A review by jessreadthis
Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes

5.0

This was my first experience reading Mollie Panter-Downes writing. She blew me away. She reads journalistically though layers it with perfect subtle details that nudges it into fiction. If that makes sense? She gives subtle descriptions of her characters' emotions which conveys so much left unsaid but is still being said. It is wartime after all and everyone is carrying on. Carrying on while clinging to various rituals that keep them from falling apart. Whether it be that familiar dining in a restaurant where years long trysts have occurred, a maid despairing at her mistress's abandonment of dressing for dinner and taking it in the kitchen, a gentleman taking his dinner at the club so as not to go home and be reminded he isn't in the active military, a retired military man past the age of service still having his guns ready for unsuspecting paratroopers... and I could go on and on. Each story in this book is full of characters living their lives in an extraordinary time.

I'm not normally a short story person. In fact, I was reminded of why when I was enjoying Panter-Downes' stories so much I ended up disappointed at the end because I wasn't ready for some to end! However, her lovely and impactful writing kept me reading and readily forgiving when each story came to a close. She has a way of capturing the snippets of life which would normally pass by and pushes pause on that scene in order to show its' depth. Just incredibly well done.