Boardinghouse Stew
By E.E.Smith
ISBN: B007RQOOJ8
By OBS reviewer Una
Synopsis:
In June of 1943, due to an acute labor shortage caused by the evacuation of all Japanese from the area, as well as many domestic workers preferring war work to housework, Mrs. Mumson is forced to hire a young schoolgirl named Eileen as a maid and cook for the summer. Through one crisis after another—some more comic than tragic—the people who live in the house manage to pull together and become a kind of family. In the center of it all is Eileen, narrating their stories which she is able to observe from her unique vantage point behind the swinging kitchen door that never quite closes on its rusty hinges.
Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this story set in the last years of the Second World War. Eileen is an 11 year old who doesn’t want to work in the fields so lies about her age to get a domestic position in Mrs. Mumson’s boarding house. Mrs. Mumson is a character who speaks to her dead husband’s picture and even sets a place for him at the table. Even as an 11 year old Eileen can see all the things that need to be done to get the house in order. Eileen certainly possesses a maturity that not many children would have today. She is the maid and responsible for all the housework as well as the cook. It is really humorous how she develops war time recipes from the radio program she listens to. Some of the meals go over well and others do not get great reviews but all keep within the budget of food stamps and rations. The six characters living in the house basically show society of the time with all its problems, and intolerance of a country reeling from the effects of war.
The Doctor who is dealing with a polio outbreak which has produced fear among the majority of the population and the rampant spread of communicable diseases is the first to realize that they are working Eileen too hard and that it might have consequences. An unplanned pregnancy is suspected and the “father” also a boarding house guest doesn’t want to own up to it, leaving the girl to deal with the consequences of possibly losing her job and also her place at the boarding house. When one of Japanese boys who worked for Mrs. Mumson prior to the evacuation shows up unannounced he is met with hatred and intolerance by one of the guests. The book really shows the turbulence of the times.
Eileen sees and hears all of this however her shining star is Teddy who seems to have a secret life and no one knows for sure whether it is legitimate work that he does. Eileen only sees that he does nice things for her and his best asset is that he always is driving a new car. She knows that Teddy will stick up for her no matter what the problem.
The book follows Eileen during the 4 months she spends at the Boarding House and sees her start to grow up and have her first love. Boarding House Stew is a well written true story and I know I would love to be able to see the play version.
