The Palace of Strange Girls [Paperback]

Sallie Day (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2009

Blackpool, England, 1959. The Singleton family is on holiday. For seven-year-old Beth, just out of the hospital, this means struggling to fill in her 'I-Spy' book and avoiding her mother Ruth's eagle-eyed supervision. Her sixteen-year-old sister Helen, meanwhile, has befriended a waitress whose fun-loving ways hint at a life beyond Ruth's strict rules.

But times are changing. As foreman of the local cotton mill, Ruth's husband, Jack, is caught between unions and owners whose cost-cutting measures threaten an entire way of life. And his job isn't the only thing at risk. When a letter arrives from Crete, a secret re-emerges from the rubble of Jack's wartime past that could destroy his marriage.

As Helen is tempted outside the safe confines of her mother's stern edicts with dramatic consequences, an unexpected encounter inspires Beth to forge her own path. Over the holiday week, all four Singletons must struggle to find their place in the shifting world of promenade amusements, illicit sex, and stilted afternoon teas in this touching and evocative novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Day's debut novel, inspired by her childhood, is a dated story of four days in the lives of an English family on summer holiday in 1959. WWII vet Jack Singleton is using the holiday in the seaside town of Blackpool to decide his future. A foreman at a cotton mill, he is torn between two job offers: manager of Prospect Mill or union representative. Jack is hiding his predicament from his perfectionist wife, Ruth, while the couple's older daughter, 16-year-old Helen, is obsessed with new, fashionable clothes and finding a boyfriend. Sickly seven-year-old Beth simply wants to escape her overprotective mother. During the brief holiday, the family faces many dilemmas when Jack's wartime adventures come back to haunt him, Ruth's obsession with buying a new house tests her marriage, and the girls deal with treacherous friendships and unwelcome sexual advances. While the plot moves quickly, the number and variety of scrapes the family navigates in only four days strains credulity. Period slang and references are doubtless authentic, but will make the book a difficult read for Americans. (Sept.)
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Review

"Panoramic portrait of an English family in the 1950s... Charming." (Gloss Magazine )

"A cleverly crafted work, effortlessly moving between grand design and minute detail using both humour and pathos to stunning effect." (New Books Magazine )

"This might just be the most delightful book you read this year." (Easy Living )

"I can't recommend this book highly enough-- a brilliant read." (Women's Weekly )

"A great debut novel with a terrific sense of time and place." (Northern Echo )

"A moving and well-written debut novel." (Nottingham Evening Post )

"An evocative tale." (Belfast Telegraph )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (September 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446545864
• ISBN-13: 978-0446545860
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice debut novel set in 1959, October 23, 2009

By 

Alayne (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Palace of Strange Girls (Paperback)

The Palace of Strange Girls is Sallie Day's debut novel. Day grew up in England and her father ran a cotton mill, so it stands to reason why the father in this book also works in a cotton mill. Strange Girls revolves around the Singleton family on their holiday in July 1959. By all outward appearances they are your typical family living in the recession of the late 50's. Ruth, mom and wife, runs her house the way all housewives should: with a dust mop and financially iron fist. Husband/father Jack is dependable and hardworking. Teenage daughter Helen obeys her parents every command, and youngest daughter Beth tries to be normal with her abnormal childhood. Ruth tries her best to make her family as status quo and typical as possible, but there are secrets underneath the pretty polka-dot facade, and she can't keep them hidden if she doesn't know what they are.

It took me a while to be attracted to Strange Girls. The beginning felt sluggish and unformed. By the middle I was used to the flashbacks which help paint the hidden secrets behind the Singleton family, and I was able to start really enjoying the story. The characters were interesting and individual; I enjoyed the tense atmostphere surrounding Ruth, and the pity I felt for Beth who is just trying to be a fun little girl with her I-Spy book. The voice has a nice shift to it depending on which character you're reading about. Each chapter title is an I-Spy item with description, which is both adorable and lighthearted, but turns appropriately serious for the later conflict.

I liked the Singleton family and their flaws and the people that surround. I could clearly visualize Blackpool and the boardwalk and smell the ocean salt. I thought it was a nice, easygoing story, though the end felt incomplete, and the epilogue served as a convenient wrap-up for a few loose strings. I enjoyed the tension between the characters, but felt that it wasn't fully utilized in the beginning. The flashbacks were good, but also felt like another story that could have been written separate from Strange Girls,one that I probably would have liked better. Overall, I enjoyed Sallie Day's debut novel and can really see her potential, but it felt like someone who hadn't been writing for that long. I have a feeling her next work will be more polished and I look forward to seeing what she does. 3 stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and realistic!, September 13, 2009

By 

Joyce Åkesson (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Palace of Strange Girls (Paperback)

This is an entertaining and realistic story revolving around the Singletons and their visit to Blackpool, England in 1959. We get acquainted with the parents, Jack and Ruth and their daughters 7-year old Beth and 16-year old Helen.
Beth has been ill and has just come out of the hospital. She is a sweet child who delights in life's simplest pleasures. Helen has befriended a waitress and longs to break free of her mother's rigid rules.
Jack, is caught between unions and owners and his job can be at risk. Also a letter arriving from Crete reveals a secret in his past that can destroy his marriage.
This is not an action-based story but offers captivating details in the lives of a post-World War II English family.

Joyce Akesson, author of Love's Thrilling Dimensions and The Invitation

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable historical family drama, October 1, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Palace of Strange Girls (Paperback)

In 1959 in England, the Singleton family of four goes on vacation at the seaside town of Blackpool. There the father, WWII vet Jack has a difficult decision to make between job offers as manager of Prospect Mill or being a union representative. He conceals his concerns from his demanding wife, Ruth who wants them to buy a new house. His sixteen year old daughter Helen hopes to find a boyfriend soon, but believes to do this she needs the latest fashion and freedom from her mom's strict control. His other child seven year old Beth has health issues having just been released from the hospital, but just wants some free time to enjoy the shore, fill in her "I-Spy" book as she tracks everyone and most important escape from her demanding mother's diligence.

This is an enjoyable historical family drama that stars four fully developed characters; all with differing needs and desires that come to a head during the four day vacation. The interrelationships ring true though the solutions at the end of the Singleton family vacation seem to quick and unlikely. Ironically the father and the two kids blame all on the mom due to her demanding manner though she uses her martinet orders to hide her fears from her loved ones. Fans will enjoy Sallie Day's fine trip back to 1959 England.

Harriet Klausner