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A review by emdebell
Wake by Anna Hope
3.0
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!