A Country Road, A Tree by Jo Baker

review by Maryom

In September 1939, Samuel Beckett is an unknown writer, visiting his mother in Dublin and faced with a choice - to return to Paris and his partner Suzanne, or sit the coming war out in safety at home in Ireland. The atmosphere at home is too stifling and restrictive, and staying there feels too much like taking the coward's way out, so he heads back to France. Here, too, there are choices to be made. As the citizen of a neutral country, Beckett could theoretically keep himself to himself, not make a fuss, and wait for the war to be over, but his moral and political leanings won't allow him to sit idly by...

One thing to get straight right from the start is that this isn't an all-action story of daring deeds and shoot-outs between the Resistance and occupying German forces. It's more a story of choices - to keep quiet but safe, or follow one's conscience, probably into danger - and of the day-to-day terror that almost anyone in occupied France must have lived with, especially Resistance members and sympathisers - the knock on the door in the middle of the night, the telegram which says a friend has been arrested, the warning to flee. At the same time, Beckett is growing as a writer, moving out from the shadow of his mentor, James Joyce, so, although the characters are adults, in some ways it can almost be seen as a coming-of-age novel.

As with Jo Baker's Longbourn, there's a feeling that the story is of people standing on the side-lines; in Longbourn's case, she told the story of the servants of Austen's Pride and Prejudice households; this time it's of private individuals, involved against their will in a war, and not even part of the massive armies sweeping across Europe, Africa and Asia at the time; others may be caught up in that whirlwind, the ones we're concerned with are on the periphery.

I love Baker's writing style, even though I find it difficult to describe. She takes small, intimate moments, creates a mood in which the reader can almost experience the same sights, smells, and emotions as the characters, then links these moments to advance the story. From a boy hiding in a tree to evade his mother, to a train packed beyond 'full' with people fleeing Paris, to trying to hide a case of explosives under a display of geraniums, the reader is there in the moment.


The publisher's blurb merely talks of 'a young writer', and it was only a couple of chapters in, with mention of translating 'Murphy', that I realised this writer was Samuel Beckett; someone I have mixed feelings about. I was introduced to his writing at A level via Malone Dies - and I'm not sure it was something I was ready for; it seemed dull, rambling, disjointed, and not at all what I expected from a novel. I always had him rather marked down as an odd, dull guy, obsessed with finding the exact word to express his meaning, dwelling on thoughts and ideas rather than the sweeping plot-driven work of Hardy or Lawrence (also on the A level syllabus). So, to be honest, I'm surprised to find him such an interesting guy after all. I loved Longbourn, and I loved this. Now I wonder if I re-read Samuel Beckett would I love his work too? It's certainly made me reassess my thoughts about him as a man if not a writer.

Maryom's review - 5 stars

Publisher - Doubleday

Genre - adult fiction, literary fiction, fictionalised biography, WW2

The Lone Warrior by Paul Fraser Collard

review by Maryom

Jack Lark has earned his army discharge papers and is now free to live his life as he chooses - but India still has adventures and danger left in store for him. While he's waiting for a boat back to England, Jack gets involved with the rescue of a young woman, Aamira, from an exclusive gaming club, and escorting her half way across India to her home in Delhi lands him smack in the middle of trouble, as their arrival coincides with the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny. Despite his army discharge, despite the danger, Jack can't help but join in the fight to restore British rule....
This fourth Jack Lark story finds our hero still in India just as the Mutiny of 1857 breaks erupts. As a fighting man, one who's extremely good at his 'job', Jack isn't going to run away and hide, but feels he must join in with the defence of the British colony. Increasingly though, he finds it difficult to take the attitudes of many Army officers - towards the men under their command, their defeated enemies and the actual fighting itself. Although as capable a "killing machine" as ever, Jack's beginning to be sickened by the aftermath of battle, the personal tragedies he sees and ultimately by what he himself does. As always, Collard writes in a style that captures that allows the reader to feel there in the action, to share the tedium of laying siege for months under the burning Indian sun, the fear and daring of battle, the automated response that shuts down Jack's emotions but, increasingly, his disgust at his actions and those of the officers around him. By the end of this adventure he's definitely a sadder, wiser man, more mature in his outlook on life and, in my opinion, a better man for it. 

There's more than a touch of James Bond about Jack as this story opens - with him stalking into a gaming club, looking every inch the sort of man who belongs there, but having a very different purpose in mind to the other customers. Even his exit, fighting his way past guards and servants with a beautiful young woman to protect, has that same dangerous, glamorous vibe to it ...and I wonder if this is the way Jack's story will now unfold....

