Jojo Moyes and “The Giver of Stars”

Not all stories hyped by celebrity book clubs are as excellent as they are touted to be, but Jojo Moyes’s “The Giver of Stars”, which came out in 2019, is one which I think deserves the many accolades it has received.

Set in Depression-era Kentucky when mining towns and rowdy saloons dotted the rural landscape, a pack of women librarians traverse the hills and plains, trudge through mud and slush, to bring books and magazines to the far-flung huts and shanties where many poor Eastern Kentuckians called home. This band of strong-willed, determined women from all backgrounds come together to discover friendship, love, and camaraderie as they struggle with bygone expectations of a wife’s place in the home while the ne’er-do-well husbands couldn’t possibly do any wrong.

Based on the real historical Works Progress Administration’s Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky which ran from 1935 to 1943, Moyes uses her imagination to describe what challenges our feisty heroines may have encountered as they struggle to find their voice in a male-dominated society and where they long for their personal happiness instead of following the dictates that small town societies expected at that time. I loved the fighting spirit of each character and as one found their strength, it inspires other characters in the story to find their own voice to stand up for themselves.

The plot was riveting and I found myself waiting to see what happens next. As the ladies tackled one challenge after another, I almost felt that the supporting male characters somehow lost their voices as they were often relegated to the side, and in some ways, their masculinity diminished even. Sven, despite the author’s manly description, seemed to shrivel next to the dominant Margery O’Hare. While, Fred seemed to have taken on the role as cook and chauffer for the ladies. “The Giver of Stars” is truly a book about feminism and girl-power which will resonate with many modern-day feminists.

The storyline is compelling and riveting enough that it is now in the developmental stages of filming with Universal Pictures buying the rights to it. If they can stay true to the plot and characterization coupled with the right actresses and director, I believe the movie may be worth watching. Elevating the male characters could help as well so they can truly have a marquee lineup.

Jojo Moyes is also the author of “Me Before You” which became a movie in 2016 starring Emilia Clarke of Daenerys Targaryen fame from the HBO series, “Game of Thrones”.