Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

Date Published: April 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0547712079
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 288
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Book Summary: Amid the mayhem of the Civil War, Virginia plantation wife Iris Dunleavy is put on trial and convicted of madness. It is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent away to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good, compliant woman. Iris knows, though, that her husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of disagreeing with him on notions of justice, cruelty, and property.

On this remote Florida island, cut off by swamps and seas and military blockades, Iris meets a wonderful collection of residents— some seemingly sane, some wrongly convinced they are crazy, some charmingly odd, some dangerously unstable. Which of these is Ambrose Weller, the war-haunted Confederate soldier whose memories terrorize him into wild fits that can only be calmed by the color blue, but whose gentleness and dark eyes beckon to Iris?

The institution calls itself modern, but Iris is skeptical of its methods, particularly the dreaded “water treatment.” She must escape, but she has found new hope and love with Ambrose. Can she take him with her? If they make it out, will the war have left anything for them to make a life from, back home?

Blue Asylum is a vibrant, beautifully-imagined, absorbing story of the lines we all cross between sanity and madness. It is also the tale of a spirited woman, a wounded soldier, their impossible love, and the undeniable call of freedom.

My Thoughts: Blue Asylum is set during the time of the Civil War, a period in our history when women had virtually no rights and were treated as possessions. Iris Dunleavy, raised by loving parents who allowed her freedom to grow and a voice in her future, learns in a devastating way, how few rights she has as a woman. Iris described her childhood as ‘magical’, filled with dreams of her future adventures. When she reaches marrying age, Iris’ father encouraged her to marry a local boy. Iris wants to marry someone ‘exotic’ and exciting, not a boring local boy she’d known her whole life. Robert Dunleavy was ’exotic’ in Iris’ eyes. A plantation owner from Virginia, Robert caught Iris’ eye while he in town visiting his brother. Robert introduced himself to Iris‘ father. On his return to VA, he wrote Iris’ father many letters describing him as a man Iris’ father would be proud to have her marry. Iris was besotted. She and her mother convince Iris’ father to permit her to marry Robert. Sadly, Iris quickly discovers her new husband is not the man he purported to be.

Iris is one of several characters who tell their stories through a third-person narrator. The variety of voices make Blue Asylum an intriguing story with a lot of flavor. Iris is one of the main characters whose story is told. She’s a vibrant, strong and spirited young woman who’s also determined to do as she wishes. Iris has lived a carefree, uncomplicated life prior to now, in which she was used to getting her way. She also has, as a result, a rather naive view of the world and people. When things don’t go as she expects, Iris is often outspoken, especially for a woman, and even confrontational.

Robert‘s true colors came out shortly after the couple settled in Virginia, much to Iris’ dismay. He’s not the man Iris and her father thought she was marrying. When prices rise due to the Civil War, Robert becomes stingy and mean, taking things out on his slaves. Iris spoke up about this and things between she and Robert became strained. Problems escalated as Iris acted in ways that infuriated Robert. After a terrifying ordeal (which I won’t reveal here), Iris is tried in court for humiliating her husband and behaving improperly. She’s sent to Sanibel Asylum to be treated and made into a good wife. Iris’ complete story of her time on the plantation is finally revealed at the asylum. It’s eye-opening, heart-breaking and would cause most sane people to behave in unexpected ways.

Iris meets a host of captivating characters at the asylum. Dr. Cowell, the head of the asylum, calls all of the patients lunatics yet many don’t seem crazy so much as effected by hardship and painful occurrences in their lives. Ambrose Weller, for instance, is a Confederate soldier who returned home from the war in a terrible state. His story, which isn’t revealed in its totality until the end of the book, is shocking and unexpected. It made me gaspout loud. Ambrose’s behavior makes sense in light of what he’s been through. Iris and Ambrose have an intense connection and fall in love. I saw a side of Iris I didn’t like in her relationship with Ambrose. She’s immature, selfish and thoughtless in her love for him. Iris is so anxious and determined to be free of the asylum with Ambrose that she doesn’t think things through clearly or make a plan. When she finally sees things clearly, it's possibly too late for Iris and Ambrose.

Freedom is a main theme in Blue Asylum and a fascinating one. This book poses the question of what constitutes real freedom. Iris comes to a partial realization of what’s freedom by the end of the novel but not until she learns some tough life lessons. And, for Iris, freedom, if she even achieves it, comes at a great cost. Iris is consumed by the idea of returning to her childhood home. She now believes the place she was once so anxious to escape is where she will find freedom. But what about Sanibel where Ambrose prefers to stay. Could Iris and Ambrose be free on Sanibel? I think so. Ms. Hepinstall links several other themes, some more obvious than others, to freedom including slavery, love, death and sanity.

