Not Our Kind by Kitty Zeldis

With echoes of The Rules of Civility and The Boston Girl, a compelling and thought-provoking novel set in postwar New York City, about two women—one Jewish, one a WASP—and the wholly unexpected consequences of their meeting

One rainy morning in June, two years after the end of World War II, a minor traffic accident brings together Eleanor Moskowitz and Patricia Bellamy. Their encounter seems fated: Eleanor, a teacher and recent Vassar graduate, needs a job. Patricia’s difficult thirteen-year-old daughter Margaux, recovering from polio, needs a private tutor.

Though she feels out of place in the Bellamys’ rarefied and elegant Park Avenue milieu, Eleanor forms an instant bond with Margaux. Soon the idealistic young woman is filling the bright young girl’s mind with Shakespeare and Latin. Though her mother, a hat maker with a little shop on Second Avenue, disapproves, Eleanor takes pride in her work, even if she must use the name “Moss” to enter the Bellamys’ restricted doorman building each morning, and feels that Patricia’s husband, Wynn, may have a problem with her being Jewish.

Invited to keep Margaux company at the Bellamys’ country home in a small town in Connecticut, Eleanor meets Patricia’s unreliable, bohemian brother, Tom, recently returned from Europe. The spark between Eleanor and Tom is instant and intense. Flushed with new romance and increasingly attached to her young pupil, Eleanor begins to feel more comfortable with Patricia and much of the world she inhabits. As the summer wears on, the two women’s friendship grows—until one hot summer evening, a line is crossed, and both Eleanor and Patricia will have to make important decisions—choices that will reverberate through their lives.

My Thoughts 

Let me begin with how gorgeous this cover is?  I think it's one of my top covers of 2018 to date.

Two very different worlds blend together and teach each other many lessons both good and not so good.

Eleanor and Patricia get into a motor vehicle accident and then they realize that they can help each other.  Eleanor is a teacher and Patricia is looking for a teacher for her teenage daughter recovering from the dreaded disease of polio that can do a number on your body.

Eleanor teaches Patricia's daughter  many lessons from school as well as  about her Jewish faith. 

It's not an easy road though.  Patricia must cover up Eleanor's background from her husband due to his dislike of that faith.

There are times when this book can be a tad racy but all in all it's a very well written poignant story.

Drink Selection 

I'm going to pair this read with a drink of the times, the Bee's Knees!  Delish!

Rating 

3.5 wine glasses  

 

Link to Purchase

 Amazon