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A review by maebinnig
Noonday by Pat Barker
4.0
Noonday is surprisingly hopeful given its dreary setting. It's World War II London and bombs are dropping so regularly that it's more or less business as usual; there's more emotional angst over family drama than about, you know, people getting blown up. But that's life, isn't it? Tragedy is hard to process on such a massive scale; it makes more sense to focus on the more immediate, manageable issues.
The detail in this book is exquisite and brilliantly rendered. Oh, and it is So Very British. I honestly got a bit thrown off by the slang at times. Regardless, it smacks of authenticity.
I was at a disadvantage with this book because it's the third in a trilogy and I haven't read the first two. It can be read as a stand-alone--I was never confused about what was going on--but I felt somehow that I was missing an important emotional core. Everything related to Toby, and to a lesser extent the ending with Kit, felt very meaningful in a way that I didn't get. Since the second book is called "Toby's Room," I'm betting I would feel more feelings about him had I read it.
(I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.)
The detail in this book is exquisite and brilliantly rendered. Oh, and it is So Very British. I honestly got a bit thrown off by the slang at times. Regardless, it smacks of authenticity.
I was at a disadvantage with this book because it's the third in a trilogy and I haven't read the first two. It can be read as a stand-alone--I was never confused about what was going on--but I felt somehow that I was missing an important emotional core. Everything related to Toby, and to a lesser extent the ending with Kit, felt very meaningful in a way that I didn't get. Since the second book is called "Toby's Room," I'm betting I would feel more feelings about him had I read it.
(I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.)