Book Review: An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse

An Ordinary Life

by

Amanda Prowse

 

 

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication date: 9th February 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction / WWII

Pages: 396

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

About the book

 

Christmas Eve, 2019. Ninety-four-year-old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body—but her mind is alive with memories.

London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. Life becomes brighter when she meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But then war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice, and when she’s brought to her knees by a daring undercover mission with the French Resistance, only her sister knows the secret weighing heavily on Molly’s heart.

Now, lying in her hospital bed, Molly can’t escape the memories of what she lost all those years ago. But she is not as alone as she thinks.

Will she be able to find peace—and finally understand that what seemed to be an ordinary life was anything but?

 

My review

 

I love reading anything that is set during WWII and Amanda Prowse hasn't disappointed in this family drama centred around a young woman who made great sacrifices and risked her life to help end the war.

 

The story opens with Molly aged 94 suffering from a stroke and a fall that lands her in hospital unable to communicate, although her mind is perfectly clear. Molly is desperate to tell her story.

 

From here we go back to 1943, London and an 18 year old Molly. She is an amazing, strong woman and very intelligent. She is fluent in German and works for The Ministry of Information as a senior translator translating propaganda posters and transcripts intercepted from the enemy. We follow Molly's extraordinary life through the ups and downs of love, friendships and family in a time of war.

 

Amanda Prowse portrays how the war had changed the trajectory of many lives and how women slotted into jobs usually allocated to men. The story also shows the societal restrictions of the time concerning reputation and appearances. Molly falls in love fast and hard, as many did during this time of uncertainty. When he is sent off to fight she spends many hours thinking of her love and praying for his safe return whilst she continues with her life and doing what she can to end this war and bring her loved one home.

 

With themes of PTSD, spies, societal expectations and family, Amanda Prowse has written a beautifully described story that is filled with love, danger, tension, sacrifice and heartbreak.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling Historical Fiction.

 

4/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

 
Amanda Prowse was a management consultant for ten years before realising that she was born to write. Amanda lives in the West Country with her husband and their two teenage sons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenges entered: Historical Fiction Challenge #HistFic2021 

 

 

I have a giveaway currently running and you can enter HERE

 

 

 

Book Review: The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy

The Skylark's Secret

by

Fiona Valpy

 

 
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication date: 29th September 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 315

Format read: Kindle eBook

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

About the book

Loch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper’s daughter Flora’s remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird’s son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed.

Decades later, Flora’s daughter, singer Lexie Gordon, is forced to return to the village and to the tiny cottage where she grew up. Having long ago escaped to the bright lights of the West End, London still never truly felt like home. Now back, with a daughter of her own, Lexie learns that her mother—and the hostile-seeming village itself—have long been hiding secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew.

As she pieces together the fragments of her parents’ story, Lexie discovers the courageous, devastating sacrifices made in her name. It’s too late to rekindle her relationship with her mother, but can Lexie find it in her heart to forgive the past, to grieve for all that’s lost, and finally find her place in the world?

 

My review

 

Set in the beautiful Northwest Highlands of Scotland at Loch Ewe The Skylark's Secret is an evocative read. Fiona Valpy's poetic prose bring the setting and the characters alive.

 

Told in multiple time frames. In 1978 we have accomplished singer Lexie Gordon return home, her career in tatters and baby in tow. Lexie has many regrets and one is not visiting her mother more before she passed away. Now she is home she wants to find out more about her father but she worries the tight-knit community won't accept her back. In 1939 a young Flora Gordon lives with her father and brother. Here we see the affect the war has on the community with a naval base being set up on the shores of the Loch. Fiona Valpy highlights the life in these areas during the war years and the great toll on many families losing their sons to war. There are also themes of PTSD which was undiagnosed and untreated and the evacuation of children from London to board with families in country areas. 

 

I really enjoyed Flora's story, the day to day life of the small community and the class system that was relevant at the time. Flora and her friends were a fun lot, they did their part for the war effort but they also had fun flirting with the American sailors.

 

Fiona Valpy has created characters to love and characters to hate which makes for engaging and immersive reading. 

 

The Skylark's Secret is a story of love, loss, hope and new beginnings. 

 

4/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo: Goodreads

Fiona is an acclaimed number 1 bestselling author, whose books have been translated into more than twenty different languages worldwide.

She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women, especially during the years of WWII. Her meticulous historical research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place.

