The novel shifts to 1990s Chicago where Jimbo buys
Honorata, a mail-order Filipino bride, from her uncle without her knowledge.
Honorata’s life changes when she hits a jackpot at El Capitan and meets June.
Coral is a music teacher whose father was Del’s best friend and she’s searching
for her identity after learning that she was adopted. Her mother tells Coral “Life
is long. There’s a lot of ways for a secret to come out.” McBride reveals those secrets as Coral’s story
develops. Later, Coral and Honorata buy homes on the same street and meet
through their children. In 2010 Honorata’s priest asks her to hire Engracia, a
Mexican immigrant, to clean her home. Engracia had worked as a housekeeper at El
Capitan and she ties the women and their stories together and brings the book to
its breathtaking climax.
McBride tells the women’s stories in a third person
narrative that allows the city of Las Vegas and its growth and changes to
mirror the lives of the protagonists. The book is primarily about the four
women and their relationships with their children and the men who populate their
lives. The men are catalysts for the women’s actions, but this is primarily a
book about the four women and the sacrifices and decisions they make for love.
Engracia is the least examined of the women, yet it’s her
grief, her faith, and her kindness that tie the tale together. That McBride can
write so little about Engracia and still make the reader yearn to step into the
book to help her is a tribute to the power of McBride’s writing.
‘Round
Midnight is like a story told around a campfire. The introduction
of each character at just the right time is a testament to the brilliant pacing of
this novel. At the transitions in the women’s stories, the chapter endings lead
the reader directly to the next woman. McBride allows the stories to unfold with
a natural rhythm at a speed that builds as the stories reach their climax. She
then slows the pace to a crawl inside the closed room where the past seems
destined to ruin lives. When a page-turner forces a reader to hold a deep
breath to await the climax, that’s a master class in pacing.
Watch Laura McBride in this book trailer to learn more about
the book and the power of love, courage, and grace.
Summing
it Up: ‘Round Midnight is a fine
novel with a spectacular climax and ending. Its focus on four women of different
ages, ethnic backgrounds, and socio-economic statuses showcases the myriad ways
love grows. The questions it raises would make it an excellent book club
choice.
Note:
‘Round Midnight simply begs to be a
Mother’s Day gift.
Rating: 5 stars
Category:
Fiction, Five Stars, Grandma’s Pot Roast, Book Club
Publication
date: May 2, 2017
Author
Website: http://lauramcbrideauthor.com/
Interview
with the Author: Nevada Public Radio https://knpr.org/knpr/2017-04/author-laura-mcbride-explores-racism-las-vegas-round-midnight
Reading
Group Guide: http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Round-Midnight/Laura-McBride/9781501157783/reading_group_guide
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