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raincityreads 's review for:
Black Dove White Raven
by Elizabeth Wein
This is the first Elizabeth Wein book I've read, but she's legendary for her WWII historical fiction novels, Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire. I've been meaning to read them for quite some time, so when I saw this book on the list of upcoming releases, I jumped at the chance to finally read some of her work. And she completely lived up to her reputation.
In her newest novel, Wein takes on a new locale and time period - and populates her historical landscape with some memorable characters bent on defying the rules of the time and place they were born to.
It begins with two female stunt pilots, Rhoda and Delia, one of whom is white and the other black. They're both American, but Rhoda is married to an Italian military pilot with whom she has a daughter, and Delia's son is the child of an Ethiopian government official she met in Paris. The two women are best friends, and they do stunt flying exhibitions.
The pair are unstoppable, taking on every challenge that comes their way fearlessly. Until one day tragedy strikes - during one of their flights, a bird hits their plane mid-flight and it crashes, killing Delia and injuring Rhoda.
It takes some time for Rhoda to recover - both physically and mentally. Her family takes care of her and both her daughter, Em, and Delia's son, Teo. Over time she gets better and decides that she must realize Delia's dream of moving the children to Ethiopia so that Teo might know his homeland. She leaves the kids and sets off for Africa, where she secures a plane from her husband and hooks up with a clinic, flying the doctor to remote areas and taking photographs to sell to magazines. Once she's set up a home and established a way to support them, she sends for the kids who quickly become at home in the Ethiopian countryside, abandoning shoes for bare feet and learning the local language and customs.
For several years their lives are wonderful and full of adventures and childhood fun... until the threat of conflict with Italian forces stationed on the Eritrean border looms, and a revelation about Teo's father shatters their idyllic lives.
Despite misgivings, Rhoda begins teaching the children how to fly so that if Teo is forced to fight, at least he won't be on the ground wielding a spear against an army with machine guns.
This book was not, in any way, what I expected. And yet, it was one that thrilled and shocked me page after page. This is not a conflict I had any prior knowledge of, nor was I well versed on Ethiopian history. While this book was a work of fiction, it was obviously well-researched, and Wein created such a vibrant cast of characters that I felt like I was right there with them as they took to the sky and faced some of their biggest fears.
At its heart, this is a story about courage. The courage it takes to be different, to buck societal norms and to doggedly pursue your goals. Each character in this book either serves to reinforce the limits placed on us by time, gender, race or politics - or demonstrates just how much can be accomplished if we choose to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds for what we believe in and those we love.
"Doing the thing you are scared of is much harder than not being afraid of anything. It is easy to be brave. It is not so easy to be scared and do a brave thing anyway." - p. 236
Thanks to Random House of Canada for the review copy!
Full review published on Backlist Books
In her newest novel, Wein takes on a new locale and time period - and populates her historical landscape with some memorable characters bent on defying the rules of the time and place they were born to.
It begins with two female stunt pilots, Rhoda and Delia, one of whom is white and the other black. They're both American, but Rhoda is married to an Italian military pilot with whom she has a daughter, and Delia's son is the child of an Ethiopian government official she met in Paris. The two women are best friends, and they do stunt flying exhibitions.
The pair are unstoppable, taking on every challenge that comes their way fearlessly. Until one day tragedy strikes - during one of their flights, a bird hits their plane mid-flight and it crashes, killing Delia and injuring Rhoda.
It takes some time for Rhoda to recover - both physically and mentally. Her family takes care of her and both her daughter, Em, and Delia's son, Teo. Over time she gets better and decides that she must realize Delia's dream of moving the children to Ethiopia so that Teo might know his homeland. She leaves the kids and sets off for Africa, where she secures a plane from her husband and hooks up with a clinic, flying the doctor to remote areas and taking photographs to sell to magazines. Once she's set up a home and established a way to support them, she sends for the kids who quickly become at home in the Ethiopian countryside, abandoning shoes for bare feet and learning the local language and customs.
For several years their lives are wonderful and full of adventures and childhood fun... until the threat of conflict with Italian forces stationed on the Eritrean border looms, and a revelation about Teo's father shatters their idyllic lives.
Despite misgivings, Rhoda begins teaching the children how to fly so that if Teo is forced to fight, at least he won't be on the ground wielding a spear against an army with machine guns.
This book was not, in any way, what I expected. And yet, it was one that thrilled and shocked me page after page. This is not a conflict I had any prior knowledge of, nor was I well versed on Ethiopian history. While this book was a work of fiction, it was obviously well-researched, and Wein created such a vibrant cast of characters that I felt like I was right there with them as they took to the sky and faced some of their biggest fears.
At its heart, this is a story about courage. The courage it takes to be different, to buck societal norms and to doggedly pursue your goals. Each character in this book either serves to reinforce the limits placed on us by time, gender, race or politics - or demonstrates just how much can be accomplished if we choose to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds for what we believe in and those we love.
"Doing the thing you are scared of is much harder than not being afraid of anything. It is easy to be brave. It is not so easy to be scared and do a brave thing anyway." - p. 236
Full review published on Backlist Books