If you’re looking to unwind and just take a load off, I suggest you curl up in your favourite armchair with The Bellbird River Country Choir by Sophie Green, an easy-going, relaxing read.
During a hectic and strenuous week on the farm, I found that The Bellbird River Country Choir offered a welcome retreat with heart-warming stories of fresh beginnings, unexpected friendships and the sustaining power of love in a quaint New South Wales community. Set in the little town of Bellbird River in 1998, the novel centres around the tales of four women who meet through their shared love of music when they all decide to join the town’s choir as a form of escape.
Alex is a teacher and single mum, newly arrived after leaving behind the bustle of big city life in search of a change of pace and the chance to reconnect with her young daughter. Meanwhile, the town’s well-known matriarch, Victoria, and her globe-trotting, opera-singing cousin Gabrielle, both find themselves at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives. Then there is Janine, an anti-social local baker and artist, and lastly, Debbie – also a newcomer to the district – who takes on a housekeeping job on a nearby farm. Each of the four women faces their own set of challenges as they try to deal with their respective pasts.
At the heart of the story is the Bellbird River Country Choir, where the weekly choir practice creates camaraderie and harmony, providing each of the women the confidence and courage to reach out and build connections through which they not only get to know each other but, more importantly, get to know themselves.
An Australian author of multiple popular novels, Green is clearly well acquainted with the dusty streets, lone pubs, and iron-lace verandas that typify the one-horse pit stops along the New South Wales country roads. Her descriptions of small-town living and the quirky characters that inhabit these villages are lively and real, setting the perfect backdrop for this novel and its various topical themes.
An engaging and inspiring read, The Bellbird River Country Choir is best enjoyed as an easy, uncomplicated reprieve after a long day.
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