I Gave My Heart to Know This by Ellen Baker

I Gave My Heart to Know This by Ellen Baker

I Gave My Heart to Know This by Ellen Baker

I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS by Ellen Baker

Publisher: Random House, 336 pages

Publication Date: August 2, 2011

Summary: Ellen Baker is beloved for crafting intimate domestic stories that resonate deeply with readers. In I Gave My Heart to Know This, the award-winning author returns with a sweeping multigenerational saga of the searing power of war, memory, friendship, and family.

In January 1944, Grace Anderson, Lena Maki, and Lena’s mother, Violet, have joined the growing ranks of women working for the war effort. Though they find satisfaction in their jobs at a Wisconsin shipyard, it isn’t enough to distract them from the anxieties of wartime, or their fears for the men they love: Lena’s twin brother, Derrick, and Grace’s high school sweetheart, Alex. When shattering news arrives from the front, the lives of the three women are pitched into turmoil. As one is pushed to the brink of madness, the others are forced into choices they couldn’t have imagined—and their lives will never be the same.

More than five decades later, Violet’s great-granddaughter, Julia, returns to the small farmhouse where Violet and Lena once lived. Listless from her own recent tragedy, Julia begins to uncover the dark secrets that shattered her family, eventually learning that redemption—and love—can be found in the most unexpected places.

Beautifully written and profoundly moving, I Gave My Heart to Know This is a riveting story of loyalties held and sacred bonds broken; crushing loss and enduring dreams; and what it takes—and what it means—to find the way home.

Review: Having absolutely loved Baker’s debut novel, KEEPING THE HOUSE, I was more than delighted to see that this month brings us a new Ellen Baker novel! She does not disappoint with her sophomore effort. I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS explores the lives of three women in the early 1940’s, Grace, Lena and Violet. We are also brought into the present day life of Violet’s great-granddaughter, Julia who has come back to the small farmhouse where Violet and Lena once lived. The story jumps back and forth between the 40’s and present day and what could have been a daunting task is done seamlessly with Baker’s immense skills as a writer. I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS is an emotional tale about friendship, trust, war, hope and loss and what it truly means to love. A beautifully written novel with an impeccable attention to detail, Baker shines in her latest release.

 

Bookfinds

Bookfinds Editor. Book Reviewer.

4 Comments

  1. A Truly Depressing Read
    I have read many book reviews; however, I’ve only written two. In my third review, I am compelled to be brutally honest. Typically, if I don’t like a book, I don’t say anything, but I feel that this book has received too much undeserved praise. Ellen Baker’s first novel, “Keeping the House”, was eloquently written, as was her second novel, “I Gave My Heart to Know This.” In her many, excessively wordy pages, Ellen writes of torn marriages, female victims suffering as a result of their husband’s transgressions, unforgiving spirits, bitterness harbored, lies, and a plethora of other uneventful, depressing emotions. I do understand that these are the types of emotions that sell books, but most authors tend to find some way of adding small bits of hope to their novels. About half-way through the book, I began to feel depressed myself. I didn’t understand where these feelings were coming from until I picked up the book again and realized it was because I adore my husband. Not one of Ellen’s carefully designed female characters had a positive view of men. This sentiment is the result of unfulfilled expectations of marriage, mainly because she portrays her male characters as absent husbands who don’t attend to the needs of their wives.
    Ellen does have one thing going for her writing: she is able to intertwine stories in a way that continuously surprises me. In reality, however, not all marriages end with an inattentive husband forcing his wife to leave, and not all men returning from war end their marriage with a divorce because they can’t deal with their past. As the proud wife of a soldier who survived three years worth of overseas deployment, I believe that men can be put through the torments of war, work through the unnecessary suffering that is caused, and come back to love and support their wives and children. I would challenge Ellen Baker to incorporate just one marriage into her next novel that is functional and supportive from both the perspective of the husband and the wife. However, I’m not sure if the potential is there.

  2. It doesn’t sound like Sydney and I have read the same Ellen Baker novels: In her debut novel, “Keeping the House,” Byron and Dolly DO come to an understanding. How many marriages are perfect from the start — especially in the 50s when the wife’s role WAS culturally perceived to be subservient and all-encompassing so the wage earner had nothing more significant to worry about but bringing home the bacon?

    “I Gave My Heart to Know This” illustrates female angst as well as male insensitivity and this story, too, illuminates growing and learning and adapting to difficult situations including war, love, and family secrets.

    I suggest you give these books another read because, in my view and in the opinion of the many reviews I’ve read — Ellen Baker captures the human condition realistically and offers hope via her characters and the new choices they make.

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