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - adult historical adventure

The Pale House by Luke McCallin

review by Maryom

In March 1945 Captain Gregor Reinhardt finds himself back in Sarajevo after a two year gap. He's got a new 'job', having been moved to the Feldjaegerkorps elite branch of military police, but still has his old conflict between duty to Germany and determination to do right. He's no happier with the attitudes of high-up Nazis running the country and the war, but is increasingly frustrated that there doesn't seem to be anything he can do about it.
Sarajevo is in complete turmoil. Russian and Partisan troops are advancing on the city, refugees fleeing out of the path of the fighting, the German forces are moving out, and their local supporters the Ustase feel free to do whatever they wish. In this chaos, who's going to notice a few extra dead bodies? Well, Reinhardt does. First, in the hills surrounding Sarajevo, he comes upon evidence of a massacre of civilians - but in the same location are other bodies that he believes don't quite 'belong' there. Then five mutilated bodies turn up within the city, again in curious circumstances that alert Reinhardt's policeman's instincts. Even in the midst of so many other atrocities, Reinhardt isn't going to let these past without investigating, and finds himself on the trail of a lucrative scam being run by some of the German troops.
I read the first of this series, The Man From Berlin, back in August, just as The Pale House, book two, came out and, apart from forgetfulness, I can't think why I haven't read this sooner. Reinhardt is a man trying to keep his ideals in a world where precious few of them are left; one of those 'good' men who find themselves caught up in something they don't approve of but powerless against the might of authority. Therefore, the massacre of civilians by the army is something he can do nothing about, but whenever it is possible  he's determined to see justice. Reinhardt's investigations lead through the streets and alleyways of this old city, from theatrical evenings in the company of a beautiful woman to the grim cellars of the Ustase's headquarters, The Pale House, where people disappear without trace.
Although his past is explained, mainly through flashbacks, I feel it probably IS necessary to read The Man From Berlin first to understand both Reinhardt, with his mix of honour and patriotism that pull him in opposing directions, and Sarajevo and its people.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - No Exit Press
Genre - Adult historical crime whodunnit World War 2

The Man from Berlin by Luke McCallin

review by Maryom

Sarajevo, 1943; the murder of young journalist/filmmaker Marija Vukic would probably have been left to the local police if it weren't for the presence of another dead body at the scene - that of a German officer. As it is, Captain Gregor Reinhardt, an ex-policeman now working for Abwehr, German military intelligence, finds himself involved in, and intrigued by, the case. The Yugoslavian investigation seems to be aimed at getting a quick result, not necessarily accurate, and preferably one that will point the finger at the anti-German Partisan movement, but Reinhardt is not at all convinced and persists in digging deeper, in the process annoying both local police and German officials.

The second book in this series is out on Thursday but I thought I'd be better to start at the beginning, and I'm glad I did as I think more of Reinhardt's background will have been explored here. A hero of the first world war, Reinhardt's life since then has not been so happy, his wife has died, he's estranged from his Nazi-indoctrinated son, and he feels his conduct in this second war has been not entirely 'becoming'; he's lost his faith in the people running the country and in the war itself. In this way, Reinhardt is set up as that fairly familiar honest detective, happy to antagonise his superiors, not prepared to go along with orders that don't make sense to him, and ready to take extra risks if necessary to do 'right'. But instead of being part of a modern metropolitan police force, Reinhardt is part of army intelligence in German-occupied Yugoslavia - a country that's a melting pot for many different races and religions, in which it's difficult to keep track of which groups are on the same side. Against this backdrop, almost any murder is bound to have political and military implications, and Reinhardt is happy to take his time, ask his awkward questions and slowly, surely, get to the bottom of the things.
I really enjoyed this mix of whodunnit and historical novel. The time and place are vividly brought to life; the characters, despite a certain superficial similarity with so many from old war movies, well defined and credible; and the plot twists and turns in more ways than you might expect.  I'm certainly looking forward to Reinhardt's further adventures in The Pale House!


Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - No Exit Press
Genre - Adult historical crime whodunnit World War 2

Early One Morning by Virginia Baily

review by Maryom

In October 1943, with German oppression mounting, Chiara Ravello has decided that Rome is no longer a safe place to be; people are being randomly stopped on the street, and either hauled away for interrogation or shot there on the spot. Chiara intends leaving, taking her sister and heading to their grandmother's house in the hills, but before she can, she is witness to yet another atrocity - the rounding up of Jews for transportation to who knows where. Catching the eye of a mother being hustled aboard a truck with her husband and family, Chiara steps forward and claims one of the children as her nephew. This spontaneous action is to change her life. Looking after someone else's child isn't easy but it's made especially hard as the boy, Daniele, doesn't seem glad to have been rescued and has every inclination to run away at the first opportunity. Gradually though a bond forms between Chiara and Daniele, but the lives of both are shadowed by the war and its aftermath.
 Thirty years or so later, Chiara is living in Rome, single but seemingly happy. At heart, though, she's troubled - Daniele, always a source of worry, after causing immense grief and heart-ache, has disappeared. Chiara has no idea where or how he's been living for the past ten years - or even if he's still alive. Then, out of the blue, she's contacted by a teenager, Maria, claiming to be Daniele's daughter, and Chiara finds herself once again taking a troubled youngster under her wing.


