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A review by andrewspink
De vrouwen van Bletchley Park by Kate Quinn
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book, but it did have some serious shortcomings. The setting is one that has always interested me, ever since I did a school history project on Bletchley Park in the late 70s (at a time when 'no one' had ever heard of it!). The plot is also well worked out, with enough suspense to keep me wanting to know what will happen next, and the characters were all quite believable and interesting.
An aspect that I found quite impressive was that Kate Quinn managed to communicate very well (I imagine) what it felt to be caught up in the war, especially during bombings. Given the terrible events going on in Ukraine at the moment, that had a particular relevance and poignancy, which made that feel much sharper.
There were one or two historically odd bits. Sheffield was presented as a safe location, even though in the Sheffield Blitz there were 660+ dead. 1,500+ injured. 40,000+ homeless. 3,000+ houses destroyed.
What I really didn't like was the backstory about Prince Philip. Doubtless because I not a royalist, and it was excessively flattering about him, but also it distracted from the main story and made parts less credible. For instance, the idea that on the day after the royal wedding there was no one available at MI5 to pick up the phone, but that a secret unit at the palace was ready and waiting, was just silly.
I read the book in translation, and although Frank van der Knoop did a good job on the whole, there were a few parts where the literal English shone through a bit too clearly.
An aspect that I found quite impressive was that Kate Quinn managed to communicate very well (I imagine) what it felt to be caught up in the war, especially during bombings. Given the terrible events going on in Ukraine at the moment, that had a particular relevance and poignancy, which made that feel much sharper.
There were one or two historically odd bits. Sheffield was presented as a safe location, even though in the Sheffield Blitz there were 660+ dead. 1,500+ injured. 40,000+ homeless. 3,000+ houses destroyed.
What I really didn't like was the backstory about Prince Philip. Doubtless because I not a royalist, and it was excessively flattering about him, but also it distracted from the main story and made parts less credible. For instance, the idea that on the day after the royal wedding there was no one available at MI5 to pick up the phone, but that a secret unit at the palace was ready and waiting, was just silly.
I read the book in translation, and although Frank van der Knoop did a good job on the whole, there were a few parts where the literal English shone through a bit too clearly.