THE PLOT: ‘73 Dove Street’ by Julie Owen Moylan is a historical novel about three women in post-war Britain whose lives intersect as they tackle troublesome partners. It’s 1958 and Edie Budd arrives at a shabby London boarding house with an envelope full of cash and a terrible secret. There she meets Tommie, a woman who frequents Soho clubs to dote on a man who barely gives her the time of day. Plus there’s Phyllis, the landlady of the boarding house who has set fire to her husband’s belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal. As Edie reminisces on how she met her husband Frank in a dual timeline, each woman must contend with disappointing romantic relationships.

RATING:  I don’t want to be rude but I found this book terribly average. The plot was predictable and I kept waiting for an inciting incident or climax that never came. There was so much interior monologue rather than scenes with action and dialogue so it felt like the core story barely moved beyond the blurb. I’m an Aristotelian “character is realised in action” kind of girl, and this also meant I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Although I admired some emotional scenes and the author’s brave choices in regards to one feminist storyline, I just don’t think the plot or characters were strong enough to carry a whole novel. Therefore, this book is just ‘fine’ and I’m giving it three stars.

GOOD BITS: I was most invested in the ‘past’ storyline of Edie and Frank’s relationship as it felt like the most scene/action-based part of the novel. Although it felt extremely trope-y, I enjoyed seeing how their marriage developed. I also found Tommie and Phyllis’s backstory very emotional but I think this focus on backstory is symptomatic of my issues with the novel as a whole. Not much actually happens in the ‘present’ 1958 storyline (apart from thinking and worrying about the past). Additionally, I think the author’s choices around the Spangleland storyline were very brave and I actually winced at *that* scene (IYKYK).

NOT SO GOOD BITS: The plot felt very simple and the stories didn’t intersect in a satisfying way. For example, I kept expecting Tommie’s fella to be connected to the other male characters and I don’t think Phyllis had a conversation with Edie after the first 30 pages so their storylines were totally separate. Overall, I just didn’t get that spiderweb effect of all the POVs coming together to form a cohesive story. Additionally, there was too much interior monologue and not enough active scenes for my liking. A large portion of the book is each woman alone, thinking about their respective men, rather than action or dialogue or plot escalations.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘Shrines of Gaiety’ by Kate Atkinson and ‘The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp’ by Eva Rice. I originally thought this could be a comp for my own multi-POV post-war novel but, sadly, I found this book a bit too simple and forgettable.