#BookReview (5 Stars) – The Maid’s Room, by Fiona Mitchell @FionaMoMitchell @HodderBooks

Blurb:

Set in the blistering heat of Singapore, The Maid’s Room follows the lives of two Filipina maids – sisters Dolly and Tala who are working hard to send money back home, and British ex-pat Jules who has left her job as a midwife to move to Singapore with husband David.

Told with humour, heart-breaking detail about daily life as a maid, and with an exhilarating spirit that is ultimately uplifting, this book will resonate with anyone who has struggled to have their voice heard.

Perfect for fans of The Help and The Invention of Wings.

My Review:

The Maid’s Room is a beautifully written emotional and thought provoking story.

This novel is about modern day maids working in Singapore, cleaning houses and looking after the children of those much wealthier than themselves, while they leave their own children behind in other countries, and send what little money they earn back to their families, so their children who they are missing grow up, can get a better education than they did themselves. Truly heart breaking, yet compelling!

This was rather a shocking eye-opener for me. I couldn’t ever imagine having a maid, so I must admit, it’s not really something I’ve particularly thought about in great detail, and I certainly didn’t consider how modern day maids may be subjected to such exploitation. Treated like the lowest of the low, not given any respect or basic human rights. This book and the characters within it touched me in a way I’ll never forget. I even had tears in my eyes near the end.

The Maid’s Room covers the lives of both the maids and the families that employ them. Both sides of the story are emotional in their own way, but it’s not all doom and gloom. There is humour and happiness within these pages, people looking out for each other, and above all, hope of a better future.

I loved how the subject of bloggers really gave this book a modern feel. If it wasn’t for the blogging, you could be forgiven for assuming this was a historical novel. However, the use of modern technology serves as a stark reminder that this is happening now, and not many years ago before things supposedly improved.

I was seduced by this book’s beautiful cover, and I’m so pleased I was, as reading this book was a wonderfully fascinating and emotional experience for me. I absolutely loved this and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys emotional and thought provoking stories.