Read The Quintland Sisters A Novel Shelley Wood Books

Product details Paperback 464 pages Publisher William Morrow Paperbacks (March 5, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 0062839098

The Quintland Sisters A Novel Shelley Wood Books Reviews

• I knew who the Dionne quintuplets were—I think my mother must have heard about them on the radio (she was only a few years older) and she told me about them when I was a girl—just that they existed, however. Not about all the hullabaloo.
  At the beginning I got sidetracked about the nasty egg that decided it was too good to produce a singleton and decide to split into 5 (or 6, maybe, judging by Wikipedia, which I don’t trust). But I slowly grew to love Emma (never fell in love with the babies/girls, but felt horribly sorry for them by the end). Also loved the descriptions of the surroundings (naturewise). Felt sorry for the mother, too, popping out one kid after another. Sort of shocking to read about life in rural areas in the ‘30s in such detail. Common then in the US too, but I never really thought about it. Anyway, I got caught up in all of it. Totally recommend.
• I'm giving this book a rare 5, not only for interest, but also for the unique manner in which the story is told. Instead of telling the story through the eyes of the girls, it is told by a young girl, perhaps going into midwifery, who is present at the birth. As the year's pass, we hear her thoughts on what is happening to the girls that she's grown to love, and for whom she continues to care. There is a part at the end where a great deal of license is taken, but I wasn't put off by that. If you don't remember the Dionne Quintuplets, or if you do, this is a great read.
• Very enjoyable book. I started getting restless about 3/4 of the way through because it started to repeat itself. Face it, the quintuplets didn’t really do new and exciting things but the author was able to add some romance. I gave it 4 stars and not 5 because I would have liked to have more of the main characters story. The ending was a surprise.
• I was delighted to see this book on . They were 6 months younger than I, and when I was old enough to pay attention, I heard my mother and family talk about them. When I started playing with paper dolls and coloring books featuring them it was a thrill for me. This book is a fictional account of their first five years of life, and over the years I have heard some sad things about them, so I think the book was interesting to read, but now I want to read about what it was really like for them. I was surprised to learn that two of them are still alive. ( But then again, so am I ) The ending of the book was sort of a surprise - not about the girls, but about the (fictitious) nurse. I had to go back and check some of the dates. Be sure to read the epilogue.
• Good story so far. I’m just starting it!
• Somewhere in the back of our minds, we all probably remember hearing about the Dionne quintuplets – the first full set of quintuplets to survive past birth. But I doubt many know their names or anything at all about them. Did you even know that there are only two surviving Dionne quintuplets today?
  
  I had no idea that that quintuplets lived their first decade of life as “animals in a zoo”. They were confined within a “hospital” built across the road from the house they were born in and where the rest of their family lived.
  
  The story is told from the perspective of a young woman who was with them at the moment of their birth and continued to live with the girls for several years. Emma Trimpany, aged 17, was pushed into midwifery by her mother with the Dionnes being her first - and only - client. She was present for the harrowing birth of Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Marie, and Émilie. The quintuplets were born to a French-Canadian couple who already had five children. Due to the uniqueness of the situation, the Canadian government made the babies wards of the British king. Hired to care for them were Dr. Dafoe, who delivered the babies and is credited for their survival, and a small staff of nurses which included Emma who kept a detailed journal on the girls.
  
  It is estimated that each day there were over 6000 visitors come to view the babies at “Quintland”, as the “hospital” came to be known. They were a commercial entity bringing in millions of dollars to the Canadian government and advertising companies. Much was made of the girls being identical, but what makes this book so interesting is the focus on the uniqueness of each girl. “One loves bumblebees and bath time; one loves thunderstorms but is scared of the dark; one for whom the only thing better than building sand castles is getting to knock them all down; one who loves to finger-paint and knows how to tie her shoes; one who hates beets but is not the least bit squeamish about blood.”
  
  I felt sickened to read of the battles regarding custody and the products the girls may have used, such as which company’s corn syrup they first used. But my heart was warmed by the efforts made by some of the nurses to protect the girls from their celebrity and the greedy power struggles that surrounded them. I enjoyed the scenes describing the children as typical little mischief makers and moments of tenderness.
  
  It is obvious that Wood did extensive research in preparation for writing her book. She includes several archived newspaper articles from the Toronto Star. She also weaves in a couple of love stories. The writing was superb and I loved the book until the train scene toward the end. What??!! Was VERY disappointed.