Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Discuss | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Apr 2023, 400 pages
Paperback:
Mar 2024, 400 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Jordan Lynch
Buy This Book
A heartrending story about a young mother's fight to keep her daughter, and the winds of fortune that tear them apart by the USA Today bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War.
California, 1938—When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser's daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert's spacious house with a secret, however—Rosie sees colors when she hears sound. She promised her mother she'd never reveal her little-understood ability to anyone, but the weight of her isolation and grief prove too much for her. Driven by her loneliness she not only breaks the vow to her mother, but in a desperate moment lets down her guard and ends up pregnant. Banished by the Calverts, Rosanne believes she is bound for a home for unwed mothers. But she soon finds out she is not going to a home of any kind, but to a place that seeks to forcibly take her baby – and the chance for any future babies – from her.
Austria, 1947—After witnessing firsthand Adolf Hitler's brutal pursuit of hereditary purity—especially with regard to "different children"—Helen Calvert, Truman's sister, is ready to return to America for good. But when she arrives at her brother's peaceful vineyard after decades working abroad, she is shocked to learn what really happened nine years earlier to the vinedresser's daughter, a girl whom Helen had long ago befriended. In her determination to find Rosanne, Helen discovers a shocking American eugenics program—and learns that that while the war had been won in Europe, there are still terrifying battles to be fought at home.
1
Sonoma County, California
February 1939
The chardonnay vines outside my open window are silent, but I still see in my mind the bursts of teal and lavender their summer rustlings always called to my mind. That sound had been my favorite, those colors the prettiest. The leafless stocks with their arms outstretched on cordon after cordon look like lines of dancers waiting for the music to start—for spring to set their performance in motion. Looking at them, I feel a deep sadness. It might be a long time before I see again these vines that had for so long been under my father's care, or hear their leaves whisper, spilling the colors in my mind that belong to them alone.
Perhaps I will never see this vineyard again.
The Calverts won't welcome a future visit from me. Celine Calvert has already made it clear that after today she is done with me. Done.
For a moment the words if only flutter in my head, but I lean forward and pull the window shut. What is to be gained by wishing I ...
Here are some of the comments posted about Only the Beautiful.
You can see the full discussion here.
Could Johannes have done more to save his daughter? What would you have done?
This portion of the story was absolutely heart wrenching. It’s difficult to say what a person would do in Johannes’ place. What he did was perhaps the only choice he had given the circumstances. - BeeBee
Did you feel closer to Rosie or Helen? What did you think about how the book was structured?
I liked both characters and felt connected to them both. - estherl
Do you believe literature, even fiction, can help shape the world? Did you learn anything new from Only the Beautiful?
Sorry, I didn't mean to post this comment twice. - lynne z
Do you see eugenic ideology as it played out in Only the Beautiful in our world today? In what ways?
Of course. We have a former president and candidate for president who thinks immigrants are "poisoning the blood of America." Where will that lead if we say nothing and do nothing. Fifty percent of Americans are willing to vote for him ... - Muse48
Do you think Helen did enough during the war to protect the innocent? Do you think she could have been more helpful if she had remained in Austria or returned to America?
Helen was indispensable in her role as a nanny for several families as well as offering help in saving children in Switzerland. She can’t be faulted for not being with her family in America since she felt she was doing what was best for herself... - LizB
Meissner's extensive research into this time period and movement is clear in her detailed descriptions of mental institutions and the resistance Helen meets as she advocates for the differently abled. Brutal and heartbreaking, yet ultimately joyful, Only the Beautiful not only shines a light on a dark period in American history but shows the importance of speaking out for what's right...continued
Full Review
(692 words)
(Reviewed by Jordan Lynch).
In Only the Beautiful, the historical novel by Susan Meissner, readers are introduced to Rosanne "Rosie" Maras, a teenage girl who has lost her family and is placed under the care of her parents' former employers. To most, Rosie seems like a normal girl, but she's hiding a secret: when she hears sounds, she sees colors. When her secret is revealed—amidst other shocking discoveries—Rosie is sent to a state home where doctors try to "cure" her of what they deem a disability.
Today, Rosie's ability is known as synesthesia, defined as "a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway…leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway." In other words, when...
If you liked Only the Beautiful, try these:
by Elana K. Arnold
Published 2024
From Michael L. Printz honoree & National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold comes the harrowing story of a young girl's struggle to survive the Holocaust in Romania.
by Laura Spence-Ash
Published 2024
A sweeping, tenderhearted love story, Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash tells the story of two families living through World War II on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the shy, irresistible young woman who will call them both her own.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
