#BookReview :: A Good Woman by Danielle Steel

Nineteen-year-old Annabelle Worthington was born into a life of privilege, raised amid the glamour of New York society, with glorious homes on Fifth Avenue and in Newport, Rhode Island. But everything changed on a cold April day in 1912, when the sinking of the Titanic shattered her family and her privileged world forever. Finding strength within her grief, Annabelle pours herself into volunteer work, nursing the poor, igniting a passion for medicine that would shape the course of her life. 
But for Annabelle, first love, and a seemingly idyllic marriage, will soon bring more grief—this time caused by the secrets of the human heart. Betrayed, and pursued by a scandal she does not deserve, Annabelle flees New York for war-ravaged France, hoping to lose herself in a life of service. There, in the heart of the First World War, in a groundbreaking field hospital run by women, Annabelle finds her true calling, working as an ambulance medic on the front lines, studying medicine, saving lives. And when the war ends, Annabelle begins a new life in Paris—now a doctor, a mother, her past almost forgotten…until a fateful meeting opens her heart to the world she had left behind. Finding strength in the most unlikely of friendships, pulling together the broken fragments of her life, Annabelle will return to New York one more time—this time as a changed woman, a woman of substance, infused with life’s experience, building a future filled with hope… out of the rich soil of the past. 

Annabelle Worthington was born into a life of luxury. But the sinking of the Titanic, with her father and brother on board, brought on something entirely different in her life. She lost her mother too. Then she fell for a man of her father’s age, married him and then a divorce followed. She leaves the country in order to escape the scandal but her fate followed her to France as well where she is raped and gives birth to a child that she conceived as a result of that fateful night. Over the course of time, she faces more and more hardships, from the innocent questions of her child to being thwarted in love again. But she toiled through – waiting for the silver lining of her life to appear.

The protagonist, Annabelle or the ‘Good Woman’ of the story should have been name a ‘Strong Woman’ more appropriately. Born with a silver spoon, she is soon thrown into horrendous situations one after the other. She endured much more than any woman should ever have to, yet she still toiled on through her life – taking each step as a new beginning. The plot uncovers many aspects of human nature – from an adulterer to a rapist to a chauvinistic pig to a loving old lady to our own strong protagonist – we see so many facets of human psych.

The author paints a vivid picture of each situation. Rather than telling us a story, the narration actually shows us the background and lets us take a peek into the mind of the characters. My only complaint with the novel is the repetitive nature of few aspects. Nothing that happens in Annabelle’s life is forgettable and the constant reminders only managed to slow down the pace of the novel.

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