Never Closer is a compelling and reflective dual timeline story (1940 and 2017) connected by a journal found in a vintage handbag.

Never Closer by Margot Shepherd

Genre/Categories/Setting: Historical (and contemporary) Fiction (1940 and 2017), Medicine, England

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My Summary of Never Closer:

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Never Closer. Thanks @TheWrite_Reads @WriteReadsTours for a complimentary e ARC of #NeverCloser upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Quietly compelling…Reflective…Heartfelt…

In 2017, Jo purchases a vintage handbag among other items. Inside the handbag she discovers a journal dated 1940-1942. She also receives a call that her eighteen-year-old daughter, Jessie, is seriously ill. A course of antibiotics is her only hope. Jo spends long hours at the hospital and starts to read the journal written by seventeen-year-old Alice. It turns out that Alice is one of the “penicillin girls” who worked in a lab to grow and harvest penicillin so that the doctors could manufacture the very first antibiotics. Penicillin and antibiotics were difficult to manufacture in 1940, and the author provides detailed descriptions of the process and the urgency. Will the scientific work in 1940 save the life of a girl in 2017?

My Thoughts:

1940 and 2017

The author seamlessly connects the timelines, and I promise that you will find the 1940 timeline fascinating. When a person could die from an infected paper cut, you can imagine how an antibiotic was urgently needed for injuries sustained during WWII. The author’s research seems meticulous and I felt like I was looking over Alice’s shoulder every day that she was in the lab. The 2017 timeline takes a backseat but is also compelling as the journal becomes the vehicle that transports us to the past and is a source of inspiration for Jessie. Her ability to recover from bacterial meningitis is the direct result of the sacrifices made by the individuals in the 1940 lab. We, too, have benefited from this miracle drug. We may need another miracle if bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics.

Admirable Characters

Jo’s dedication and sacrifice as one of the “penicillin girls” is admirable. We owe the entire team of doctors and lab assistants our thanks and gratitude. In the contemporary timeline, Jessie is a fighter. She wins her battle with meningitis but fights depression in the aftermath. Eventually, the journal (which she reads with her mother) inspires her and her mother toward their futures.

Medical Content

If you have studied medicine, you might know how Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin and how a lab in 1940 used that discovery to manufacture the first antibiotics. However, reading memorable historical fiction about these actual events helps all of us appreciate the scientific breakthrough in a personal way as we ponder the many who were saved and not saved.

Themes

Thoughtful themes include troubled relationships (1940, mother/daughter and 2017, husband/wife), finding your voice, pursuing your dreams and career aspirations, medical advancements, sacrifice, family bonds and complicated family dynamics, tragedy, and hope.

Content Consideration: death (of a child), grief, depression, estrangement

Recommending Never Closer

At this point in the year, Never Closer has earned a spot on my best-of-year list. I highly recommend this debut for your TBR. Fans of inspirational women, untold stories, and medicine will appreciate this compelling story. Book clubs might find this information-rich book discussable.

Related: You might also enjoy this story of the scientist who worked on the Polio vaccine: The Woman With the Cure

My Rating:  4.5 Stars (rounded to 5)

Meet the Author of Never Closer, Margot Shepherd

Margot Shepherd is a British author who was born in Yorkshire where she spent her childhood. She now lives in rural Sussex with her husband and Springer Spaniel, Genni. When she’s not writing she works in medical research at the University of Surrey. She writes about family relationships with a particular emphasis on women and science from a female point of view.

Margot has an MA in Creative Writing & Publishing from West Dean College in Sussex for which she received a distinction and the Vice Chancellors prize. Never Closer is her debut novel.

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QOTD:

Are you interested in the history of medicine and women in science?

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