Events unfold from three points of view, skilfully woven together - Chiara's during the war, and both Chiara's and Maria's perspectives in the 1970s; Daniele is seen only through their eyes but his behaviour and actions shape their world.
Chiara acted without thinking, but with immense courage - doing what we all hope we would do in such a situation. With Daniele she takes on a burden which almost breaks her - she finds despair and heart-break but also unexpected love and fulfilment. She tries her best to provide Daniele with a stable environment to grow up in but, always wayward and stubborn, as he gets older he seems trapped by survivor guilt.
Maria meanwhile is searching for a different set of answers - who was her father and why has the truth about him been hidden from her? She's stumbled on information that shatters her world, and I really sympathised with her anger and confusion at her mother's deception.
Their characters are built up carefully, with fine touches here and there adding to the whole, and unexpected revelations bringing to light the little 'kinks' that make them seem as real as you or I.
The story unfolds against the backdrop of Rome -
These separate strands weave together to form a gripping read exploring the consequences of an impromptu act and the long emotional fall-out of war through the thoughts and actions of three troubled people; as events unfolded, I fell completely under its spell. I loved the characters, the writing style and the setting -   in the 1940s' scenes Rome is a dark, rain-drenched, shadowy city, in the 1970s it's filled with sunshine and light and in both periods described in a way to make the reader feel there on the same streets as Chiara or Maria. 


If you're looking for a summer read that falls between the summer romances and thrillers, that's literary but above all readable, then try this!

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Virago
Genre - Adult Fiction,

Girl at War by Sara Novic

review by Maryom

Ana's childhood in Zagreb was carefree and happy but in the summer of 1991 war is spreading throughout Yugoslavia. At first it doesn't disrupt her life much - air raids drills are turned into a source of fun and she plays games around the sandbags in the street with her friend Luka - but soon tragedy strikes and Ana is caught up in a world of ethnic cleansing and child soldiers. Luckily she has a chance to escape to America, but although her foster-family provide a safe haven, it never feels like home and ten years later she's driven to confront her past in a now-peaceful Zagreb.

This is one of those awkward books for which I've seen great reviews but which didn't grab me at all.
The story is told from the point of view of adult Ana looking back at her 10 year old self caught up in the civil war in Yugoslavia. Maybe it's the distance - ten years later Ana is over the worst horrors - but it seems an oddly flat, sanitised, tidied up version of war. Of course, being told by the older Ana, we know she survives but I just didn't feel her fear and dread - for me there was no tension, no immediacy to the events, no capturing of the horror she must have felt as her parents died.

I think what may have thrown me with this is that, despite the title, it isn't really a story about war itself - yes, it gets mentioned, but the story is more concerned with the dislocation that Ana feels. Unlike her friend Luka, who stayed in Zagreb, she's been cut from her roots. Her only remaining family is her younger sister Rahela who doesn't remember Yugoslavia at all and in the US, Ana tries to forgot the past and keeps quiet about her childhood, pretending to be as American as the next girl, but is unsettled and torn between the two places she's known as 'home'. Somehow she needs to reconcile the two parts of her, to which end she revisits Zagreb. Maybe reading it again with this in mind, I'd appreciate it more? I'm not sure.


 Maryom's review - 3 stars
Publisher - Little, Brown
Genre -adult, war,

All This Will Be Lost by Brian Payton

review by Maryom

April 1943 - grieving for his brother lost over the English Channel, unable to enlist himself, journalist John Easley takes it upon himself to uncover the true facts about a war taking place much nearer to his own doorstep - the invasion of the Alaskan Aleutian islands by the Japanese, an event which the US military want to keep quiet. To this end, he hitches a lift out on a bombing run to the Japanese occupied island of Attu - When the plane is shot down he and one of the crew of six are the only survivors. They've heard the rumours about how the Japanese treat their prisoners and neither want to surrender to them, but the chances of surviving in the inhospitable landscape are slim, almost to the point of non-existence.

Meanwhile back home in Seattle, his wife Helen begins to worry over John's prolonged absence. While 'regular' forces wives are informed of their husbands' fate, there's no one to send news of a missing unofficial reporter. Desperate for news of him she determines to follow him north, the only way she can - by signing up for a forces entertainment troop. She knows she's unlikely to find John or even anyone who's heard of him but she needs to do something, anything, rather than sit and wait.

All This Will Be Lost is a war story with a difference - set in an almost unheard-of war zone, the remote Aleutian islands, which stretch across the Arctic from Alaska to Russia like stepping stones, it's a grim tale of survival against the odds, of grit and determination, of very personal battles and hoping against all the odds.
John is battling for his very survival - although it's 'spring', the weather only moves between snow and fog, there are neither trees nor bushes for shelter or fuel, and the Japanese are encamped just over the next ridge. The two men end up in a cave, surviving on shellfish and an occasional seabird, raiding the Japanese camp despite the obvious risk but growing bolder as their situation becomes more perilous. As he comes close to starvation, John finds himself making difficult choices about what might be considered 'food', choices the reader may not agree with.    
Helen's story is less extreme but her life so far has been cosy and sheltered. Empowered by circumstances, she's forced to step out of her comfort zone, and take on a role for which she feels totally unsuited. I got the impression that even asking questions of strangers was something so completely out of character for her that undertaking this journey required tremendous amounts of courage on her part.

