Book of Forbidden Words by Louise Fine
Book of Forbidden Words by Louise FineThe Book of
Forbidden Words is what I would label a Cozy, Dan Brownish, mystery,
romance. Ms. Fine tells her story in alternate
chapters that move back and forth between Paris in the 1500’s and Levittown NY,
during the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and McCarthy Red Scares of the 1950’s.
Her choice of times quickly reveals her theme--the continuing problematic
status of women throughout the ages.
In the sixteenth century, Paris was aflame with book burning
and heretic hunting as Protestant ideas were spread via the new medium of printed
books. A former nun, Lysbette Angiers, brings a revolutionary manuscript written
in a strange code to the printing establishment run by another woman--Charlotte
Guillard. Angiers is brutally murdered shortly after she turns the manuscript
over and the female printer comes under suspicion of printing heretical
material.
In New York in 1952, Milly Bennett, an English war bride, is
having a hard time adjusting to her role as an American housewife. Her husband,
who was an American pilot in the war, is now a successful businessman who departs
each day from their Levittown house, leaving Milly at home to keep house, shepherd
the children, interact with other local housewives, and provide dinner for the
family when he returns each evening.
A complication develops when a strange older man turns up bearing
a 16th manuscript that is beautifully illustrated but written in a
strange code. We now learn that Milly was a math whiz, who was recruited to
Bletchley Park to help break the German codes during the war. The visitor catches
the eyes of neighbors and Milly calls him an old relation because the British
Official Secrets Act still prohibits her from mentioning anything about her war
activity. The visitor is actually her former commanding officer at Bletchley,
who is now an antique bookseller. He wants Milly to use her old skills to decipher
an old manuscript written in a code. Milly jumps at the opportunity to
alleviate her current boredom. She is successful and the knowledge leads her
into a writing career under an assumed name. It doesn’t take long for her
identity to be discovered and that turns into more serious problems with
America’s McCarthyites.
The author’s evocation of American life (She is a Brit.) is
not completely convincing, but she does do a good job of connecting the status
of intelligent women in multiple ages. The explanations of code breaking are well
done without being overly technical and the style is straightforward
without much color or imagery. All told good, but far from great.
I give it a 3 out of 5.
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