Matilda, a young girl of age six, and her sisters Elizabeth and Frances are the stars of The Red Shoe, a novel written by Ursula Dubosarsky. At the beginning of the story, Frances reads Matilda a fairytale about a young girl who was not allowed to wear a pair of beautiful red shoes. Throughout the novel that absence of freedom is portrayed as the young girls describe their mother , father, and uncle. Their mother is a pretty woman lonely in the absence of their father--and their uncle always seems to be around for her. Their father, distraught by events he witnessed during World War II is always away at sea or changed and different. As the story of the three sisters unravels the effects of the greater events occuring around the world appear to have a strong influence on the life of one small family.
I disliked this book. The characters were simple and enjoyable, however I found the story very confusing. There were newspaper articles at the beginning of each chapter that didn't appear to really contribute to the story much. Overall, although a fine written book, I came away with a confused idea of the plot and storyline. I may have missed the point but the story was not clear-cut enough for me to have understood it. I recommend that you give it a try and see for yourself.
There is mention of suicide in this story.
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 5
Reviewer Age: 15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Concord, Massachusetts United States