The islands themselves form a third party to this story - windswept and bleak, but with a fragile beauty that is being trampled upon by the opposing armies. Their inhabitants have been forcibly removed, their villages abandoned and make-shift airfields and army bases taken their place. In the way of much fiction, it had me spiralling away and wanting to know more about the background - about this sector of WW2, about the islands themselves and their inhabitants, so summarily evacuated from their homes.

In case this all sounds familiar, this story has previously been published under the title The Wind Is Not  A River.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Pan Macmillan
Genre - Adult, war stories, WW2,

The Star of Istanbul by Robert Olen Butler

review by Maryom 

It's 1915 and American war correspondent Christopher Marlowe "Kit" Cobb is being sent to war-torn Europe with a double mission - to send back exciting copy for his newspaper, but also to do a little spying on the side - after all, no one's going to think twice about a nosy reporter asking questions are they? Sailing on the Lusitania, Cobb's instructions are to keep track of Walter Brauer, a German-American, an expert in Islamic studies lecturing at King's College in London and suspected German spy, but he soon finds himself distracted by the charms of movie-star, Selene Bourgani. Bourgani is as enigmatic as she is beautiful, and seems to have links to Brauer and possibly even be working with him. As Cobb follows the pair to London and on into Europe he uncovers a plot that could change the whole course of the war.....

The Star of Istanbul is a thrilling spy adventure set in the early part of World War 1, before the US involvement so Cobb is able to travel fairly freely throughout Europe. Although he doesn't find himself in any actual war zones, there's danger enough as the Lusitania is attacked (yes, he's on that voyage!), London is bombed from Zeppelins, and the German secret service try to stop Cobb in more personal ways.
There's a dash of Erskine Childers' The Riddle of the Sands and John Buchan's Richard Hannay thrillers, written more or less at the time of WW1, about it all, with glamorous spies, dastardly Germans, and a hero out to foil the bad guys' plot and save his country. Throw in an exotic location - Istanbul - and what more could you want?
It's a tense, twisty read, that takes the reader back to an age before hi-tech spying gadgets, when the hero had to rely on his quick wits alone. As a whole I found it really enjoyable book, full of treachery, intrigue and suspense, but occasionally a little too wordy which slowed down the action. Cobb isn't a 'professional' spy and some of the things he has to do sit uneasily with him, even when they're absolutely vital to his survival. Selene Bourgani though is rather a typical femme fatale style spy, with a mysterious past and deadly agenda, which I found a bit of a shame; I'd have liked to see a more rounded, fully developed character.


I haven't read the first Kit Cobb story, The Hot Country, but found no problems (other than maybe plot spoilers for previous book) in jumping in here.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - No Exit Press
Genre - Adult historical spy thriller World War 1

The Art of Waiting by Christopher Jory

review by Maryom

In 1943 through the wire of a prison camp, Katerina, a girl from Leningrad meets Aldo, a soldier from Venice. She passes him a crust of bread - but more importantly, she gives him hope - that someone still cares what happens to him, that there will one day be an end to the war. Throughout his imprisonment Aldo holds on to his memory of the snatched moments with Katerina and the promise that one day they'll meet again, but when he eventually finds himself free and heading home to Italy an older desire resurfaces - for revenge on the man he believes was responsible for his father's death.

From 1943, the story moves back to Katerina's childhood in late 20s Leningrad and to Venice during the months before Aldo is conscripted into the Italian army, then through his time in a Russian prison of war camp and onward to his eventual return to Italy in 1950.

This is an unusual war story told from the perspective of an Italian soldier sent to fight on the German's Eastern front, and imprisoned as the Russians take the offensive and begin their sweep towards Berlin. But although the war forms the backdrop, at the heart of the story lies a different battle between good and evil impulses within Aldo's heart. Unfortunately, I didn't really engage with the characters; although I'd been told about Aldo's burning desire for revenge, and the calming influence of his love for Katerina, I always felt removed from his emotions and didn't feel either.

Maryom's review - 3 stars  
Publisher - Polygon 
Genre - historical fiction

The Devil's Assassin by Paul Fraser Collard

review by Maryom
Following his adventures, and misadventures, in The Maharajah's General, Jack Lark is living in Bombay, passing himself off as Lieutenant Arthur Fenris, really down on his luck and running desperately short of cash. Then his deception is uncovered by army intelligence officer Major Ballard, known to many as the Devil, who feels he could use a man like Jack to track down and assassinate a spy believed to be giving British intelligence to the enemy. In Persia the Shah is massing troops, getting ready to strike against British forces, and as the army is sent out to take them on, Jack's task really begins...

