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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
A book set in London during the Blitz is usually catnip for me, but I couldn't get into this book at all. Flat is the best description I have. This is my first book by Cleave, and I can't help but compare it to the other fabulous books I've read that revolve around this time, and it just didn't measure up.
Beautiful language, many gorgeous turns of phrase. A lot to mark and enjoy. Painful and vivid, difficult to imagine. Ended more suddenly than I expected, like the author just ran out of steam a bit - but I still liked it. Awful enough to seem fair and accurate describing the historical context; bittersweet and poignant enough to stir the heart and wish for better days and a hopeful world.
I do enjoy the characters Cleave creates. Plot and characters alike are wonderfully messy, just as in real life. Like his earlier novels, this read is not a simple nor light-hearted read. Although WW2 is often presented as with a straightforward triumph of good over evil, reality is seldom so simple. Cleave brillantly illuminates the human cost of war, for civilian and soldier alike. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in this book is to complicate the British in the racism of the time. While the victors may be painted as the 'good guys' in WW2 narratives, the Allied powers were not without their own sins. Cleave interweaves the story of Mary, Tom and Health with glimpses of Zachary, a young Black child whose own war with racism is fought on the home front.
At first it seemed to be a "Pearl Harbor"-esque war-time love triangle, but there was much more to it. That being said, I liked the words more than the story.
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pleasantly surprised by the depth of this story. I began reading expecting another WWII novel (which I enjoy, but have read many...) but was glad to find my expectations surpassed.
I was hesitant to read yet another WWII book, but this is unlike any other. This is London at the start of that city's bombing and it is seen through the eyes lives of several main characters. War is viewed from the personal and gruesome level. Cleave can make you feel as if you were there, witnessing yet another building destroyed, along with the people who were in it. He takes you to the nitty-gritty of daily living in a war zone, not the glamorized version.
I couldn't read this at night before bed; it was too scary to think about the characters lives destroyed.
Yet, the book ends on a hopeful note.
I couldn't read this at night before bed; it was too scary to think about the characters lives destroyed.
Yet, the book ends on a hopeful note.
Quite a story of World War II as experienced by Londoners who stayed behind. Youthful characters in n the beginning, full of fun and privilege, ultimately pay the price of suffering, because no one really escaped the ravages of war.
I would actually give this book 3.5 stars, if I could. The prose and dialogue save this book the rest, unfortunately, fell flat for me. I kept wondering "where is this going? what's the point to it?". The ending was unsatisfying.
Do you ever fall more in love with the historical research and back story of a book than the book itself? Based loosely upon the story of Cleave’s grandparents, and with fascinating research into the London Blitz and the Seige of Malta, the story of a circle of Brits during WWII is very good, but not always great.