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Reviewed by Inga Buccella for Readers' Favorite
Nancy Hayes Kilgore’s Pennsylvania Love Song blends historical fiction with family history by including characters drawn from her own family tree. It is (mostly) a true story of a mother and daughter separated by death. Dual timelines alternate between Florence, a young woman living in the early 1900s outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her daughter Flossie, who lives in the same house forty years later. The Suffragette movement, Prohibition, two World Wars, and Pearl Harbor are historical backdrops for the Rodkey and Craighead family drama. From the outset, Flossie, whose mother died in childbirth, longs to learn about the young Florence. A sepia-toned photo hanging in the stairwell of the family home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only clue. With scant information, Flossie imagines a regal, dignified woman with musical talent whom she never knew. As the story unfolds, several similarities between the mother and daughter come to light.
Pennsylvania Love Song by Nancy Hayes Kilgore is skillfully written. I was impressed by how seamlessly she crafted this entertaining story of family, relationships, and heartache. Since music is one of the central themes, Kilgore shows sheer genius by titling each chapter after a song from that era. Like a love song, this gracefully written story has a mix of melody and harmony. Unraveling the mystery, I was swept up into the lives of both Florence and Flossie as well as those of the well-developed supporting characters. Due to the contrast between her physical frailty and her strong spirit, Florence Rodkey is my favorite character. The ability to balance world events with personal history made the plots believable and captivated me. Pennsylvania Love Song is a family story. But it is also a love letter to two ordinary women who lived through extraordinary times. If you pick this book up, you will not put it down easily.
