As well as being a novel that brings one into American
life in the 1950’s and the tragic events of the three airplane crashes in
Elizabeth, New Jersey, Blume spins her magic in this novel and tells the story
of the coming of age of the teenage characters.
The crashing of the planes also symbolizes the taking off of the rose
colored glasses of the teenage characters to discover that their world is not
all it seems with parental affairs, divorce, and first love gone wrong.
In the Unlikely Event is set primary in 1951 to
1952. Miri lives in a three-generational
home with her mother Rusty, Grandmother Irene, and Uncle Henry. She wonders who her father was, but her
mother won’t tell her. Her best friend
is Natalie who lives a luxurious life as daughter of Doctor Osner, the
dentist. Miri also meets the mysterious
Mason at Natalie’s house, the friend of Natalie’s brother and discovers first
love. After the first plane falls
everyone’s world starts to change. As
the planes keep falling, fear falls over the town. Is it a conspiracy? Who will be next to die as a plan falls from
the sky? On the home front, will Miri find her father? Will Mason be her one true love?
The story is told through a variety of characters in
different sections. Sometimes the
characters only told one section. I
found this hard to focus at first as there were so many characters. I got used to it and enjoyed the many points
of view as I kept reading the novel. Although
I did start to get nervous when new characters got introduced and realized they
could be potential victims for the next crash.
I enjoyed the story.
I loved how the real history was woven throughout the coming of age
tale. I loved the detail of the live in
the 1950’s. I was devastated as I got to
know characters and their lives came to an abrupt end due to these freak
crashes. This novel was the February
FLICKS Book and Movie Club pick (aka Rogue Book Club). None of us sadly had
finished the book on time, but what we had finished prompted good
discussion. I loved Judy Blume’s novels
when I was younger, but this was the first “adult” book I read by her. She is a truly wonderful novelist.
My favorite quotes:
I love this exchange between Mom, Grandma, and
Daughter:
“For god’s sake,” Rusty said to Irene later. “She’s not getting married. She’s in ninth grade.”
Be careful, “Irene warned Miri. “All boys want the same thing.”
This poignant scene brought tears to my eyes:
“He visited the cemetery every day to talk to Estelle,
to apologize for the things he’d done, to tell her she’d been his one and only
love. If I could do it over. .. he’d cry.
Please, Stellie, give me another chance to prove how much I love
you. But Estelle never responded. He stood alone as the winter wind whipped his
hat off his head, hoping for a sign – a falling leaf, a dove flying by. He’d have settled for a pigeon. But there was nothing. This is why he cried.”
This made me chuckle:
“Then they married each other and lived in single
family houses with big backyards, had chubby babies and drank themselves to
death. Miri knew the part about drinking
themselves to death wasn’t necessarily true.
She was just trying it out to make their lives seem less perfect.”
This was a disturbing scene from history that seems
all too relevant today:
“(Senator Joseph) McCarthy in his typical wild
swinging fashion, with no regard for facts but with a hold on is audience that
is frightening, called Sun publisher Hank Greenspun an ‘ex-convict’ and an
admitted Communist, publisher of the Las Vegas ‘Daily Worker.’”
A great overall summary of the novel:
“Life is a series of unlikely events, isn’t it? Hers certainly was. One unlikely event after another, adding up
to a rich, complicated whole. And who
knows what’s still to come?”
Overall, In the Unlikely Event was a unique and
riveting look at a true historical event and the ripple effects it had on the
community.
Have you read any Judy Blume novels? If so, which one is your favorite?
Book Source:
The Kewaunee Public Library – Thanks!