 

Fiona spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007, before returning to live in Scotland. Her love for both of these countries, their people and their histories, has found its way into the books she's written. 

 

 

Challenges entered: Historical Fiction Challenge #HistFicChallenge 

 

 

Book Review: In Search of a Name by Marjolijn van Heemstra

In Search of a Name

by

Marjolijn van Heemstra

Translated by Jonathan Reeder

 

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Imprint: Atria Books

Publication date: 24th November 2020 (first Published 4th may 2017)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 208

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

About the book 

 

Marjolijn van Heemstra has heard about her great-uncle’s heroism for as long as she can remember. As a resistance fighter, he was the mastermind of a bombing operation that killed a Dutch man who collaborated with the Nazis, and later became a hero to everyone in the family.

So, when Marjolijn’s grandmother bestows her with her great-uncle’s signet ring requesting that she name her future son after him, Marjolijn can’t say no. Now pregnant with her firstborn, she embarks on a quest to uncover the true story behind the myth of her late relative. Chasing leads from friends and family, and doing her own local research, Marolijn realizes that the audacious story she always heard is not as clear-cut as it was made out to be. As her belly grows, her doubts grow, too—was her uncle a hero or a criminal?

 

My review

I'm not sure how much of this story is true and how much is fiction. It definitely reads like a true story and I even found myself googling the Mentos ad when the author says her husband was in the ad. The author calls it a story of a story.

In Search of a Name is such a compelling read I found myself totally invested in Marjolijn's search to uncover the true story of her great-uncle.

 

At the age of Eighteen Marjolijn had promised her grandmother that she would name her first son after a late relative, the hero of their family. Years later, pregnant with her first child, she starts to investigate this relative. There is a lot of conflicting information from different relatives and friends. Like all family stories, Uncle Frans' (nicknamed Bommenneef) story has changed as it was handed down through the generations and was also different according to what side of the family Marjolijn was talking to. She searches for the true story because this is what she wants her child to know.

Each chapter is headed by the number of weeks left in her pregnancy as the author counts down from 27 weeks to the day her baby is born.

Marjolijn becomes obsessed with finding out the full details behind the bombing he was involved in. She goes through archives of newspapers, court hearings, birth records and witness statements

 

Themes of bringing unindicted war criminals to justice, vigilantes continuing the cause after the war is over and the idea of a person living up to a name make this a thought provoking read.

In Search of a Name is a fascinating story. The writing is engaging, the translation is impeccable, and I loved the way the author slowly teased out the mystery of her uncle's actions sifting through fact and fiction, leaving me on edge right up until the end.

 

5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Long Tail of Trauma: A Memoir

The Long Tail of Trauma: A Memoir

by

Elizabeth Wilcox

 

 

Publisher: Green Place Books

Publication date: 11th November 2020

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 268

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of Stephanie Barko Publicist

 

About the book

 

The Long Tail of Trauma covers the lives of five generations of the author’s maternal ancestors from 1904-2018, through Europe and America. The long tail refers to multigenerational family trauma that begins near Liverpool before World War I and continues through Operation Pied Piper and the PTSD era in America.

The author’s journey becomes an exploration into attachment and the legacy of maternal trauma on intergenerational mental health and relationships. Through documenting her forebears’ stories, author Elizabeth Wilcox gives us a greater understanding of what a mother must overcome to erase the epigenetic stain of early childhood trauma.

 

My review

 

Elizabeth Wilcox writes a memoir that at times reads like an historical  novel it is so full of atmosphere and sentiment.

I enjoyed the combination of writing styles that brought to life the story of Anna and Violet.

 

In the Long Tail of Trauma we follow 4 generations of mothers and daughters. Elizabeth explains, through her research, how trauma can be passed down through the generations.

 

The storyline is sourced from extensive research of Elizabeth's family history and uses some creativity concerning her ancestors thoughts and conversations. 

Dispersed between chapters of her great-grandmother's and grandmother's lives are chapters on her own life growing up with a mother with PTSD.

 

Elizabeth Wilcox has given many documentations to support her claims and I found her  memoir and that of the lives of her ancestors, Germans living in England during the outbreak of WWII to be both engaging and fascinating reading.

The Long Tail of Trauma is an interesting study on childhood trauma and its impact on mental health, autoimmune disease, depression, PTSD and suicidal thoughts.

4/5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Photo: Goodreads

Elizabeth Wilcox has worked as a journalist in England, Hong Kong, and the US. She has extensive experience both nationally and internationally as a newspaper columnist, radio presenter, CNBC television news producer, and web producer.

