Book review - Light and Air

 

Title: Light and Air

Author: Mindy Nichols Wendell

Genre: historical fiction

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Rating:

 

an interesting approach to a familiar element

Summary (provided by publisher): When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned—and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.
Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future—and recovery—is thrown into question....
Light and Air deals tenderly and insightfully with isolation, quarantine, found family, and illness. Set in the fully realized world of a 1930s hospital, it offers a tender glimpse into a historical epidemic that has become more relatable than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Halle tries to warm her father’s coldness and learns to trust the girls and women of the hospital, and as she and her mother battle a disease that once paralyzed the country, a profound message of strength, hope, and healing emerges.

My opinion: Tuberculosis is an element that shows up often in historical fiction. We've all seen the wan character coughing into a handkerchief and known that their days were numbered. But this book goes beyond the trope. It is a more detailed exploration of the social climate at the time, the ways that the community might ostracize a family struck with TB. It's also a close look at the communities that form around an illness. When people are isolated together, they form connections and support one another. While the ultimate conclusions of the book are pretty straightforward, the careful journey to get there is a surprisingly gentle read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley