Posts
Dr. Marion Hart, a psychiatrist at the Ontario Hospital, observes the streetside excitement from a safe distance. She worries about her patients’ fate, foreseeing they’ll become homeless or violent after they’re released into the community as deinstitutionalization policies take effect. Over time, she comes to care especially for one of them, Daniel Neumann, puzzled why a man haunted by his Vietnam memories could long to rejoin his fellow soldiers “in country.”
Sassy and Marion live in the same building at 105 Isabella Street and aren’t much alike, but through in-depth conversations, they become close as sisters. On Isabella Street is a warm, authentic portrait of their unusual friendship, and so much more.
In this well-paced novel, Graham handles an array of social issues with exceptional clarity and appropriate depth: workplace sexism, family expectations, the presence of American war resisters, urban gentrification, and how returning Vietnam veterans test the city’s emotional fabric. She creates realistic links between the Greatest Generation and their children, showing how WWII’s effects still linger.
Through Daniel, Marion comes to understand the concept of wartime brotherhood while her admiration for him increases, while Sassy, carefree yet immature, learns responsibility and finds new application for her people skills.
Despite occasionally overused slang, the story carefully balances its nostalgic period vibe with the raw truth about war. As the plot takes unforeseen turns, the characters surprise both the reader and themselves with their growth and resilience.
On Isabella Street was published by Simon & Schuster in Canada and the US in April. This review was written originally for the Historical Novel Society. This is the first novel of Genevieve Graham's that I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading others. Most of her novels (this is the 13th) focus on various aspects of Canadian history. The publisher recommends it to fans of Kristin Hannah's The Women, and I agree.
