Overall, I enjoyed The Orchid Hour and look forward with anticipation to her next book. For example, the references to the ‘Egyptian look’ in fashion which was in a frenzy of the time owing to Carter’s 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the mention of her ‘signature color’ blue from her Genevieve Planché novels.which also happens to be a predominant color in the pharaonic tombs if you’ve ever traveled to Egypt. While skillfully knitting all of the various elements of this story together toward its conclusion, I loved the little extraneous details Bilyeau slipped in. and then, unexpectedly with great emotional courage, knowing the cost, Zia stands her ground, owns her authenticity, claiming who she really is and what she needs, against the backdrop of familial expectations, making us want to cheer her on!
Instead add, that in besides the twists of the mystery story line, what really pulled me in was how Bilyeau, through Zia’s eyes, introduces us to the undercurrent of emotional challenges for women within a severely patriarchal and familial culture. Admittedly, I found the early unfolding of the story a bit confusing and a little slow going as I tried to understand how everyone was connected, but in all fairness, I have no doubt much of this was because of my unfamiliarity with the Italian culture (especially back then).Īs other reviewers here have recounted The Orchid Hour’s plot and characters extensively, I’ll not repeat that here.
The Orchid Hour is no exception.Īs a lifetime Midwesterner now living in Chicago whose experience with New York is that of a gnat, this story opened up the fascinating world of the city’s Italian immigrant population during Prohibition for me. The thing Bilyeau does so well as a historical fiction author is that she immediately pulls the reader into the time frame of the story through all the sounds, sights and cadence of her character’s voices. I’ve been reading Nancy Bilyeau’s work for years, going back to her original medieval trilogy featuring the young Dominican novice, Joanna Stafford.
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