So, here's Jack Lark back for another adventure - and an excellent one it is too. The story moves from India, west to Persia as Jack joins the campaign against the Shah; a bit of history that I knew nothing about  but which, with the British and the Russians struggling to gain influence in the region, all seemed rather more recent than 150 years ago!
This time, Jack is supposed to be keeping his head down, out of the actual fighting, trying to recover documents and sift through them for evidence of someone passing information about troop movements to the Persians. Jack of course has his own opinion about this - and orders are something he's never keen on following - so will he stay out of the battle? Not likely, is it? at the first opportunity he's throwing himself into the thick of it, leading by example and all too often being the man who saves the day! Well, it wouldn't be Jack if he didn't!
As you'd expect there's a lot of action, but it isn't all blind heroics. There are gruelling marches under the desert heat or torrential rain, the grip of fear as the troops await their orders to advance, the inevitable bloody aftermath of battle; the author isn't out to show merely the glory of warfare but the unpleasant realities of it too. Jack isn't a senseless killer but believes that his role in life is to serve his country in the best way he knows how - through fighting. As prone to fear as the next man, he cares deeply for the men under his command and tries to inspire them through example - a contrast to many of the other officers!
There's a little romance on the side for Jack in the breaks between the fighting - an affair with the curiously independent Sarah Draper, who, leaving her husband back in Bombay, has joined the expeditionary forces with the intent of writing a memoir of the campaign.
I think the Jack Lark series is improving all the time. It's lots of fun, while capturing the feel of the time and shedding light on some obscure passages from history. Jack is getting that little bit older, and hopefully wiser, and I'm really curious to see what he will do next!

Maryom's review -  4.5 stars

Publisher - Headline 
Genre - Historical fiction, action adventure,

Spare Brides by Adele Parks

 review by Maryom

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll remember me singing the praises of Spare Brides when it was first published back in February. Now, for anyone who missed it or read and loved a library copy, it's out in paperback!

Beginning on New Year's Eve 1920, Spare Brides is the story of four very different friends; of how, in a world radically altered by the First World War, their lives, hopes and expectations have changed too. All come from privileged, wealthy backgrounds but there the similarities end. One is a widow, one rather dully married, one not interested in the marriage market and one desperate to find anyone to love.

 "Spare Brides has got everything you expect from a conventional romantic novel - glamorous parties, gorgeous clothes, an enigmatic hero and a passionate love affair - but it's far from a piece of light fluff. Alongside the glitz and glamour lies the heartbreak and devastation of the War, and it's continuing emotional impact. The story also takes a shrewd look at the changing roles and expectations of women in this period. All four women have been brought up to believe that their role in life will be as wife and mother, nothing more. But times are changing; husbands are few and far between, and women have more freedom and possibilities; hopes and ambitions need no longer be confined to the drawing room and nursery.
It's another great, absorbing read from Adele Parks. One that once started you won't want to put down, I certainly didn't.
The ending might be a little predictable but so what? Show me a Jane Austen ending that wasn't obvious a mile off!"

If you're intrigued, you can find out more on the author's blog

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult, historical romance,

Toby's Room by Pat Barker

 review by Maryom

"Pat Barker returns to the First World War in Toby's Room, a dark, compelling novel of human desire, wartime horror and the power of friendship.
When Toby is reported 'Missing, Believed Killed', another secret casts a lengthening shadow over Elinor's world: how exactly did Toby die - and why? Elinor determines to uncover the truth. Only then can she finally close the door to Toby's room. Moving from the Slade School of Art to Queen Mary's Hospital, where surgery and art intersect in the rebuilding of the shattered faces of the wounded, Toby's Room is a riveting drama of identity, damage, intimacy and loss. Toby's Room is Pat Barker's most powerful novel yet."


When this first arrived with us it was read and reviewed by The Mole  but I'd always intended reading it myself. With other -unreviewed books piling up, it took a while for me to get round to it - and when I did I wasn't overly impressed so I didn't put up my own thoughts. Then, earlier this week, I read a review of it on  Beauty Is  A Sleeping Cat blog as part of this year's Literature and War Readalong, so I've decided to chip in with my bit after all.

Elinor and her brother Toby are closer than normal siblings; a dangerous closeness that leads to incest and guilt which shadows Elinor's life afterwards. Via art school and medical training, the story moves forward to WW1 and Toby's death. The details of it aren't made public and Elinor is determined to find out what precisely happened. Meanwhile, she's accepted a position drawing and documenting the surgery involved in facial reconstruction which brings her into contact with mutual friends who might hold the key to Toby's death.

Despite all the praise lavished on it, this wasn't a book that grabbed me at all. I couldn't really grasp where the story was going; first it seemed to head one way, then move off at a tangent.  Was it meant to be a story of family secrets or artistic development or the horrors of war? Perhaps this randomness is more like 'real' life than fiction - but it failed to capture me because of it.
A lot of the characters also fell flat, seeming rather two-dimensional and hollow. Elinor particularly, though torn between closeness and repulsion for Toby, mainly came over as cold and unfeeling, and I just didn't care what happened to her. In checking links etc for this review I've discovered that several of the main characters, Elinor, Paul Tarrant and Kit Neville, appeared in a previous book by Pat Barker, Life Class set at the Slade School of Art and I wonder if not having read that has made a difference to my reading of Toby's Room.
I didn't think there was too much of a mystery about what happened to Toby - maybe there was for Elinor but not for me, picking up the clues as I read along.
All in all, it just left me rather unmoved and uncaring.

