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deannar's review against another edition
4.0
FYI, I bought this novel with the title "Their Finest" and the subtitle "A novel". Apparently the novel was turned into a film recently, so the novel was given a name change to match.
Darkly humorous World War II novel set in England as it metaphorically girds its loins and puts on a really weird hat to deal with the war. There were a few too many changes in POV without enough to make it clear at times that we had, in fact, changed character perspectives. (This was made especially difficult because one man was named Ambrose and another Arthur, and I couldn't keep them straight at first.)
It took me some time to get properly interested in this, but it was a worthwhile read.
Darkly humorous World War II novel set in England as it metaphorically girds its loins and puts on a really weird hat to deal with the war. There were a few too many changes in POV without enough to make it clear at times that we had, in fact, changed character perspectives. (This was made especially difficult because one man was named Ambrose and another Arthur, and I couldn't keep them straight at first.)
It took me some time to get properly interested in this, but it was a worthwhile read.
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
4.0
Read this first Well I saw the film and the book and film are close cousins but honestly the film engaged me more. It's an interesting read with interesting characters, but doesn't add anything to the film experience.
I never thought that a film about propaganda films during world war II would be such a good experience but it was, the cast did a good job of interacting well and bringing the story to life, I cared about the characters and wanted them to succeed and it was the same with the book.
I never thought that a film about propaganda films during world war II would be such a good experience but it was, the cast did a good job of interacting well and bringing the story to life, I cared about the characters and wanted them to succeed and it was the same with the book.
iamnobird's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve had this WWII historical novel on my TBR list for a while and decided to read it before I see the recent film adaptation. I have a thing for stories set on the British home front during WWII. Their Finest offers a unique and entertaining take on this theme.
The narrative flips between a young script-writer, an older actor whose star has faded, a downtrodden seamstress, and a soldier suffering from PTSD, whose lives intertwine when they become involved in the creation of a propaganda film. This film- about two sisters who help rescue soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk- is meant to inspire Americans and sway public support for that nation’s entrance into WWII. However, it’s no easy task to create a successful film in the middle of a war.
Lissa Evans’ prose immediately drew me in. Her sentences are incredibly descriptive and paint a vivid scene of everyday life during this chaotic time. I felt thoroughly transported to the damp bomb shelters, busy film sets, smoky pubs, and buzzing offices. You can tell that Evans has both a great appreciation for and a wealth of knowledge of the period.
Their Finest is warm, humorous, well-researched, and well-written. I didn’t want to leave the characters Evans created or the world in which they lived.
The narrative flips between a young script-writer, an older actor whose star has faded, a downtrodden seamstress, and a soldier suffering from PTSD, whose lives intertwine when they become involved in the creation of a propaganda film. This film- about two sisters who help rescue soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk- is meant to inspire Americans and sway public support for that nation’s entrance into WWII. However, it’s no easy task to create a successful film in the middle of a war.
Lissa Evans’ prose immediately drew me in. Her sentences are incredibly descriptive and paint a vivid scene of everyday life during this chaotic time. I felt thoroughly transported to the damp bomb shelters, busy film sets, smoky pubs, and buzzing offices. You can tell that Evans has both a great appreciation for and a wealth of knowledge of the period.
Their Finest is warm, humorous, well-researched, and well-written. I didn’t want to leave the characters Evans created or the world in which they lived.
incrediblemelk's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the film adaptation of this (the novel was originally titled Their Finest Hour and a Half, and was looking forward to some Keep Calm And Carry On comfort reading. But in the end, I preferred the film to the novel.
For a start, the film has plucked out one of three key narratives, which the book interweaves. It's not just the story of Catrin Cole, Welsh country girl turned ad copywriter turned screenwriter during WWII. It's also the story of a mousy seamstress working for Madame Tussaud's; a vain, fading actor raging against a world he doesn't know how to catch up with; a shell-shocked Dunkirk evacuee; and many other minor characters.
The central romance between Catrin and her co-writer Buckley is downplayed here, and she's given much less reason to like him; he's a disagreeable, unattractive man. I really enjoyed the details of the Dunkirk film they end up writing together; although a lot of the camaraderie and on-set humour of the film was missing here, where the shoot comes across mainly as stressful and dreary.
It amused me to realise that having seen the film first, I was craving the kind of big-screen gloss that Catrin and her colleagues themselves were applying to the boring facts of the Dunkirk evacuation. The film Their Finest is to this novel what their film-within-the-book is to history.
That said, I did appreciate the period detail Evans offers: the language, the food and drink, the way that bomb raids were terrifying at first and then became a tedious nuisance. This didn't turn out to have the wistful charm of other WWII home-front stories I've read and seen (the best of which is still The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley), but it's valuable for its emphasis on how the war shook up people's lives and offered them options they wouldn't otherwise have had – women, in particular.
For a start, the film has plucked out one of three key narratives, which the book interweaves. It's not just the story of Catrin Cole, Welsh country girl turned ad copywriter turned screenwriter during WWII. It's also the story of a mousy seamstress working for Madame Tussaud's; a vain, fading actor raging against a world he doesn't know how to catch up with; a shell-shocked Dunkirk evacuee; and many other minor characters.
The central romance between Catrin and her co-writer Buckley is downplayed here, and she's given much less reason to like him; he's a disagreeable, unattractive man. I really enjoyed the details of the Dunkirk film they end up writing together; although a lot of the camaraderie and on-set humour of the film was missing here, where the shoot comes across mainly as stressful and dreary.
It amused me to realise that having seen the film first, I was craving the kind of big-screen gloss that Catrin and her colleagues themselves were applying to the boring facts of the Dunkirk evacuation. The film Their Finest is to this novel what their film-within-the-book is to history.
That said, I did appreciate the period detail Evans offers: the language, the food and drink, the way that bomb raids were terrifying at first and then became a tedious nuisance. This didn't turn out to have the wistful charm of other WWII home-front stories I've read and seen (the best of which is still The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley), but it's valuable for its emphasis on how the war shook up people's lives and offered them options they wouldn't otherwise have had – women, in particular.
emileereadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book about a group of individuals who become involved with the production of a war time movie during WWII. It was an interesting story but from so many perspectives (5, I think) I was definitely more invested in some story line than others.
I listened to this book on audio and found it quite confusing at times. The same narrator reads the entire book and there is no heads up for the listener when the perspective changes and sometimes I wouldn't catch the change for a couple of paragraphs. I believe this book would be a better read than listen.
I listened to this book on audio and found it quite confusing at times. The same narrator reads the entire book and there is no heads up for the listener when the perspective changes and sometimes I wouldn't catch the change for a couple of paragraphs. I believe this book would be a better read than listen.
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