Pages For Her by Sylvia Brownrigg

After reading Carol by Patricia Highsmith, the next book on my priority list was Pages For Her by Sylvia Brownrigg. I came across this book by going through LGBTQ+ recommendation lists on YouTube and Goodreads. Along with Carol and Tell it to the Bees, this book was one that often came up. Work gave us all a £50 love2shop voucher as a thank you for all our hard work during the pandemic. The voucher worked with Waterstones, the only bookstore in Banbury, and I picked it up there. I had heard excellent things about this good, and I was hoping this would be an enjoyable read.

The novel is about two women who have lost touch with each other. Flannery is a woman who feels like she’s lost herself being tied down as a wife and a mother. But by being reunited with Anne Arden and exploring her sexuality, she starts to discover herself again. Despite the different directions their lives take them in the twenty years that they have been apart, the attraction between them is evident. Flannery Jansen and Anne Arden are drawn together like north and south magnets.

This is a heavy book, which is why I am thankful this book is split into three parts. Despite that, I found this book light and easy to read. I really like Sylvia Brownrigg’s writing because of the way the scenes of a re-ignited passion are painted in the book. It feels real and believable. I also how how timeless the book feels. It could be written twenty years ago or twenty years in the future, and it would still be relevant and hold the powerful intensity it had.

The book is split into three parts. I think the second and third part where my favourite parts of the book. I really got intrigued with the cruises and the travelling because I like travelling too. I was curious to the places where they would go and hope it would shape Anne and Flannery’s relationship. Even though both women are at least past their early thirties, they still capture their young spirits with their gentle moments together.

Flannery is a strong protagonist. Her passion for writing and being creative is something I can see many people relating with. Her compassion for Willa, her daughter is evident. This helped make Flannery more likable. It’s really clear that Anne fuels her creativity further throughout the novel. I do feel that Flannery grows as a character. In the book, I felt like I knew her and most of her entire life. I found the pacing to be balanced and just right with a few time skips to avoid any sluggish pace.

I loved reading this book. As a reader, I felt awarded with the moments towards the end of the novel where Flannery and Anne fully embrace their feelings and desires.

I like how Anne is explicit with her desire not to want kids because I think there’s a lot of expectation or demand for women to have kids, even if they don’t want to. I think people who are child-free by choice would be able to connect to Anne very well. I believed in Flannery and Anne’s romance and the years of feelings and how much they missed each other.

I fully understand why this book is so adored. I believe the positive reviews and strong praise in the community is well deserved. I would love to read more books from this author again. I did get Patricia Highsmith and Sarah Waters vibes with this book, but I also think the author did a great job creating Flannery’s voice and making her a unique and relatable character.

I am thankful for this book for making my isolation period more bareable.