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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't understand the reviews for this book. Bad writing, one dimensional characters and no movement in the plot. It's super disappointing because the blurb sounded really good and there aren't a lot of books about the aftermath of World War 1.
A friend loaned me this book and highly recommended it.
It's a story basically of 3 women struggling in the aftermath of WW1 in London, England. The year is 1920.
The author has done a great job of research and has brought to life that period of time. 1920s England is not a time I'm too familiar with and I enjoy learning about history in this way.
It took me about 50 pages to get into it and after that, I just barrelled through it. I found the author wrote in such a way to create a story line so that I simply wanted to keep reading.
While I appreciate the author's ability to weave the narrative so that the stories of these women intersect, I also find the amazing number of coincidences to be off-putting. It is too contrived for my liking.
However, for the historical learning, I give it 4 stars.
It's a story basically of 3 women struggling in the aftermath of WW1 in London, England. The year is 1920.
The author has done a great job of research and has brought to life that period of time. 1920s England is not a time I'm too familiar with and I enjoy learning about history in this way.
It took me about 50 pages to get into it and after that, I just barrelled through it. I found the author wrote in such a way to create a story line so that I simply wanted to keep reading.
While I appreciate the author's ability to weave the narrative so that the stories of these women intersect, I also find the amazing number of coincidences to be off-putting. It is too contrived for my liking.
However, for the historical learning, I give it 4 stars.
This was a darker, heavier book than I was expecting. But then The Ballroom by the same author was pretty sombre as well. Interestingly, if I had to guess which one had been the debut book, I'd have said The Ballroom, when in fact it was this one. This felt completely mature and well-rounded, while The Ballroom (which was excellent too) seemed of a more personal motivation, dedicated as it was to an ancestor with an interesting history.
Here we follow a few days of the lives of three women (and the people around them) around the time when London held a ceremony for the Unknown Warrior. This was a coffin with the remnants of an anonymous soldier that was paraded around the city, so people could pay their respects and deal with their personal grievances of family members and friends lost in the war. It must have been a tremendously emotional occasion that is well conveyed by the author. Every one of these women (as well as many of the other characters) lead a suspended life in consequence of the war and this book describes their progress towards a fuller life. There is no happy resolution, however, but then nothing can ever be the same after such a drastic event.
Here we follow a few days of the lives of three women (and the people around them) around the time when London held a ceremony for the Unknown Warrior. This was a coffin with the remnants of an anonymous soldier that was paraded around the city, so people could pay their respects and deal with their personal grievances of family members and friends lost in the war. It must have been a tremendously emotional occasion that is well conveyed by the author. Every one of these women (as well as many of the other characters) lead a suspended life in consequence of the war and this book describes their progress towards a fuller life. There is no happy resolution, however, but then nothing can ever be the same after such a drastic event.
I really, really loved this book. This book is about what it is like to be sad. Not depressed, but deeply sad. And it is about grief and grieving, which is a very difficult thing to convey accurately. This book is full of characters grieving different things in different ways. There is a coherent narrative thread, but it's not saccharine and it doesn't wrap anything up in a nice little bow. Which is only right.
For a novel I came across in passing, Wake far exceeded my expectations, so much so that I am surprised I had not heard of it sooner, or that more acclaim had not preceded it. An intimate and interconnected story of three very different women in post WWI England, the novel is atmospheric and affecting. Being from the U.S., our lessons on WWI really just skim the surface, which belies the massive and pervasive impact the war had on Europe, which Wake makes very clear. A really enjoyable and satisfying read.
I thought this book was going to be a 4 star book for me...I really liked each of the female characters and was interested in each of their stories...But, when I was done it just left me hanging there....I couldn't believe it was done...I thought for sure I inadvertently skipped pages on my Kindle...it was disappointing!
I love the title of this book - all the different connotations of "wake" are fitting for this story. Likewise, the cover art is beautiful and evokes the aftermath of WWI in Britain. The story wasn't long, and was a page-turner for me despite the technical flaws that ultimately lowered my opinion of the book. As much as I loved spending a couple days reading about WWI in England, they were spent mostly in a hazy confusion (including the fact that I didn't realize that all the characters lived in London until rereading the synopsis just now. I thought some of them lived outside the city!)
The biggest issue I had was the confusion caused by the small italicized scenes. Typically a few pages in length and scattered throughout the book, these small bits focused on unknown random people and made the story feel disjointed and confusing. I was almost to the end of the book when I realized that they were scenes that followed the journey of the Unknown Warrior to his final destination for Armistice Day. I probably would have realized this sooner if I had thoroughly digested the book's synopsis, but since I like to go into a book with as few preconceptions as possible I was fated to be confused. My advice: don't rely on the narrative to gather what the book is about. Study the synopsis closely so you can figure out who the main characters are (and who they aren't.)
The other irritants included a large cast of characters that weren't always distinct enough to recall, chapter organization that did little to help you figure it out, as well as having been written in present tense from multiple points of view, (which doesn't bother me as a rule, but continually caught my attention here.)
With all these issues, it may be surprising that I enjoyed the book at all. There is something magnetic about it though, perhaps making me feel the imperfections more keenly. The jobs the girls held, the family dynamics, the stories of the war...all were intriguing and kept me reading. I think I'd even recommend it, on the condition that you read the synopsis properly!
The biggest issue I had was the confusion caused by the small italicized scenes. Typically a few pages in length and scattered throughout the book, these small bits focused on unknown random people and made the story feel disjointed and confusing. I was almost to the end of the book when I realized that they were scenes that followed the journey of the Unknown Warrior to his final destination for Armistice Day. I probably would have realized this sooner if I had thoroughly digested the book's synopsis, but since I like to go into a book with as few preconceptions as possible I was fated to be confused. My advice: don't rely on the narrative to gather what the book is about. Study the synopsis closely so you can figure out who the main characters are (and who they aren't.)
The other irritants included a large cast of characters that weren't always distinct enough to recall, chapter organization that did little to help you figure it out, as well as having been written in present tense from multiple points of view, (which doesn't bother me as a rule, but continually caught my attention here.)
With all these issues, it may be surprising that I enjoyed the book at all. There is something magnetic about it though, perhaps making me feel the imperfections more keenly. The jobs the girls held, the family dynamics, the stories of the war...all were intriguing and kept me reading. I think I'd even recommend it, on the condition that you read the synopsis properly!
This was a unique look at the aftermath of WWI from the female perspective. This has been largely ignored except for some biographical works such as Vera Brittain's TESTAMENT OF YOUTH. The book was well written and I found the seperate storylines easy to keep straight. I received this a a First Reads from Goodreads, and with that being said since it was an ARC the ending was rather abrupt. I would have preferred a bit more closure from the characters as I was invested in them.
DNF restarted after listening to the first 90 minutes. Gave up after 3.5 hours.
It was hard for to get into this book, but once I did, I found it intriguing. The time period is fascinating and the author brings a great amount of empathy to life during and after WW1. The effects were profound and the author shows this well. Worth the read, I recommend it, yet, not something I would pick up again.