The Orphan Collector

When my mom comes to me with a book that isn't a biography on a rock artist from the 60s/70s, I listen. I can count on one hand the number of fiction books she's read, and this one has been the first she's ever liked enough to say “you have to read this”. She left it behind after visiting me for a week, even. Frugal mom, just leaving a book behind for someone, no strings attached. Wild.

So I listened. Based on the cover art and the title, I thought it was going to be a feel good story about a girl orphaned from the Spanish Flu taking in other orphans and creating a little family. I thought there'd be dark parts, particularly around the flu, but overall uplifting and sweet. I was wrong.

Admittedly the book takes a bit to get going as it sets up the characters. Pia Lange, child of immigrant parents, can tell when people are sick through skin contact, so you can imagine the buildup to the actual Spanish Flu was uncomfortable for her. Terrible, awful, gritty, dark depictions of the flu and loss await you in this book, and if you're particularly affected by the Coronavirus, maybe give this one a pass for a few years. You're also introduced to Bernice at the height of the flu, whose loss of her son and hatred of immigrant families drives her to do pretty terrible things in the name of “saving” the children of immigrant parents. The book revolves around these two characters as Pia searches for answers about her missing twin brothers, and Bernice does terrible things to families for money.

I found myself drawn in pretty completely once the Spanish Flu outbreak begins, and all hope of putting the book down lost after Pia begins her quest/crusade to find her brothers. Once things get rolling, they really get rolling, and it was hard to step away from it.

I had high hopes for this one and it's partly on me for being let down. I haven't tolerated any sort of pandemic fiction (or nonfiction) well since 2020, however, my main issues with the book lay elsewhere. 

This Spanish Flu of 1918 hits Philadelphia. Young Pia is left to fend for herself as well as her younger brothers. A series of events lands her in an orphan asylum and separated from her brothers, who have since disappeared. She winds up working with the sick and other children, all the while trying to locate her family.

I might have had more tolerance for this story if the nuns at St. Vincent's weren't stereotypical tormentors. While I can agree these institutions were far more strict at this time in history, there are some things that have not changed such as the general teachings of Catholicism which were falsely represented here. This was a major distraction for me. Aside from this, the story itself was so-so for me. It felt more slow-paced than it needed to me. I didn't find the mystery all too intriguing, either.