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Miss Pettibone and Miss McGraw
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 19, 2010
Absolutely lovely story! Starts "in the middle" where Anna and Gilly are ghosts who have remained in their house after death and are horrified when a loud and arrogant man wants to move in with his wife... they do their best to scare the pair away ;) Then we go back to the beginning of the story, where they met, as singers in an all-girl band during WWII. The band is sent to the Philippines to boost morale and entertain the troops there, but eventually Anna and Gilly are found out, sacked, and sent home in disgrace. At the end of the story, another couple is wanting to move into their house... this time, a pair of young ladies. So you have Anna and Gilly watching them, amazed at how much times have changed.
I really loved this book, but I kind of wish it had only had the 1940s setting, because that was just so beautifully done. And it was about 75% of the book in any case - the "bookends" at the start and finish, in present day (well, the 1990s or so) were fun enough but not the highlight of the story by any stretch. Although it was cute when Anna and Gilly borrowed the young couple's bodies, and went out dancing for the night... at last able to dance together in public :)
It was so cruel and unfair the way the girls were treated in the 1940s... everyone just ganged up on them! And they were sacked based on rumours alone, and then flown home quick-smart because the poor trooups fighting the war don't need to be surrounded by such "filth". lol, did anyone ask the red-blooded males what they thought of two hot dames making out on the beach? ;)
The setting was just divine. You know me and WWII stories :)
I really loved this book, but I kind of wish it had only had the 1940s setting, because that was just so beautifully done. And it was about 75% of the book in any case - the "bookends" at the start and finish, in present day (well, the 1990s or so) were fun enough but not the highlight of the story by any stretch. Although it was cute when Anna and Gilly borrowed the young couple's bodies, and went out dancing for the night... at last able to dance together in public :)
It was so cruel and unfair the way the girls were treated in the 1940s... everyone just ganged up on them! And they were sacked based on rumours alone, and then flown home quick-smart because the poor trooups fighting the war don't need to be surrounded by such "filth". lol, did anyone ask the red-blooded males what they thought of two hot dames making out on the beach? ;)
The setting was just divine. You know me and WWII stories :)
May 16, 2025
At first, Miss Pettibone and Miss McGraw seemed like a weird and wonderful novel about a couple of lesbian ghosts inhabiting cats, plants and the bodies of two other lesbians. Unfortunately, both the weird and the wonderful aspects of this book seemed to disappear when we switched time periods from the 90s, when Gilly and Anna are ghosts, to the 40s, when they are both very much alive.
The author somehow managed to give a lot of information about Gilly and Anna's lives - about 75% of the book was taken up with their love story - whilst not really telling us anything relevant. We know nothing about Gilly's background, and only the bare minimum about Anna's. This would have been fine had the characterisation been stronger, but they both seemed like the most basic stock characters. I didn't understand their actions most of the time, because there was hardly any context or build-up. Despite the fact that time had (presumably) passed between the time when they met and the time when Gilly recognised her feelings for Anna, it all seemed a bit insta-lovey because of the author's tell-don't-show technique. We don't see many interactions between Gilly and Anna before they got together, and we certainly don't see any that go beyond surface-level stock phrases. By the end of the section set in the 1940s, I was a bit confused as to exactly why they loved each other, since there was no real exploration of either of their thoughts or feelings.
Both characters were also either shockingly naive or terrifyingly apathetic. When they suspected that one of the other singers in their band had seen them kissing, there was no urgency in their reaction to the situation whatsoever. Considering the context - they were USO members based on an army camp in Manila, and suspicion had already been raised that Gilly was a lesbian - you would think that the possibility of being found out would inspire something more than just: 'Oh no I think she was watching us', 'No I'm sure it's fine'. It would've been fine if this was one of those revisionist queer novels where nobody gets caught and everybody is accepted (because I like to read those kinds of books as much as the next lesbian), but it wasn't. Homophobia and its consequences were very much present in this book, and the characters' ignorance of these factors was frustrating.
It does redeem itself a little at the end, with the introduction of the couple who move into the house that Gilly and Anna died in. It was sweet to see the two women's happiness at the realisation that, in the modern day (1990s), it's safe for lesbians to come out. I would have liked the book much more if more of it had focused on the couple in the 1990s rather than on Gilly and Anna's youth, but as it was, the transition from the 40s to the 90s felt a bit rushed.
Overall, a good way to spend a couple of hours, but only if there are no other books available.
The author somehow managed to give a lot of information about Gilly and Anna's lives - about 75% of the book was taken up with their love story - whilst not really telling us anything relevant. We know nothing about Gilly's background, and only the bare minimum about Anna's. This would have been fine had the characterisation been stronger, but they both seemed like the most basic stock characters. I didn't understand their actions most of the time, because there was hardly any context or build-up. Despite the fact that time had (presumably) passed between the time when they met and the time when Gilly recognised her feelings for Anna, it all seemed a bit insta-lovey because of the author's tell-don't-show technique. We don't see many interactions between Gilly and Anna before they got together, and we certainly don't see any that go beyond surface-level stock phrases. By the end of the section set in the 1940s, I was a bit confused as to exactly why they loved each other, since there was no real exploration of either of their thoughts or feelings.
Both characters were also either shockingly naive or terrifyingly apathetic. When they suspected that one of the other singers in their band had seen them kissing, there was no urgency in their reaction to the situation whatsoever. Considering the context - they were USO members based on an army camp in Manila, and suspicion had already been raised that Gilly was a lesbian - you would think that the possibility of being found out would inspire something more than just: 'Oh no I think she was watching us', 'No I'm sure it's fine'. It would've been fine if this was one of those revisionist queer novels where nobody gets caught and everybody is accepted (because I like to read those kinds of books as much as the next lesbian), but it wasn't. Homophobia and its consequences were very much present in this book, and the characters' ignorance of these factors was frustrating.
It does redeem itself a little at the end, with the introduction of the couple who move into the house that Gilly and Anna died in. It was sweet to see the two women's happiness at the realisation that, in the modern day (1990s), it's safe for lesbians to come out. I would have liked the book much more if more of it had focused on the couple in the 1990s rather than on Gilly and Anna's youth, but as it was, the transition from the 40s to the 90s felt a bit rushed.
Overall, a good way to spend a couple of hours, but only if there are no other books available.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews