Voting Day by Clare O’Dea

There was something very soothing about this novella despite the turbulent undercurrent. It was quite startling to me to see how late Switzerland was in giving its women the vote (given that the East had already had women heads of the country by then!). It is not exactly only about the vote, nor is it about Swiss citizens as a whole. This book is (I felt) predominantly about mothers. There are two kinds of mothers in the story, one who is an established woman of the house and respected for her role and the other a woman who is left helpless due to several circumstances stacking up on over the other. Then there is the middle ground, a woman who is not exactly a mother but has poured her need to care into carving a whole new path for herself. A daughter is the fourth woman in the story and no less important. She is the future her mother envisions, the only female in the family. She is striving to build her life, but life is not as easy as it could have been, but the relationship between the mother and daughter duo provided a very interesting picture of the everyday Swiss life of the time.
For such a short volume, the narrative takes many paths and fulfils the emotional quotient required to convey the depth of each section. I liked the writing and the way the story unfolded. I did not expect to encounter the kind of people I did. Once I met them, I knew how their story arc would go, but it was still a satisfying read.
The author’s note at the end added a little something more to the reading experience. I will leave my review with the statement that it is a good book for someone looking for something different to read.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.