It’s July, 1941, in a dusty Georgia farming town. Plucky Mae Lee Willis, almost eight, knows there’s more to life than her distracted parents tell her, and she’s determined to find out. Her sixteen-year old sister Ava, beautiful and sultry, is eager to grab all that life has to offer, especially Dulany “Duke” Radford. The paratrooper son of a World War I flying ace who made good, Duke wants to … prove he’s not a privileged kid. He goes off to fight in Burma, spying and sabotaging behind enemy lines, even though Ava pleads with him to pull strings for a stateside job.
But when Duke comes home from the war wounded in body and spirit and marries Ava, he has no idea that Ava is hiding something from him…
Rubies from Burma takes us from the chaos caused by the “frizzledy chicken” in a middle Georgia farmyard to an elderly gem trader’s hut in a steaming jungle village; from a young girl’s first fumbling with a young man to a mysterious old African-American woman’s fortunetelling with cards. This book explores the many sides of beauty, as well as true and lasting love. It is also a book that explores war: the sacrifices that families must make, both for their country– and for each other.
more
Rubies From Burma by Anne Lovett is a different kind of love story, actually a different type of war story as well. It takes place in Georgia during World War II and after and is mostly a story about two sisters: Ava and her younger sister, Mae Lee. Ava is in her late teens when we join the story and dating, looking for a man. She is dating Duke Radford, part of the richest family around. His daddy owned a plant that manufactured men’s trousers. He was just a little older than Ava and the best-looking man Mae Lee had ever seen. She was head-over-heels for him and wanted Ava to treat him better. When he first went off to war, she wrote to him faithfully. After a while she got bored and left her job at the drugstore to work for Hardy Pritchard, a local lawyer. He was a married man but he didn’t let that stop him. Mae Lee was hurt for Duke and when Ava didn’t return letters, she did, as Ava, proclaiming her love for him. Eventually it was time for Duke to return, but he was a different man. He still loved Ava, though, and Hardy was out of the picture so shortly there was a wedding. Things didn’t go well after the wedding; it was not the life that Ava had projected.
This was a stunning story of rural Georgia in the 40s and 50s. Ava and Mae Lee’s parents were poor farmers who had lost their farm and Chap, their father now worked at Radford’s. He had a dream: to fly. To that end, he and a friend were building an airplane. As Mae Lee’s parents dies, first one, then the other, her life changed. She was only 16 so she had to go live with Duke and Ava. She didn’t always love it but she grew up fast, there. Things went from bad to worse. Duke was suffering from what is now called PTSD and Ava had trouble coping. This was an amazing story of betrayal, sisterly love, coping in a difficult world, and creativity. Mae Lee was a problem solved and she solved several huge ones. She was an unbelievable character who matured beautifully despite some rough times. She was strong and loyal and never forgot her roots, and her family. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Rubies From Burma by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #rubiesfromburma
I was intrigued by this intricately entwined story of the lives of two southern sisters in the WWII era.
This book deals with complex themes of war and its effects, the many facets of love, betrayal, and forgiveness, and the bonds that hold families together even in the most difficult times.
Rich in character development and depiction of the environment, Rubies From Burma is well worth reading.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of Book Whisperer and this is my honest assessment.