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jacki_f's review against another edition
5.0
What an exquisite novel this is. It opens in 1940 when RAF officer James Hunter's plane crashes and he is taken to a German POW camp. There he passes his time studying a nest of birds in a nearby tree, his way of coping with the constant fear that the prisoners live with. Meanwhile back in England his new wife Rose is falling out of love with her husband and his sister Enid has also lost the love of her life in the Blitz.
All three of the main characters will have a hard time of it but by the book's end they have each found a way to process those difficult war years. The characters are beautifully developed and the ending moved me hugely.
All three of the main characters will have a hard time of it but by the book's end they have each found a way to process those difficult war years. The characters are beautifully developed and the ending moved me hugely.
kathleenww's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely novel, about war and how it changes everyone, whether they are in the war or living on the home front. Helen Humphreys' prose is delightful. Her voice is clear and simple, yet include details that truly invoke the time and place. This is the story of four people and the effects of their war time experiences. Two of the people, both women, were home in England, and two o them are in a German prisoner of war camp filled with British soldiers.
This is not a lengthy novel, but Humphreys is able to fit all these stories into the confines of novel that is less than 300 pages. Each character has connections to the natural world around them that make huge differences in their outcomes, particularity with birds, but there are other animal and wildlife connections as well.
I enjoy World War Two fiction, and this was truly an outstanding book. I am so glad to have discovered a new author as well. I look forward to reading more of her books.
This is not a lengthy novel, but Humphreys is able to fit all these stories into the confines of novel that is less than 300 pages. Each character has connections to the natural world around them that make huge differences in their outcomes, particularity with birds, but there are other animal and wildlife connections as well.
I enjoy World War Two fiction, and this was truly an outstanding book. I am so glad to have discovered a new author as well. I look forward to reading more of her books.
greyt_things's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
amn028's review against another edition
4.0
I always enjoy Helen Humphreys WWII story. As usual, this one follows everyday people trying to live in extraordinary circumstances, then living with the outcome of decisions made. There is as much hope as heartache in this lovely story.
qofdnz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
This was a delightful book, read in an afternoon. It flowed seamlessly between It's characters and ended on a hopeful note despite the sadness throughout.
margaret21's review
5.0
I picked this book from the library shelf on a whim. What a gem. Inspired by, though not based on three true events, this lyrically told story sees the war and its aftermath from the perspective of three people, each intimately bound in each other's lives, but ultimately dealing with what confronts them in their own way, alone. It begins with James in his German POW camp, finding solace in his intimate record of the lives of the redwing family he can just about see from the camp confines. There is Rose, his wife in their cottage in an English village; Enid, his sister, living and working in London. And then there is Toby, working in James' and Rose's village; Constance, Rose's difficult mother ... and the POW camp's Kommandant. All have their roles in this story in which the actual horrors of war have no place, but which illustrates vividly its power to alter lives, to constrain, and yet to offer hope too.
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
Liked this novel a lot. The pacing was unusual but it made you slow down and think.
debbiecuddy's review
5.0
This simple story has moved me deeply and I struggle to put what I feel into words. The lesson I am left with is that amid the chaos and horrors of war, nature remains and offers a sort of healing balm for our souls.
"Flight is not the astonishing thing. I have always thought that the miracle of birds is not that they fly, but that they touch down."
"How odd, he thinks, that the collective is the echo of the individual."
"Flight is not the astonishing thing. I have always thought that the miracle of birds is not that they fly, but that they touch down."
"How odd, he thinks, that the collective is the echo of the individual."