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krobart's review
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/11/22/review-1757-to-bed-with-grand-music/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/11/22/review-1757-to-bed-with-grand-music/
lmclar12's review
4.0
Bought this at the lovely Persephone Books book store. I loved how this novel turned the typical war novel of waiting for your husband faithfully at home on its head. I wish the ending had been a little more closed (ie to see the aftermath with her husband) but I liked the idea of it being a cycle in which one woman converts another converts another, etc
bessies_books's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sloatsj's review
3.0
I've liked books with 'bad' and unlikable characters but the protagonist of this was relentlessly despicable, and didn't really suffer for it. That was disappointing to me, prude that I am.
crazytourists_books's review
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I quite enjoyed this little book, set in WWII London. It is not like other books set in those years. It has nothing to do with being heroic and brave and persevering and surviving despite all the horrors. It's about enjoying life and sex. It's about infidelity and about leading the life you want, not the one you are supposed to be living. What a brave novel to be published in 1947, especially by a woman.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Infidelity
Minor: War
bookbuyingaddict's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kiwi_zoe's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
veelaughtland's review
4.0
A book about sex during wartime, and a refreshing insight into women's lives during wartime that isn't entirely focused on working towards the war effort and keeping the home.
The protagonist Deborah is both wonderful and hateful, a really divisive character who I adored reading about. She begins the novel having some kind of moral code, but as she makes the move to London to work (under the guise that it will benefit her child more than having her at home), she begins to fall into affair after affair after affair - and her fall is brilliant.
The ending was not what I expected, and was darkly comic which I really appreciated, and overall I thought this was great fun. I'll definitely be checking out Marghanita Laski's other work.
The protagonist Deborah is both wonderful and hateful, a really divisive character who I adored reading about. She begins the novel having some kind of moral code, but as she makes the move to London to work (under the guise that it will benefit her child more than having her at home), she begins to fall into affair after affair after affair - and her fall is brilliant.
The ending was not what I expected, and was darkly comic which I really appreciated, and overall I thought this was great fun. I'll definitely be checking out Marghanita Laski's other work.
drannieg's review
4.0
Rather gorgeous, highly evocative, and how nice to read something contemporary from the 1940s which reminds us that it wasn't all blitz spirit and make do, but gives a more nuanced depiction of women's lives. *stares hard at current lazy evocations of war spirit blah blah brexit blah Boris blah boring blah*