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A review by gingerliss
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson
4.0
A very moving book about a Polish family trying to get their lives back together in England after the Second World War.
Although I didn't always agree with the characters actions, I did think the book was very realistic. I didn't see the plot twist coming and my mouth literally dropped open. The story pulled me in and I was hanging on to these lives to find out were they would lead and if the family's new life together would work. I loved Aurek and I liked both parents, even though I didn't always agree with their actions, they were both likeable characters.
...
Spoiler alert from here, don't read any further if you haven't read the book.
I do have to say I felt more for Silvana and understood her more than I did Januz. I don't know if that's something to do with female, but I really disliked the way Januz acted sometimes. I couldn't forgive him for his affair, especially as if Hélene had still been alive he would have probably gone back to her rather than reunite his family.
I also didn't like the way he reacted when he found out Aurek wasn't his real son. Obviously it would be a shock yes, but couldn't he see in the situation Silvana was at the time anyone would have done the same thing.
I didn't always agree with Silvana though either. I didn't like Tony, I can't really explain why, sometimes you just have a feeling about someone (yes even about a fictional character). I didn't understand why she went off with him instead of trying to fix things with Januz straight away.
I also didn't understand why she didn't explain things to the neighbours whilst instead she just let herself be verbally abused by Doris.
There's just one tiny plot issue I'm a little bit concerned with. When telling Silvana's story in Poland in the beginning, the reader is told the following: Silvana loses Aurek, she gave him to a lady to hold for a while and the lady had gone off with him. She finds him again, the lady is dead but he is alive in a blanket.
Later you find out this isn't true and Aurek is actually also dead and then she finds another baby in a cart.
What I don't understand is why tell us the first part. Or is the first part what she tells Januz? I was a bit confused here as I did think the twist was very clever and I was surprised, but really one of the reasons this worked is because the author basically lies to us when she first tells us that part of the story. Whilst she could have skipped that bit entirely and the reader would still be shocked.
All in all both a moving and a gripping read, especially thumbs up for a first novel. Pretty wow!
Although I didn't always agree with the characters actions, I did think the book was very realistic. I didn't see the plot twist coming and my mouth literally dropped open. The story pulled me in and I was hanging on to these lives to find out were they would lead and if the family's new life together would work. I loved Aurek and I liked both parents, even though I didn't always agree with their actions, they were both likeable characters.
...
Spoiler alert from here, don't read any further if you haven't read the book.
I do have to say I felt more for Silvana and understood her more than I did Januz. I don't know if that's something to do with female, but I really disliked the way Januz acted sometimes. I couldn't forgive him for his affair, especially as if Hélene had still been alive he would have probably gone back to her rather than reunite his family.
I also didn't like the way he reacted when he found out Aurek wasn't his real son. Obviously it would be a shock yes, but couldn't he see in the situation Silvana was at the time anyone would have done the same thing.
I didn't always agree with Silvana though either. I didn't like Tony, I can't really explain why, sometimes you just have a feeling about someone (yes even about a fictional character). I didn't understand why she went off with him instead of trying to fix things with Januz straight away.
I also didn't understand why she didn't explain things to the neighbours whilst instead she just let herself be verbally abused by Doris.
There's just one tiny plot issue I'm a little bit concerned with. When telling Silvana's story in Poland in the beginning, the reader is told the following: Silvana loses Aurek, she gave him to a lady to hold for a while and the lady had gone off with him. She finds him again, the lady is dead but he is alive in a blanket.
Later you find out this isn't true and Aurek is actually also dead and then she finds another baby in a cart.
What I don't understand is why tell us the first part. Or is the first part what she tells Januz? I was a bit confused here as I did think the twist was very clever and I was surprised, but really one of the reasons this worked is because the author basically lies to us when she first tells us that part of the story. Whilst she could have skipped that bit entirely and the reader would still be shocked.
All in all both a moving and a gripping read, especially thumbs up for a first novel. Pretty wow!