Her first book The Mom Economy (Berkley, 2003) was called “one of the best career books of 2003” by syndicated columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy. Her guest appearances include community and book groups, local and national radio programs, popular podcasts, and network television. Her work has been featured in ABC7 “All About Kids”, Bloomberg Radio, The Boston Herald, Boston Globe, Marketwatch, The Chicago Tribune, CNNfn, Parenting Magazine, Redbook and others.

Elizabeth Wilcox currently consults with educational organizations that promote social and emotional learning and trauma-informed practices for youth.

She lives with her family in Vermont. 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Soldiers by Tom Remiger

Soldiers

by

Tom Remiger 

 

 

Publisher: Text Publishing 

Publication date: 1st September 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction / War

Pages: 240

Format read: Paperback

Source: Won

 

About the book

 

Breen sometimes thought sourly that Tiger Jackson would have made a good fascist. He told unreliable stories, he liked power and admiration, and he had all three military virtues- self-belief, luck, and an eye for the main chance. Despite all this, Breen liked him. Somehow it was impossible not to.

After the death of Corporal Daniel Cousins in what is apparently a training accident, a young officer, Lieutenant Breen, becomes obsessed by the case. Was Cousins murdered by one of his own?
Breen's investigation, as well as his unanticipated love affair with a superior officer, threatens the unity of his comrades as they wait for the suffering to come in the Battle of Crete-one of the defining encounters of World War II.

My review

 

Opening in 1940, Soldiers follows a group of New Zealand soldiers as they are sent to England for training then to Egypt and Crete defending these areas against the ever advancing German army.

 

In this compassionate, yet fierce, story Tom Remiger puts emphasis on the different personalities of the soldiers and how they cope with the conditions and each other's company.

 

At the start of the book I was a little lost as the characters were at times called by their first name or last name or even a nickname. It seemed like their were more characters to keep track of than there actually were. However, as the story moves on the names all slot in and the story became easier to follow.

 

Remiger deftly describes the long tedious days of waiting and the terrible conditions the soldiers endured. His characters are real! They are at times not as brave as they would like to be. They get along and they fight. Sometimes they are best friends and at others they hate each other, begging for space.

We follow these characters as they change from men to soldiers.

 

Underlying this story of man and war  is a compassionate story of devotion as Lt Patrick Breen becomes aware of his feelings for Captain  Sinclair. Breen is a gentle soul although many of his fellow soldiers thought he had a wildness about him. He becomes obsessed with the accidental death of one of the soldiers in their company. This obsession soon leads to paranoia and he sees motive in many of his fellow soldiers.

Soldiers is a moving story and not like the usual WWII stories I read full of killing and bravado. Remiger has dug into the soul of his soldiers to reveal their true feelings and fears. When the fighting comes, some will rise to the occasion whilst others will fall.

About the author

Photo: Text Publishing

Tom Remiger is the name under which Tom McLean writes fiction. He is originally from Rotorua, New Zealand, but now lives in the UK, where he is completing a DPhil in literature at Oxford. His non-fiction and academic writing have been published in a number of journals and magazines. Soldiers won the 2019 Michael Gifkins Prize.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester

The Paris Seamstress

by

Natasha Lester

 

 

 

Publisher:  Hachette Australia

Publication date: 27th March 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 448

RRP: $29.99 (paperback) $12.99 (e-Book)

Format read: e-Book

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

About the book

 

1940. Parisian seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee France as the Germans advance. She is bound for Manhattan with a few francs, one suitcase, her sewing machine, and a dream: to have her own atelier.

2015. Australian curator Fabienne Bissette journeys to the annual Met Gala for an exhibition of her beloved grandmother's work - one of the world's leading designers of ready-to-wear. But as Fabienne learns more about her grandmother's past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak and secrets - and the sacrifices made for love.

Crossing generations, society's boundaries and international turmoil, The Paris Seamstress is the beguiling, transporting story of the special relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter as they attempt to heal the heartache of the past. 

 

My review

 

I love Natasha Lester’s books so I didn’t even read the blurb. I just jumped straight in. I immediately became engrossed in Estella’s story and was quite shocked when the story jumped to 2015 and Fabienne. I think this, in turn, made me a little less interested in Fabienne’s story.

The Paris Seamstress is a look at fashion during the 1940’s and how many companies copied designs from the big Parisian fashion houses and reproduced them. Paris was the fashion capitol of the world.

