“Extraordinary good fortune will come to pass for the owner of each watch. Success beyond their wildest dreams will be theirs for the taking.... this watch longs for the brightest stars.... this watch seeks the man with the greatest hope.... if the true owner of either watch should lose it, or abandon it, bad luck will follow.”
This is the story of how two watches saved lives throughout history. A combination of “Forest Gump” meets “Stranger Than Fiction” as Mr Howard T James, a great artisan watchmaker for Pierre Cartier, creates two watches depicting images and etched sayings from the Boy Scouts of America as a gift to his son for making Eagle Scout – one for his son, and one to keep for himself. But before he gives the gift, his wife does one incredible thing – she goes to her next door neighbour's apartment, Madam Genova, a woman who tells fortunes, and implores her to cast a spell of good luck on the watches to keep her son and husband safe. Madam Genova, who doesn’t usually do such things, acquiesces and the deed is done.
However, his son, Richard, keeps the brass watch given him, the other owned by Mr James goes on a mind-blowing journey as Mr James allows Richard to give the silver watch to the one and only Charles Lindbergh.
History unfolds as the reader follows this story with the watch, as it passes from one owner to the next, first bestowing great fortune, with bad luck following after each owner loses, abandons, or gives away the charmed timepiece.
The silver watch goes from Charles Lindbergh to John F. Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe to Nancy Davis Reagan to Ronald Reagan to Barbara Bush to George H. Bush to Nelson Mandela to … yes, wait for it.... to Barack Obama.
While the brass one goes from Richard, the watchmaker’s son to Jim Lovell when Richard unexpectedly loses it at a hotel while on vacation in New Hampshire. Yes, Jim Lovell, one of the astronauts on Gemini 7, and later, Apollo 13... an almost disastrous flight that depended on the astronaut’s watch to bring them home.
And all the while, behind the scenes, you have the story of Madam Genova, herself, and her friend, Monique, who go from backwoods Louisiana girls to the sprawling metropolis of New York City, where they soar from poverty to amassing an incredible wealth by telling fortunes to some of the upper crust of society, and the notorious, and even help capture some horrible criminals along the way. By the time the two women discover the whereabouts of the mysterious watches, they are well into their senior years, and are living a life of incredible luxury – and, I might add, the addition of the storyline showing how many of the Hollywood stars and politicians throughout history have relied on fortune tellers to guide their careers was threaded in a very enjoyable and thought-provoking way. Items in the news, and history-making events, all attributed to these two little pocket watches – and their connection to the Boy Scouts of America... well, lent to a cleverly crafted storyline.
With J. G. Schwartz’s creative imagination we are taken on a trip where each of the above mentioned historical character’s lives connect in some way or another. This novel is proof that historical fiction can be a fun romp through time, a quirky, and sometimes magical romp, but a story that gives the reader a snapshot of history. While the characters of Genova and Monique are not fully fleshed out, at least you know their part in the storyline; however, even with the brief mention of their backstory in Louisiana, I felt a little disappointed in not getting the full sense of these two women. Again, a snapshot in history is all the fleshing out for any of the characters in the book, which left them all one-dimensional. But, that being said, I’m not sure that even matters with this sort of fun book... maybe... maybe not. There is definitely an audience for this type of quirky, no-nonsense, off-the-cuff kind of historical novel, and it is not the meaty tale usually attributed to sprawling historicals. Again, some may prefer this type of story-telling... after all, “Stranger Than Fiction” and “Forest Gump” are two of my top five go-to movies for fun, somewhat historical-related or writing-related movies to watch. This, too, might make a fun movie. (Attention: Ron Howard)
My favourite line in the book and the one I highlighted right off the bat? Madam Genova’s son and his friend are sent off to a Boy Scout’s overnight camp, and their moms pack them with an enormous amount of toilet paper in their backpacks... oh, yes, and the now infamous and spell-bound pocket watch. After looking in the backpack and discovering all the toilet paper, one of the boys says, “I guess she figured there’d be a lot of pooping.” Yes, I highlighted that, and it made me laugh for quite a while into the story. Thank you, Ms Schwartz, for the chuckle and the accurate depiction of little boy’s minds.
If you want a fun historical with a quirky mood, this is it. For my part, I give “The Curious Spell of Madam Genova” four stars from The Historical Fiction Company.
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