Maryom's review - 3 stars
Publisher - Penguin
Genre - adult, WW1

The Undertaking by Audrey Magee

 review by Maryom

Peter and Katharina get married without having met - not even for the ceremony itself. Theirs is a long-distance wedding, supported by a Nazi 'mail order bride' scheme; he is on Germany's Eastern front in Russia, she in Berlin. He gains a desperately needed honeymoon leave; she enjoys the status of being a soldier's wife and the promise of a widow's pension if he should die. Surprisingly, after an initial hiccough, they are drawn to each other.
The honeymoon period is short though and Peter has to head back to the front, now slowly advancing on Stalingrad but the thought of his wife back home gives him something to hold onto and fight for as conditions get worse for him and the entrenched German army...

The Undertaking is a compelling war story, the strength of the book lying in its depiction of WW2 from the standpoint of  'average' Germans, caught up in events they can't control. It seems hard to accept that a couple would enter into marriage without ever having met, choosing a life partner merely on a photograph, but presumably with government backing this was a common thing in wartime Germany. Peter's aims are quite simple - a break from mindless trudging through mud and snow while dodging bombs, bullets and anything else the enemy throws at him. Katharina's reasoning seems more socially motivated; like her father she wants to fit in the Nazi regime, and profit by it if possible.
The most vivid and memorable scenes, perhaps unsurprisingly, are those depicting life for Peter and his fellow soldiers. Like any such group they grumble about their conditions - the weather, the state of their feet, the incomprehensibility of orders, the food, the seeming lack of any over-all strategy and 'command's' use of them as cannon fodder  -  while still retaining that naive optimism that maintains 'it'll all be over by Christmas'. The reader, of course, knows better and that for both Peter at the front and Katharina in Berlin the future does NOT look bright.
Katharina's story seemed by comparison a little tame and less gripping, though to be honest, I couldn't bring myself to feel a lot of sympathy for her which may have affected my viewpoint. Her actions seem driven by self-preservation and a desire to move up in the world, with little care for anyone else.

The Undertaking is an impressive debut; compassionate without being sentimental, realistic without being gruesome. Audrey Magee is certainly an author I'll be keeping an eye on.

Maryom's review - 4 stars  
Publisher - Atlantic Books
Genre - adult fiction, WW2, 

 Buy The Undertaking from Amazon

The Letter Bearer by Robert Allison

review by Maryom

A man is found, lying in the blazing heat of the North African desert, left for dead by the side of his wrecked motorbike. He has no recollection of who he is or how he came to be there. Stripped of his possessions and anything that might identify him, the only thing he's left with is a postbag of letters to which he clings as if his life depended on it. Eventually rescue comes in the form of a band of deserters trying to hide out from the war in the vastness of the desert. The War raging round them won't leave the group alone and they have to move on, taking the letter bearer with them. Slowly recovering, the letter bearer starts to piece together his identity from the disjointed bits and pieces he can remember and the letters in his bag.

Set in the North African desert in 1942, part English Patient, part Ice Cold in Alex, The Letter Bearer is a war novel with a difference - its subject matter is not glorious or foolhardy acts of bravery, not outwitting the enemy through cunning and guile, not even the comradeship to be found under fire but the fortunes of a small group who have chosen for various reasons to absent themselves from fighting; in order words, deserters. It starts with a man who is a blank page; he has no memories to shape his opinions of these men so takes them as he finds them and judges them on their actions.
 It's both a gripping page-turning story and a thought-provoking read that will make you question your ideas about bravery and cowardice. Any 'thinking' war story, as opposed to plain glorification of battle, provokes a reaction of 'what would I have done under such circumstances' - this certainly does.
 It's full of excellent atmospheric depiction of the desert - that third party to the war against which both sides battle; it's eerie emptiness combined with the possibility that the enemy - or, possibly worse, 'friends' lurk behind the nearest sand dune.

If I had to pick a fault, it would be that at times the prose is a little too 'wordy', that at times the author chose an obscure word when a perfectly everyday one would have conveyed the same meaning.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Granta Books
Genre - Adult literary fiction, WW2