The story moves from war-torn Paris to New York where a very outspoken and opinionated Estella finds it hard to break into the fashion industry. She has her own distinct ideas on fashion but are the American women ready for these ideas.

I found the overall plot of the Paris Seamstress to be quite complex and I had trouble keeping up at times. Just as I became totally engrossed in one timeline the story would switch over and I felt a resentment at being pulled away from my story. For me the gap between each switch was too large.

What I loved about the story was the strong female characters and the two burgeoning love stories.

The Paris Seamstress is filled with mystery, love, hope, optimism and loss. All centred around the fashion industry.

The problem with holding A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald up as one of my favourite books ever is, it’s a hard act to follow.

3.5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐½

About the author

Photo credit: Hachette Aus

Natasha Lester worked as a marketing executive before returning to university to study creative writing. She completed a Master of Creative Arts as well as her first novel, What Is Left Over, After, which won the T.A.G. Hungerford Award for Fiction. Her second novel, If I Should Lose You, was published in 2012, followed by A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald in 2016, Her Mother's Secret in 2017 and the Top 10 Australian and international bestsellers The Paris Seamstress in 2018 and The French Photographer in 2019. The Age described Natasha as 'a remarkable Australian talent' and her work has been published in numerous anthologies and journals.

In her spare time Natasha loves to teach writing, is a sought after public speaker and can often be found playing dress-ups with her three children. She lives in Perth. 

   

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20

                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020

                                 Historical Fiction Challenge  #2020HistFicReadingChallenge

 

Book Review: Letters From Berlin by Tania Blanchard

Letters From Berlin

by

Tania Blanchard

 

 

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Publication date: 7th October 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 448

RRP: $32.99AUD

Format read: Uncorrected paperback

Source:Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Berlin, 1943

As the Allied forces edge closer, the Third Reich tightens its grip on its people. For eighteen-year-old Susanna Göttmann, this means her adopted family including the man she loves, Leo, are at risk.

Desperate to protect them any way she can, Susie accepts the help of an influential Nazi officer. It means she must abandon any hope of a future with Leo and enter the terrifying world of the Nazi elite.

But all is not lost as her newfound position offers more than she could have hoped for … With critical intelligence at her fingertips, Susie seizes a dangerous opportunity to help the resistance.

The decisions she makes could change the course of the war, but what will they mean for her family and her future? 

 

My review

 

Inspired by real events Letters From Berlin, set during the last two years of Nazi ruled Germany, is narrated by Susanna an Aryan German but living with her adoptive family of mixed Aryan and Jewish heritage. This mix gives a perspective I haven’t read before.

These mixed families were protected from persecution at the beginning of the war however as conditions worsened and hatred spread the children of mixed marriages were targeted.

Letters from Berlin is a story of love and desperation. Opening on Susanna’s 19th birthday her family own a large estate in the country that supplies food to the Nazi officers which in turn provides them with a level of protection. We see a Berlin that is flourishing as Susanna is taken under the wing of a family friend who introduces her to glamorous cocktail parties and stage shows. Thus highlighting the vast difference in lifestyle of the upper-class Germans and the villagers.

Tania Blanchard shows the slow demise of Nazi Germany and how through fear for their own lives friends turned against each other. And as the Nazis started to get desperate they even turned against their own citizens. It was a time when no one was safe and the only information received was rumour and propaganda. As the story is told from the perspective of a German citizen we don’t get to see the terrible atrocities that were performed, only the rumours that were passed around.

Letters From Berlin tells how many German citizens were against the Nazi rule and longed for Hitler’s downfall. Many endangering their own lives to help Jews escape and also hiding prisoners of war. Susanna was a marvellous heroine, strong and determined, standing up for what she believed in and willing to do all she could to save her family.

Set over a short period of two years I felt the first half of the book was a bit slow however the second half delivered with raw emotion and believable suffering.

Letters From Berlin shows how the events of the war have a ripple effect, still affecting families many years later. 

 

4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

About the author

 

Photo:Goodreads

 Tania Blanchard was inspired to write by the fascinating stories her German grandmother told her as a child. Coming from a family with a rich cultural heritage, stories have always been in her blood. Her first novel published by Simon & Schuster Australia, The Girl from Munich, was a runaway bestseller, as was the sequel, Suitcase of Dreams. 

