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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
I'm a sucker for WWII stories. This probably deserved about a 3.5 but I'm rounding up just because it's a unique story in one of my favorite genres.
This book was beautifully written; I would recommend it to my friends rather than my students because I don't think teens would connect with the marital struggles and secrets that drive the plot forward. I can't believe this is Hodgkinson's first novel; I look forward to reading her future work!
Januz and Silvana both survived the War, and their small family is reunited in peaceful London far from their now-Soviet homeland of Poland. But that's just the beginning, not the 'happy ending' it is usually portrayed as at the conclusion of a tragic story. "22 Britannia Road" doesn't shy away from the realities of the six brutal years they spent apart, or the difficulties of a husband and wife readjusting to peacetime, and to each other, and learning to live with their memories. Reconciliation seems more and more unlikely as flashbacks slowly fill in the missing years, but can their son be the tie that bonds them together? Is there enough love in their tired souls to overcome the trauma of the war?
I don’t remember reading a book about post war that addressed PTSD. This book is all about that. How your past shapes your future. There were definite aspects of the story I did not like but I grew to care for the woman and her son in the story (the father not so much). I don’t like some of the choices she made but I see that a lot of her choices were about her survival.
It took me awhile to get through this book as it didn't really compel me to keep reading and was definitely very hard to relate to, but it was interesting and I'm content with it now that I've finished.
The book got off to a slower start - slow, but definitely not boring - and takes you by surprise half way through... I started crying on the treadmill at the gym when I got to that point. Definitely worth reading.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
The story moved along. A hard book in many respects (difficult content - what happens to people in the book). It frequently flashes back to the war years, filling in the gaps for each of the 2 main characters. That was helpful and worked well.
I was relieved that it ended ok - they got back together. I didn’t appreciate all the sex; unnecessary.
Kind of a difficult book to read. As in heart-wrenching. Things we don't want to think about in our safe, cozy little 21st century lives.
This book was well written and interesting. The mother is a much better developed character than the father. I found the father as a soldier hard to square with the father after the war. I didn't understand his motivation for several actions taken, particularly as a soldier. I just wondered why he seemed so passive and then later a go-getter.
This is a well-written story about people damaged by horrific wartime experiences trying to move forward with an "ordinary" life.
Sad at times, the characters exhibit confusing behavior at times, but ultimately a satisfying read.
Sad at times, the characters exhibit confusing behavior at times, but ultimately a satisfying read.