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danubooks 's review for:
Strangers in Time
by David Baldacci
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sometimes its a matter of whom one meets, and when.
Charlie Matters is 14 and lives with his Gran in London's East End, not a particularly safe to be during the Blitz in 1944. He lost his father to the war and his mother to a bomb, and while his grandmother does her best to provide for them both (and they at least have a roof over their heads, something not true for all in their part of the city) times are tough. Unbeknownst to his Gran Charlie has stopped going to school and instead spends his time out on the streets trying to earn a little money or, when needed, to lift an item or two from someone who can (as best he can guess) affort the loss. Through just such a foray one night Charlie happens into a bookshop in an alley in Covent Garden, The Book Keep, where he grabs some money from the till and a book off the counter. Guilt has him returning the items soon thereafter....the man who runs the shop, Ignatius Oliver, seems like too good a man of whom to take advantage as well as someone who can't really spare the money after all. On a different night Charlie crosses paths with Molly Wakefield, a girl from a wealthy family who has just returned to her home in Chelsea from the countryside where she had been sent for safety years earlier only to find her father and mother now missing. The three people from different walks of life are each struggling with the losses and changes wrought by war, and will help one another through subsequent challenges as it continues to exact its toll on the people of London. As bombs fall and each tries to come to terms with the tragedies in their lives and the questions that still linger over them, the three come together as a sort of family. But the mystery of what has happened to Molly's parents and the secret acts of Ignatius may rupture the bonds they are forming.
Author David Baldacci is known for his suspenseful thrillers, so let me start by saying that this book is not in that mold. It is historical fiction that explores the reality of life in war-torn London during 1944 and chronicles the daily tragedies that occurred, the resiliency shown by Londoners in the face of the harshest of circumstances, and the power of human beings who form connections in even the darkest of times. The richness of detail...the rationed food, the rubble in the streets, the living under the threat of bombing that could and did happen anywhere at any time...is the strongest aspect to the book. The characters, particularly the three main protagonists of Charlie, Molly and Ignatius, are well-developed and worm their ways into the reader's heart. The story, like the circumstances it meticulously portrays, is certainly a bit on the darker side but is not without hope. The mystery of what happened to Molly's parents takes its time in being resolved, and I found it not entirely believable, but the strength of the novel's portrayal of the place and people make it a worthwhile read. Readers of Markus Zusak, Anthony Doerr and Kristin Hannah will find this a welcome addition to their TBR pile, as will fans of Baldacci's earlier non-thriller works. My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me access to this story which celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in exchange for my honest review.
Charlie Matters is 14 and lives with his Gran in London's East End, not a particularly safe to be during the Blitz in 1944. He lost his father to the war and his mother to a bomb, and while his grandmother does her best to provide for them both (and they at least have a roof over their heads, something not true for all in their part of the city) times are tough. Unbeknownst to his Gran Charlie has stopped going to school and instead spends his time out on the streets trying to earn a little money or, when needed, to lift an item or two from someone who can (as best he can guess) affort the loss. Through just such a foray one night Charlie happens into a bookshop in an alley in Covent Garden, The Book Keep, where he grabs some money from the till and a book off the counter. Guilt has him returning the items soon thereafter....the man who runs the shop, Ignatius Oliver, seems like too good a man of whom to take advantage as well as someone who can't really spare the money after all. On a different night Charlie crosses paths with Molly Wakefield, a girl from a wealthy family who has just returned to her home in Chelsea from the countryside where she had been sent for safety years earlier only to find her father and mother now missing. The three people from different walks of life are each struggling with the losses and changes wrought by war, and will help one another through subsequent challenges as it continues to exact its toll on the people of London. As bombs fall and each tries to come to terms with the tragedies in their lives and the questions that still linger over them, the three come together as a sort of family. But the mystery of what has happened to Molly's parents and the secret acts of Ignatius may rupture the bonds they are forming.
Author David Baldacci is known for his suspenseful thrillers, so let me start by saying that this book is not in that mold. It is historical fiction that explores the reality of life in war-torn London during 1944 and chronicles the daily tragedies that occurred, the resiliency shown by Londoners in the face of the harshest of circumstances, and the power of human beings who form connections in even the darkest of times. The richness of detail...the rationed food, the rubble in the streets, the living under the threat of bombing that could and did happen anywhere at any time...is the strongest aspect to the book. The characters, particularly the three main protagonists of Charlie, Molly and Ignatius, are well-developed and worm their ways into the reader's heart. The story, like the circumstances it meticulously portrays, is certainly a bit on the darker side but is not without hope. The mystery of what happened to Molly's parents takes its time in being resolved, and I found it not entirely believable, but the strength of the novel's portrayal of the place and people make it a worthwhile read. Readers of Markus Zusak, Anthony Doerr and Kristin Hannah will find this a welcome addition to their TBR pile, as will fans of Baldacci's earlier non-thriller works. My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me access to this story which celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in exchange for my honest review.