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A review by jacki_f
The Metal Heart by Caroline Lea
3.0
The Metal Heart is set in the Orkney Islands during WW2. After a German submarine torpedoed a ship moored there in 1941, a group of Italian prisoners were sent to build barricades which would close off the straits and prevent enemy submarines being able to enter again. While the soldiers were in Orkney, they also constructed a tiny Catholic chapel which stands to this day (google Orkney's Italian Chapel to see photos).
Caroline Lea's novel takes places against these events. She focuses on twin sisters Dorothy (Dot) and Constance (Con) who have cut themselves off from the local community after something happened to Con. They volunteer to help nurse the POWs and this is how Dot will come to know and fall in love with Cesare although it's hard to imagine how there can possibly be a happy ending for them.
I liked learning about a piece of history that I didn't know and this is a very atmospheric read.
Caroline Lea's novel takes places against these events. She focuses on twin sisters Dorothy (Dot) and Constance (Con) who have cut themselves off from the local community after something happened to Con. They volunteer to help nurse the POWs and this is how Dot will come to know and fall in love with Cesare although it's hard to imagine how there can possibly be a happy ending for them.
I liked learning about a piece of history that I didn't know and this is a very atmospheric read.