small town who see their group as a threat - not only to the morals of the town, but also to the laws of nature. As Alice becomes both dissatisfied with her marriage and small-town life, she joins the group of traveling librarians. The story follows Alice Wright, a British woman, who moves after marrying the Kentucky native Bennett Van Cleve. Set in a small Kentucky town in Depression-era America, the novel details the lives of five women who become traveling librarians, delivering books to the people of Kentucky. It’s that in that instant you realize the truth of what is to be a woman.” In her new novel “The Giver of Stars,” Jojo Moyes asks what society allows women to be.
“You know the worst thing about a man hitting you?” Margery says finally.
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