On “The Brontes Went to Woolworths”: A Book Review

Title: The Brontës Went to Woolworths 
Author: Rachel Ferguson
Genre: Fiction

About the book…
Written in 1931, Rachel Ferguson’s The Brontes Went to Woolworths pulls the reader in the imaginings and realities of sisters Deirdre, Katrine, and Shiel Carne and their mother as they interact with the world around them.

What I think…
This is one those books that, in addition to being on the bizarre side, takes awhile to get to a point where you have an understanding of what’s going on.

Throughout the first few chapters I had difficulty figuring out that some of the people being discussed, while real, where being described in a way that the Carnes family had imagined them to be. This confusion made it challenging to get into the book at first, but you do adjust and catch on to it quickly even if not entirely.

The narration and dialogue is fast paced and a bit frenzied, although I felt this was in keeping with the primary narrator, Deidre, and the way the entire family acts. Going off of that, multiple times the viewpoint does switch over to other characters, which definitely helps clear up some of the questions that arise as you are reading. It also makes a difference when the imaginings and realities cross over. Furthermore, this aspect does result in the characters coming across as slightly annoying at times, but in a charming sort of way (if that makes any sense).

In regards to the title, while the Brontes did play a role in the story, there was a lot less focus on them than I expected, although I really did like the way Ferguson tied them into the story.

Despite all these things, though, I was rather sad when I got to the end and I would consider this a book that I’d be willing to read again.

To sum it all up…
Great novel if you’re looking for something different from the norm and like quirky books, not so great if you don’t want to keep track of imaginary lives versus real ones.♥