Yes…some good moments, but not a favorite.
Only The Beautiful was quite good.
I didn’t know of The Shape of Mercy and White Picket Fences.
Thanks, Mitzi_K
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I have read 3 books previously by Susan Meissner – The Nature of Fragile Things, A Fall of Marigolds, and A Bridge Across the Ocean. I enjoyed all of these, but really loved A Fall of Marigolds and the setting on Ellis Island/NYC.
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This is the first book I’ve read of Susan Meissner. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 rating. Very little is known of Elwood until the end, which leaves you pondering on his motives. Initially, I suspected something sinister of June and questioned the warm personality she generated.
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I also enjoyed the book as the characters and background were developed. I agree the McCarthyism blacklist hurt so many people and their careers unjustifiably. It was really a travesty!
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I definitely will have to check out A Fall of Marigolds - I enjoy books set on Ellis Island
Thanks, Susan_H1
I suspected something sinister too. 
I liked it! I have read several of her other books - this may not have been her best, but I liked the characters, the time period and the ending. I did think some of it was a little too pat, but overall - entertaining.
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I enjoyed the book, overall, but it is definitely not my favorite by author Susan Meissner. It was entertaining and suspenseful, with a compelling theme & well-developed characters. Each of the three women is sympathetic in her own right, and each has made poor choices that brought them to the crises they face in the book, Eva less so than the other two. She is more a victim of circumstances beyond her control than the other two. However, the book wrapped up too quickly and neatly. I don’t take issue with most of the resolutions of the characters’ stories, but I do think that the time frames were simply too short. And Meissner would have been well-advised to omit the unrealistic Prologue & the way she tied it back into the conclusion. Apart from those issues, she poses some questions that would inspire good discussion for book clubs.
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This is my first book by Susan Meissner. The first part didn’t move as quickly as I would have liked, but once it took off I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know how each of the three protagonist’s situation would play out.
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What happened to the brother?
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I don’t think we ever find out. He just up & left after dumping his child on his sister.
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I enjoyed it. At first I really didn’t like any of the three main characters but once I got more of their back stories, I began to understand their motivations and liked them much better. I also thought that it was interesting to read about the blacklisting that took place during this time period and how much it affected people.
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This was an easy read about three strong women each with a secret. After reading the book I thought about the women of today still facing these problems: Melanie, guilt by association, June, fear of being caught in a lie
and Eva struggling to create a better life. They were all seeking a sense of belonging. One by one their secret is revealed and they learn to trust one another.
I was in grade school during the 50’s where women were raised to get married, raise a family and keep a clean house. These three ladies had dreams of the future and independence. Delightful!
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Enjoying it very much, not finished yet, however,I do like the history part about the blacklist and how it impacted people, looking forward to seeing how this all ends for the ladies.
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I am a huge fan of Susan Meissner. This brings to light the McCarthy era in a captivating and intriguing way through the characters. This Historical Fiction book was both memorable and thought-provoking. The characters were complex, complicated and flawed, and I found this book interesting.
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A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner is an intriguing read, but unfortunately, it’s not near the top of my list of favorites by Meissner (that honor still goes to Only the Beautiful).
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I have read seven of her books starting with A Fall of Marigolds to A Map of Paradise. My favorite being Secret of a Charmed Life. That being said I was disappointed with this novel. It seemed as if it was written by someone other than Susan Meissner. There was very little depth to the story…we could have learned so much more about what went on in the McCarthy era. She could have created more tension and angst regarding the “Red Scare”, the hearings, friends turning on friends and the infamous blacklist as it related more to her characters. I would have been interested in how it affected the main characters. I like the three women and their relationship with each other. I thought that the theme of friendship was well developed. The theme of secrecy as well. Interestingly, I felt as if I was reading three separate stories that were too loosely connected. Not my favorite…I gave it a 3.
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I was not impressed by the writing and agree that it read like a YA novel. I had coincidentally just read The Nature of Fragile Things which I thought was wonderful … it was hard to believe that these two books were written by the same author.
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I generally like Susan Meissner books. Others I’ve read are: The Last Year of the War (4 stars), A Bridge Across the Ocean (3 1/2 stars), Only the Beautiful (5 stars), The Nature of Fragile Things (5 stars), As Bright as Heaven (4 stars), Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Fall of Marigolds. I felt this one started a little slowly and just wanted to get to the point. Once it got beyond a certain point I wanted to know the secrets of each person.
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It was not like her other books.
I was disappointed in this one because I LOVED every other book she has written.