While the real-life event around which this short narrative was shaped should definitely get more attention, I found the writing style to be plodding, pedestrian, and surprisingly off-kilter. McLain drops some odd references and has her main character, the actual janitor Fritz Hirter from the actual tragedy, laid out in a startlingly emotionally distant play-by-play of what may have happened that day.

First I was a little put off by a sudden sexual reference when his thoughts turning to his wife that morning — which in and of itself was fine, but the nipple being called out from his memory as (and I'm paraphrasing) hard like a currant was too much knowing the content of what was to come.

Then as the story progresses, and McLain is taking the reader and Fritz through various moments that ultimately leads to 175 deaths, Fritz's reactions felt completely out of balance with the horrors he was witnessing.

Lastly, present tense killed this for me.

I think the style and other choices in the writing bordered on being such a disservice to the Lake View School fire that it makes me question whether or not I should pick up a McLain book in the future, something I've yet to do.

Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Malcolm Hillgartner|1165191|Malcolm Hillgartner|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: Hillgartner did not help the issues I had — his voice sounded old school audiobook narration and matched the old school feel of this historical fiction offering.

What a heartbreaking short story! I appreciate that the author provided us with a fictional account of a real life tragedy. I wish it was slightly longer, the ending felt rushed.

The story, based on true events, is both heart-wrenching and compelling—not only for the tragic loss of so many children's lives but also for the way it highlights the long history of immigrant marginalization in so many aspects of life.

I got about halfway through this before giving up on it. I did not like the writing style. I felt like I was reading a play by play account of what Fritz did on this sad day in history rather than something a little more interesting.

Bravery and Heartbreak

A story told of a man who in the face of his own tragedy, will go to great lengths to save the lives of others. A father's love runs deep in this story of loss so profound that it shows the close ties of a family that is left behind to pick up the pieces.

WOW! What a descriptive book! The title is misleading (in a good way) until you are half way through the book.

Love these little, mini short stories. When well-written, as this one is, they pack a punch.

This was a free book from Amazon first reads.

Go get it and the other 6 in the A Point in Time series.

Ash Wednesday by Paula McClain (5 stars)-Phenomenal. Also WTF! I thought the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a moral hazard and terrible and finding out this real world event of a school catching on fire in Ohio (look up Collinwood, Ohio) in the 1900s and how way too many people in the know realized this was something that should have been addressed. I honestly cried at the end of this story. McClain has us following the janitor at the time who was blamed for this by the residents (though the man also lost 3 of his own children). I got nothing.

Don’t read this story in public, unless you like people watching you have a total meltdown. This story highlights in glaringly honest detail how immigrants are treated, and the consequences of inaction. Excellent Audible narration.