Scan barcode
saxamaholly's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book. Post-war England is very interesting to me, and I feel like there aren't very many WWII books written from a Polish point of view, but the story was fairly predictable in places, and the characters were lifeless and unimaginative. 2 and a half stars. If anyone knows of a really excellent post WWII or WWII book from a Polish point of view, please suggest them to me!
debinomaha's review against another edition
4.0
A good read...kind of tired of it towards the end when it jumped the shark a bit, but atmospheric story of post-WW II London and the experiences of Eastern European citizens who were not Jews but were still significantly impacted by the war.
rlbasley's review against another edition
3.0
22 Britianna Road by Amanda Hodgkinson (RB digital loan ) it’s amazing how books can come into your life in moments that you find yourself dealing with issues that are very challenging and how that book can help you put those issues you are personally dealing with into a new perspective.
This book is at its heart a book of survival and miscommunication between survivors. When a mother and her son spend World War II hiding in the woods and the husband journeys to England to fight against the Nazis. Both the wife and the husband have considerable secrets in their closet, and these skeletons almost tears the family apart. All this could have been nipped in the bud before it got bad if both people had just been up front and honest with each other in the first place but horrible experiences are sometimes very difficult to talk about because in doing so you have to not only relieve them but admit to them happening in the first place.
This book gave me a lot to think about and relate to my own life. In that it’s an awesome book but the writing itself could be confusing and vague in some places. Overall an ok book
This book is at its heart a book of survival and miscommunication between survivors. When a mother and her son spend World War II hiding in the woods and the husband journeys to England to fight against the Nazis. Both the wife and the husband have considerable secrets in their closet, and these skeletons almost tears the family apart. All this could have been nipped in the bud before it got bad if both people had just been up front and honest with each other in the first place but horrible experiences are sometimes very difficult to talk about because in doing so you have to not only relieve them but admit to them happening in the first place.
This book gave me a lot to think about and relate to my own life. In that it’s an awesome book but the writing itself could be confusing and vague in some places. Overall an ok book
jkrnomad's review against another edition
4.0
I've been reading so many pre-WWII novels and novels that take place during WWII, it was interesting to have a immediate post-WWII story. The mystery is always how people get on with their lives after they have experienced so much horror.
embaranovich's review against another edition
2.0
I was not impressed by this book, and hated most of the characters. So far this year I have read two books about World War 2, and The Invisible Bridge was a million times better. I may try to pick this one up again at a later date because I was intrigued by the concept, but the story did not seem to deliver.
imbookingit's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book well written, absorbing, and more than a little grim.
It very effectively portrayed a world turned upside down, and proceeded to turn it inside out as well.
On the surface, it seems time for the happily-ever-after. The war is over, and Silvana is leaving her destroyed land of Poland to join her husband in England. He has a good job, and their son can go to school, get a good education, and grow up in a stable, happy world.
Life is never that easy, and the past is part of the present and the future. Silvana and Aurek have a more difficult time adjusting than Janusz can understand.
The strength of this book is in the setting, and the contrast of the flashbacks to wartime Poland and France, and the scenes of life in Post-war England. The characters (major and minor) serve to build and reinforce these portraits.
This isn't to say that the characters aren't compelling on their own. Silvana in particular has true depth and interest as she meets challenge after challenge, never knowing if she will be able to handle the next one. She keeps going, as her fierce protection of Aurek leads her to stretch beyond what she can imagine. The hardest time may be when his need for her is no longer as strong.
It very effectively portrayed a world turned upside down, and proceeded to turn it inside out as well.
On the surface, it seems time for the happily-ever-after. The war is over, and Silvana is leaving her destroyed land of Poland to join her husband in England. He has a good job, and their son can go to school, get a good education, and grow up in a stable, happy world.
Life is never that easy, and the past is part of the present and the future. Silvana and Aurek have a more difficult time adjusting than Janusz can understand.
The strength of this book is in the setting, and the contrast of the flashbacks to wartime Poland and France, and the scenes of life in Post-war England. The characters (major and minor) serve to build and reinforce these portraits.
This isn't to say that the characters aren't compelling on their own. Silvana in particular has true depth and interest as she meets challenge after challenge, never knowing if she will be able to handle the next one. She keeps going, as her fierce protection of Aurek leads her to stretch beyond what she can imagine. The hardest time may be when his need for her is no longer as strong.
rwilliab's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a sucker for WWII novels, and this one gripped me pretty quickly. It's gritty, likely very true to life for thousands of war refugees, and has a satisfying ending along with a slew of endearing an sympathetic characters. My beef with this novel is probably the overuse of sex scenes--I from an artistic and moral standpoint believe less is more in describing sexual encounters--and Silvana's weakness in resisting men, while understandable, could have been detailed less often and less specifically. Otherwise, highly recommended and with a special surprise at the end that warms the cockles of one's heart.
hayesstw's review against another edition
5.0
A Polish couple is separated at the beginning of the Second World War, and reunited in Britain after the war is over. In the six years that they have been apart their different experiences have made them different people. Then there is the child Aurek, who has only known the life of a fugitive, hiding in the forest. He has to adapt to living in a suburban house in a society where the language, is strange.
The story alternates between the present and the past, starting with their reunion, and going back to their former life, leading up to the present.
I picked this book up on a remainder sale, after reading the blurb I thought it looked interesting for the same reason that I found the [b:The long road home the aftermath of the Second World War|9528519|The Long Road Home The Aftermath of the Second World War|Ben Shephard|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333579837s/9528519.jpg|14414587] interesting. I'm interested in transitions, in between times, changes from war to peace, migrants, refugees, displaced persons, asylum seekers. How do such people make a transition from one life to another?
And so I bought it and brought it home to read it, and was surprosed at how good it was. When I read historical novels, I tend to look out for anachronisms, well, not actually to look for them, but when I spot them I find them jarring, and so I tend to be reading in nervous expectation. In this book I didn't spot any, or at least none that were jarring. It seemed remarkably authentic and true to life -- not that I've ever been to Poland, so I might not know anyway, but it didn't seem much different from novels by Polish novelists that I've read.
The characters and their reactions are believable, yet not predictable, and this unpredictability is what makes the novel seem so authentic. It is like the unpredictability of real life, when you never know what will happen next or how people will respond to it.
The story alternates between the present and the past, starting with their reunion, and going back to their former life, leading up to the present.
I picked this book up on a remainder sale, after reading the blurb I thought it looked interesting for the same reason that I found the [b:The long road home the aftermath of the Second World War|9528519|The Long Road Home The Aftermath of the Second World War|Ben Shephard|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333579837s/9528519.jpg|14414587] interesting. I'm interested in transitions, in between times, changes from war to peace, migrants, refugees, displaced persons, asylum seekers. How do such people make a transition from one life to another?
And so I bought it and brought it home to read it, and was surprosed at how good it was. When I read historical novels, I tend to look out for anachronisms, well, not actually to look for them, but when I spot them I find them jarring, and so I tend to be reading in nervous expectation. In this book I didn't spot any, or at least none that were jarring. It seemed remarkably authentic and true to life -- not that I've ever been to Poland, so I might not know anyway, but it didn't seem much different from novels by Polish novelists that I've read.
The characters and their reactions are believable, yet not predictable, and this unpredictability is what makes the novel seem so authentic. It is like the unpredictability of real life, when you never know what will happen next or how people will respond to it.