Spare Brides by Adele Parks

 review by Maryom

It's New Year's Eve, 1920 and four friends are getting ready for an extravagant ball to usher in the new decade. There's hope that it's now time to move on to happier, more hopeful times, but the shadow of the War still lingers in the horrendous loss of so many lives and the guilt felt by the survivors.
Spare Brides is the story of four very different friends; of how, in a world radically altered by the First World War, their lives, hopes and expectations have changed too. All come from privileged, wealthy backgrounds but there the similarities end. Ava is the daughter of an industrialist, made richer by the War; glamorous and fashionable, she turns heads where-ever she goes and can get away with almost anything but her life of parties and shallow love affairs is beginning to pale. Lydia, married to the Hon. Lawrence Chatfield, is sheltered and cosseted, living a life where harsh realities rarely intrude except for her one big disappointment, that after 8 years of marriage she remains childless. Sisters Sarah and Bea live very differently; after the death of first their parents, then Sarah's husband, they are now dependant on their crippled brother for house and home. Sarah with a war-widow's pension and two children is slightly better off but feels that life is over for her. Bea's life never really got started - all her dreams of marriage and a home of her own went out of the window with the death of her only suitor; she's too tall and too plain to find another in a world where eligible bachelors are in such short supply and so poor that she has to alter her old dresses to fit new fashions, . Their pre-war connections still see the sisters invited to fashionable parties but only out of sympathy and as favours to their richer friends.
What does the new decade hold for them? These are desperate times, when a woman needs to catch at every chance of happiness no matter where it may lead, so a chance meeting with a mysterious, extraordinarily attractive soldier shouldn't be overlooked.

Spare Brides has got everything you expect from a conventional romantic novel - glamorous parties, gorgeous clothes, an enigmatic hero and a passionate love affair - but it's far from a piece of light fluff. Alongside the glitz and glamour lies the heartbreak and devastation of the War, and it's continuing emotional impact. The story also takes a shrewd look at the changing roles and expectations of women in this period. All four women have been brought up to believe that their role in life will be as wife and mother, nothing more. But times are changing; husbands are few and far between, and women have more freedom and possibilities; hopes and ambitions need no longer be confined to the drawing room and nursery.
It's another great, absorbing read from Adele Parks. One that once started you won't want to put down, I certainly didn't.
The ending might be a little predictable but so what? Show me a Jane Austen ending that wasn't obvious a mile off!

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult romantic historical fiction

Wake by Anna Hope

review by Maryom

November 1920 - and the body of an unknown soldier is being transported from the battlefields of France to a state funeral in London that will commemorate Armistice Day and the ending of the Great War. Will this help the nation stop mourning the past and start looking forward to the future, or will it just open barely-healed wounds?

For the five days of the Soldier's journey, we follow the lives of three women of different ages and walks of life - Ada, a middle-aged mother who still hopes against hope that her only son may be alive somewhere, and even believes she's seen him on the streets near her home; Evelyn who's mourning her dead lover, hoping to find a new purpose through work at the Pensions Office helping those wounded in the war; and Hettie, the youngest, a professional dancer at Hammersmith Palais, immersing herself in the world of nightclubs and jazz in the hope of finding someone who will take her away from her humdrum life. All of them have been deeply affected by the War and can see others around them picking up the pieces of their shattered lives and moving on, but can't seem to do it themselves. Through their lives moves a young soldier with a tale to tell of the horrors of the battlefield, linking Evelyn's brother and Ada's son.

Wake is a brilliant debut novel, deeply moving, well-plotted and engrossing, about the aftermath of war and its effects not only the combatants directly involved but a far wider circle. At the heart of it lie the stories of three very different women trying to cope with the emptiness of their lives. Along the way there are 'nods' to a lot of 'issues' - women's wartime munitions work, army discipline, the treatment of injured soldiers, the horrors of the trenches or the desperate measures forced on the inhabitants of the war-ravaged countryside  - not as a churning out of facts and statistics but as part of the backdrop to life, helping to create a feel for the era.
There are four plot lines to keep up in the air and moving, but the author manages the balancing act really well, giving them equal attention and not letting any of them falter. The writing style is sparse, letting the characters speak for themselves through words and actions; at times the dialogue says more then several pages of description could have done.

Wake isn't published till January 2014 but as I had an early review copy, it seemed fitting to read over this last weekend in the run up to Armistice Day - at the time of year when it's set.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars

Publisher - Doubleday

Genre - adult historical fiction, WW1
 

Secrets and Shadows by Brian Gallagher

review by Maryom

When the German bombing raids on Liverpool reach an horrific intensity, Barry's mum decides he would be far safer sent to live with his Gran in Dublin. At first he finds it difficult to make new friends there and fit into the established pecking-order of playground bullies but then he makes friends with Grace who's also moved because her house was destroyed in a stray Luftwaffe raid of the North Strand, Dublin. Gradually Barry settles into his new life but used to Britain's fear of spies and the 'walls have ears' campaign, he begins to distrust his over-friendly sports teacher Mr Pawlek. He claims to be Polish but could he really be a German spy? No one else seems to doubt him, but Barry and Grace feel they should investigate....

Secrets and Shadows is an exciting children's wartime adventure with lots of factual details and historical snippets to give it a good feel of time and place but without over-shadowing the plot. It was very interesting to see WW2 from an Irish perspective - I'd never given a thought to the fact that Eire too suffered from the disruption of trade with the US despite being a neutral country and never realised Dublin was bombed - but mainly this is a good old-fashioned Famous Five style adventure. With the role of 'lead character' shared between Barry and Grace, this should be a book to appeal to both boys and girls and have them biting their nails as the story heads to a dramatic conclusion.

