Women and Children First
Alina Grubowski
Indigo Press
AS I read the first chapter of the book, I admit to being confused, somehow things weren’t hanging together but because I have a rule to read ‘the first 100 pages’ and then decide, I persevered. By the time I got to Layla, chapter three in the ten chapters, the sheer beauty of the prose had caught me, the puzzle was starting to click into place and the characters were shaping up.
Grubowski, in this debut novel, Women and Children First is a superb literary writer, probing deeply with layered characters. She has a discerning and imaginative style that summons up those aspects of human nature that emerge when faced with a tragedy. Indifference, support, heartbreak, cowardice, concern and growth as…
