A Fall of Marigolds

H/F of two women a century apart, connected by a marigold scarf. In 1911 Clara survived the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. In 2011 Taryn loses her husband in the WTC bombings. One scarf (which has a trajectory of its own) links the two of them as a symbol of how their losses are similar and how the will to overcome is powerful. This will male anyone believe in synchronicity.

I really enjoyed this book. There were many themes in it that I will be pondering for some time: an ‘in between place' that we retreat to when dealing with tragedy and how you can get stuck there; objects that have a history and story to tell - do we pay enough attention to that story?; across centuries some human stories repeat themselves, although we sometimes feel like what we experience has never been experienced before.
I look forward to my book group discussion about this one!

A Fall of Marigolds I gave 3 1/2 stars to. It was about Clara in 1911 who lost someone she cared about in a Shirtwaist fire and then goes to work as a nurse on Ellis Island. There she meets Andrew who's new wife Lily has died from Scarlet Fever as they were on a ship from Europe to America. She helps Andrew to get better and in the process brings him a scarf that had belonged to his wife Lily.

Then in 2011 we meet Taryn who lost her husband during 911 when she was getting ready to tell him that he was going to be a father. She had the scarf on her at the time and it's the story of this scarf of marigolds and how it connects these two stories and the women who had it.