Glass Voices by Carol Bruneau is about several decades in the lives of Harry and Lucy and their family.

I enjoyed reading this book. The book centers around Lucy. She survives the Halifax Explosion with her husband. She loses her daughter but give birth to a son. Now her husband has suffered a stroke and she is his primary caregiver. The book jumps back and forth in time. This is a quiet story of how people deal with tragedies in their lives. There are a few twists. The author does a very good job with the Halifax background. The writing is good and the characters are well developed. Enjoy

Bruneau's Glass Voices covers around five decades in the lives of Lucy, Harry, and their family. Harry, Lucy, and their young daughter survive the terrible Halifax Explosion. Harry is injured during the explosion. In the midst of this difficult time and its immediate aftermath, their son is born. What should be a joyous occasion is instead made stressful thanks to circumstances, especially since their daughter disappeared and was presumed dead. These events will follow the family for the rest of their lives, shaping them all in different ways.

I found this story confusing at times. It shifted past to present and back again often. The writing style did not mesh with me, making my reading fits of start and stop. It's not bad, just not my cuppa. I liked the colloquial language though. Phrases and slang of bygone eras fascinates me. I was unaware of the Halifax Explosion, and this prompted me to research it.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley and Nimbus Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It took me a little while to find my bearings with this book, as I knew nothing about the background, but once I realised what was going on I found it a compelling and absorbing read. I recommend doing some research, if you don’t already know about it, into the 1917 Halifax, Nova Scotia explosion before reading in order to put the narrative into context. I found the YouTube clips very helpful. So that out of the way, I soon became immersed in the story about Lucy, who has struggled all her life with the consequences of that devastating explosion, not helped by her somewhat wayward husband. The narrative jumps backwards and forwards in time, and the reader has to concentrate, as it doesn’t always flow smoothly, but it’s well worth the effort. We see the world from inside Lucy’s head and through her eyes, as she now, at age 71, re-examines her life with her husband, who has now had a debilitating stroke, and she starts to wonder just how she really feels about him. We also get to know her son Jewel, who has been equally damaged by his experiences in WWII. It’s a wonderfully empathetic portrait of a woman struggling against the odds and doing her best to live a good life. Excellent characterisation, vivid descriptions and authentic dialogue, and a story told with compassion and insight make this a very enjoyable read.

Interesting book. I admit I'd never heard of the Halifax explosion so I enjoyed learning about this horrific event and following Lucy and Harry's story

What impressed me most in Glass Voices was the way Carol Bruneau developed the story with details. Bruneau has a lovely way of writing that makes the journey into this literary world enjoyable and scenic.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Nimbus Publishing for a digital copy of this book which is being reissued after 10 years after the original publication.

The time covers about 50 years in the life of Harry and Lucy and their family. The story focuses on the joys and sorrows of their life. The joys seem almost non existent, and the sorrows and tragedies are many. The story was gloomy throughout.

What I liked best was the details in the early years, consisting of songs, nursery rhymes and now almost obsolete sayings. This was very authentic to me. My grandparents would have been a young married couple at the time of the Halifax Explosion and lived 100 miles away. I vividly recall them chanting the same nursery rhymes and singing the same songs around the house in later years. (1940s). They also peppered their language with the same unusual phrases (without the swearing). Much of the book contains dialogue which seems true to the times and place and how the characters would speak.

The story begins with Harry and Lucy, as well as their young daughter caught up in the Halifax Explosion in 1917. Harry is badly injured. Lucy’s son is born in the midst of all the death and destruction. Their daughter vanishes. Her presumed death will haunt them forever. The explosion is vividly described, but centers mainly on how it affects the family. I have read more powerful descriptions in novels which took in the extent of the death and injuries which left 2000 dead and 9000 maimed and countless homes and businesses destroyed.

The story felt somewhat choppy to me as it moved back and forth in time, often within the same chapter. Lucy’s words and thoughts contained the overuse of metaphors and similes. I felt the characterizations were strong, but never really cared for any of them.

Their son, Jewel, grows up and goes away for 5 years and fights in WW2. He returns with some shrapnel wounds he sustained in battle. He marries and remains closely connected to his parents. Jewel and his wife have different personalities than the aging parents, especially his wife and their son.

Moving forward to Harry and Lucy’s present time the couple suffers a couple of terrible tragedies. How does one put aside unbearable profound grief and keep living?