Ms. Hepinstall’s writing is compelling and captured my attention. The narrative is mesmerizing and I found it difficult to put down once I started reading. This became especially true as Iris and Ambrose’s stories were revealed to include some unexpected and eye-opening surprises. Ms. Hepinstall has a fundamental understanding of human nature and behavior that enhanced the life-like quality of her characters, even those not fully three-dimensional. Many of the scenes were described in a way that made me feel as if I was there. The vivid detail, for instance, with which Sanibel is described provided me with the image of a picturesque tropical paradise surrounded by a stunning blue sea and sky, framed by a white sandy beach dotted with beautiful pants, flowers and trees. I expected the island setting to contrast with the asylum building. Instead the asylum is elegant and calming with beautiful, tasteful decor and furniture that continues in each patient‘s private room.

I would have liked to know more about several of the characters, including Iris and Ambrose. I hoped, up until the very end of the book, to read more about Iris’ childhood, as well as her time as a married woman in Virginia. Similarly, with each new chapter, I hoped to learn more about the life of the gentle and reserved Ambrose. And I could say the same about several other characters. I would have happily read another 300 pages by Ms. Hepinstall. I highly recommend Blue Asylum to everyone but especially readers who love historical fiction.

See Kathy Hepinstall's Website and Blog

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Blue Asylum and to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an ARC of this book.

18 comments:

  1. Oh heck yeah, this is my type of book, and I am so glad to see your review here today, as I might have never heard of it before. It sounds right up my alley and I am off to look for it. Fantastic and very thoughtful review today. I really enjoyed reading it!

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  2. I have this waiting at home for me and you have me SO excited to start it!! That you wanted another 300 pages is quite promising!

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  3. This sounds like a winner. I love the premise and the time period. It's going on my TBR - great review.

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  4. I do like the sound of this one and I've yet to see a negative review of it. It's on my wishlist :)

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  5. I do enjoy books set during the Civil War so I'll have to look for this one.

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  6. I love the sound of this. You MUST read Hepinstalls earlier books -- all very good.

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  7. ZIBILEE: Thank you for your sweet compliments. I was going to email you and see if you read this bok or planned to because I thought you'd like it. I look forward to your thoughts on this book.

    I could have written a review 3x as long if I'd talked about the other characters and some of the great passages and scenes in the book but I didn't want to reveal anymore of the story or characters.

    I really liked Kathy Hepinstall's writing and plan to read some of jher other books soon

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  8. AUDRA: I am excited you're going to be reading this book. I hope you like it and cannot wait to read your review!

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  9. DANA: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this book when you read it. This was my first experience reading the author's work. I'm looking forward to her other books!

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  10. SAM: It's a unique and intriguing story that touches on some very important issues. It's wonderful that the majority of the reviews are favorable. As I mentioned in my review, my only problem with this back is that it wasn't longer!

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  11. BERMUDAONION: This book is set during the time of the Civil War and it kind of hovers over everything that's happening in the story, but there's not all that much about the actual war. It's mentioned a few times - my impression, though is that people are almost shell-shocked by the war and unwilling, almost afraid to discuss it.
    One of the characters, Ambrose, has flashbacks to his time in the war but his memories are about a specific person for the most part. I just wanted to let you know this in case you had other expectations. I hope you like this book when you read it!

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  12. DIANE: Thank you! I mentioned in a few comments that I'm lookimg forward to Hepinstall's other books so I'm excited by your enthusiasm for them. I'm excited to have a new (to me!) author's books to explore.

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  13. Wow, it must have been good if you wouldn't have complained about another 300 pages! I just put this on hold at the library. :)

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  14. From your detailed review, I could tell you were very impressed with this novel and the story of the three people involved. It's interesting to see how they react to their unusual and trying circumstances. Nice review.

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  15. I've been Sanibel and its "sister" island Captiva and it is indeed lovely. I could picture spending time in an asylum there! ; )

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  16. The fact that you wanted to know more about the characters shows me that you really cared about them, and that is the sign of a good writer in my opinion.

    Thanks for being on the tour!

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  17. I just bought House of Gentle Men at the used book store...want to read this too...if for no other reason than I am having cover lust!

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  18. This one is right up my alley. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

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