Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase

by Louise Walters

[Leah]

When I heard about Louise Walter’s debut novel, I thought it sounded really fascinating. Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase is based on real letters Louise found when she worked at a second hand book shop, and I loved the bookish cover. It’s so regal, and royal. So I really couldn’t wait to dive in, and was super pleased to receive a copy to review. I started it, hoping for a fantastic read, and while it wasn’t my normal type of read, being really quite a slow-moving novel, I did in particular find Dorothy’s story fascinating.

Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase is the dual story of Roberta and Dorothy. Roberta works at an independent book store, and when her father brings in some of her Grandmother’s old books, in a battered old suitcase, Roberta discovers a letter, written to her grandmother from her grandfather, sent, rather mysteriously, after his death in the war in 1940. It leaves Roberta with some questions: Like, how was that possible, and she’s desperate to know more, but afraid of what she’ll discover and whether or not she will upset her father and grandmother. We then spool backwards in time and we learn exactly how Roberta’s grandfather Jan, came to send Dorothy (or Dorothea) a letter after his supposed death. Dorothy has struggled to conceive for many years, and is suffering in an awful marriage, so when Jan Pietrykowski comes into her life, it’s a little ray of happiness in bleak times, and they make each other incredibly happy, but an awful turn of events will see Dorothy have to make a devastating decision.

Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase is a fascinating read, but it’s a very slow read. It’s like a sedate walk in the park on a Sunday morning, which isn’t usually my kind of thing at all, because I prefer a bit more action in my books, a bit more pace. I did find myself way more interesting in Dorothy’s story than I was in Roberta’s story. I’m loathe to say Roberta was weird, as that seems a bit mean, but there was just something about Roberta that I struggled to connect with. She seemed to be very detached and her narrative was quite dry. I did enjoy reading about her life in the Old and New Bookshop, just because I adore books, but I was always eager to get back to Dorothy’s story as that was the payoff for me. Dorothy’s story was super sad, it’s always hard to hear about life during the war, but it was also very hopeful and I loved Dorothy’s interactions with Jan, and I loved how Dorothy cared for the girls who came to stay with her, Nina and Aggie.

I really wanted to love Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase, but I did feel it was a bit too slow for my liking. I very much preferred Dorothy’s story to Roberta’s story, but I can see why Roberta’s story was included because it was necessary and the bookshop scenes were fantastic! I thought Roberta’s co-workers were also really loved, I just struggled for some reason to connect with Roberta, which was a shame. But Dorothy’s story was fascinating, and very absorbing, I found myself losing myself in Dorothy’s life and was always super pleased when we came to a new Dorothy chapter. Louise is definitely a very talented writer, and I very much enjoyed the little letters, and anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter, they were quite sweet. (And if I’m correct, they are in fact real letters, too.) The book is definitely one for the thinkers out there, and if you like your books with a slower pace then this is the book for you.