Maryom's review -  4.5 stars

Publisher - O'Brien Press
Genre - war, adventure, 10+ children's fiction

A Time For Heroes by Frank Barnard

review by Maryom

Guv Sutro is a hero - a pioneer of aviation in its infancy then a fighter pilot in WW1 and a breaker of aviation records after - but heroes often turn out to have feet of the muddiest sort of clay. His son Tim and childhood friend Will have always accepted this 'hero' version of Guv - Tim trying to step out from his shadow and Will trying to emulate him. It's only when as pilots themselves during WW2 they visit Guv's wartime French airfield that they get the first inkling that he might not have been quite the honourable chap he's been built up to be.

To be rather, or very, simplistic this a story of what happens when too much praise goes to a person's head. I wasn't actually sure how much I was going to like this book - from the blurb it seemed a bit of 'boy's own' Biggles-type adventure and at just under 500 pages seemed a little long. But once I'd started, it was very hard to put down as I uncovered a long family epic of secrets, betrayals and cover-ups. It definitely isn't merely about high jinks in the sky - though they do play their part.  I don't know if Barnard did any hands-on up-in-the-sky research but I really felt 'there' in the flimsy aircraft soaring above war-torn France.
A really enjoyable read and not just for flying buffs.

Maryom's review -  4.5 stars

Publisher - Headline 
Genre - Adult, war, family epic

Hidden Lies by Victor Watson (A Paradise Barn Story)

Review by The Mole

It's May 1944 and Cassie Covington fleas from her uncle's funeral to find strangers searching her house so once again she fleas in fear of her own safety. She knows little about her uncle except that he had been a spy before the start of the war and that he was her only living relative. Where would she live now? Who could she turn to for safety? Little does she know that she holds the lives of thousands of soldiers in her hands.

A fast moving story of 'Who are the bad guys? Are there actually any bad guys?' in the Enid Blyton fashion but here Watson does it in a new way for a new generation. He tells the story without patronising the reader and brings to the young reader a lot of history about the war in a semi educational style. Having said that he brought forward things about the war that I didn't know (but that's not too hard) and that Maryom didn't know (and that's much harder). He also made you think, more deeply, about what life was really like for children during the war. We have all been told in the classroom what it was like but here Watson brings it much more to life and brings day to day things that you may not have considered before into your thoughts as well.

But without all this 'educational resource' stuff he first and foremost tells an excellent story that entertains for the sake of it. With a young girl for hero but boys dotted throughout the story it will appeal to all readers of nine or older although mature readers would probably enjoy this from the age of seven. Having said that, I am a little older than either of those age groups and I learned from it and more importantly thoroughly enjoyed it.

Publisher - Catnip Publishing
Genre - Children's 9+ fiction, War

Buy Hidden Lies (Paradise Barn Quartet) from Amazon

My Gun Was As Tall As Me by Toni Davidson

Review by The Mole

"High in the Alps, Tuvol, the son of a great European humanitarian, crawls into a snow hole in a deliberate attempt to die. On the other side of the world, in the stifling heat of a South East Asian jungle, twin boys, Lynch and Leer - robbed of speech at birth by a mother unhinged by atrocity - await yet another military assault on their decimated village. Saved from suicide by Dominique, an NGO worker, Tuvol leaves his dysfunctional family, following her to South East Asia to try and find purpose helping those maimed, orphaned and displaced by a brutal regime. As Tuvol and the twins both flee their very different personal traumas, fate will draw them together in a way that changes all three lives forever."

Normally I would  write a short synopsis of my own but in this case there are so many themes running through the book it's difficult to choose which one I would write it around. Tuvol's story, which in itself is a tale to tell, becomes entwined with the story of his mother and tells the story of Espirit, his father, who is highly thought of, internationally as a great charity worker - but is that the real Espirit? Who is the real Tuvol? And Dominique, working away with the IDPs (Internally Displaced Person), hearing tales and seeing the product of horror and ensuring the wounded are cared for - surely the story is about such people? Or Ruess, the journalist, trying to get people to understand what is really happening during these conflicts rather than the safe, clinical journalism that we tend to see? Or the boys who bring all these threads together with their own story of horror and isolation from birth through to the end of the book. But not the end of the story for many of these characters - not all the threads are 'tidied up' because as with real life, the story continues after we leave the characters in the book.

This story is one that will make you think and, if like me, you think you can no longer be shocked by man's inhumanity to man then you may be surprised by what you read. You won't be condemning the horrors as impossible but as wholly likely and horrific.

'Enjoyed' is once again the wrong word but 'compulsive reading'? For me, yes. A book I am glad I have read. Some of the horrors are close to graphic but bring home a point and while there is 'love interest' it's not significant and it's not out of context - in fact it's context makes some very valid points.

It reads almost as biographical and as it's based on extensive research it can almost be read as such, lacking any superheroes as it does.

Publisher - Freight Books
Genre - Adult War Novel

Buy My Gun Was as Tall as Me from Amazon