Tania lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20

                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020

                                 Historical Fiction Challenge  #2020HistFicReadingChallenge

 

 

 

Book Review: The Women's Pages by Victoria Purman

The Women's Pages

by

Victoria Purman

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

Publication date: 2nd September 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages:416

RRP: $32.99AUD

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book 

 

Sydney 1945 The war is over, the fight begins.

The war is over and so are the jobs (and freedoms) of tens of thousands of Australian women. The armaments factories are making washing machines instead of bullets and war correspondent Tilly Galloway has hung up her uniform and been forced to work on the women's pages of her newspaper - the only job available to her -- where she struggles to write advice on fashion and make up.

As Sydney swells with returning servicemen and the city bustles back to post-war life, Tilly finds her world is anything but normal. As she desperately waits for word of her prisoner-of-war husband, she begins to research stories about the lives of the underpaid and overworked women who live in her own city. Those whose war service has been overlooked; the freedom and independence of their war lives lost to them.
Tilly realises that for her the war may have ended, but the fight is just beginning...

 

My Review

 

The Women’s Pages is a heartfelt, emotional and inspiring look at women, and their role in society, during and after WWII.

Set in Sydney in 1946 immediately post WWII with events during the war told in backstory The Women’s Pages is narrated via Tilly Galloway, working at the Daily Herald whilst her husband is away fighting.

Through Tilly, her family and close friends Purman has shown the different impact the war had on women, with some husbands returning but forever damaged, whilst others for a variety of reasons not returning at all. Women who had been earning a wage, and for the first time having money of their own, were suddenly unemployed whilst older men were also losing their jobs to young, returning soldiers. It was a time of adjustment for all and for some it wasn’t the dream they had envisioned.

The scenes around Sydney city and The Rocks, the war-time hardships and post-war celebrations on the city streets, were brought to life by Purman’s wonderful descriptions. 

With many mentions of the political climate and newsworthy events of the time the story is solidly set in it’s time frame.

Tilly comes from the wrong side of town but through perseverance and intelligence she rises from secretary to journalist however she is still never treated the same as the male journalists. She befriends fellow journalist George Cooper a forward thinking man, and there were few of them back then, who is happy to teach her the ropes of writing a good story.

Tilly and best friend Mary are waiting for their husbands to return from the war. They live on hopes and dreams and their anguish is heartfelt and real. 

Tilly’s sister Martha, with three boys to bring up is barely surviving on her meagre pay. She is helped often by her mother Elsie, who also offers meals and a helping hand to all local families, ill or down on their luck. 

Purman introduces the ongoing battle of the waterside workers through Tilly’s father, Stan, a staunch union man who worked hard and fought hard for these men to receive a fair days pay for a fair days work.

Purman has delivered a heartfelt story. The characters are likeable, their emotions and dreams are genuine and relatable. Through these characters we get a rounded view of the struggle for many during and after the war.

The Women’s Pages is a thoroughly researched novel that had me spellbound from cover to cover.

5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author  

 

Photo: Goodreads

Victoria Purman is an award-nominated, bestselling Australian author. She is a regular guest at writers' festivals, has been nominated for a number of readers choice awards and was a judge in the fiction category for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. Her most recent novels are The Three Miss Allens (2016), The Last of the Bonegilla Girls (2018) and Australian bestseller The Land Girls (2019).

 

Challenges entered: Aussie author challenge  #AussieAuthor20

                                 Australian Women Writers Challenge #AWW2020

                                 Historical Fiction Challenge  #2020HistFicReadingChallenge

 

Book Review: Finding Eadie by Caroline Beecham

Finding Eadie 

by

Caroline Beecham

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication date: 2nd July 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

RRP: $29.99AUD

Format read: Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

About the book

London 1943: War and dwindling resources are taking their toll on the staff of Partridge Press. The pressure is on to create new books to distract readers from the grim realities of the war, but Partridge's rising star, Alice Cotton, leaves abruptly and cannot be found.

Alice's secret absence is to birth her child, and although her baby's father remains unnamed, Alice's mother promises to help her raise her tiny granddaughter, Eadie. Instead, she takes a shocking action.

Theo Bloom is employed by the American office of Partridge. When he is tasked with helping the British publisher overcome their challenges, Theo has his own trials to face before he can return to New York to marry his fiancee.

Inspired by real events during the Second World War, Finding Eadie is a story about the triumph of three friendships bound by hope, love, secrets and the belief that books have the power to change lives.

My review

Finding Eadie, set during WWII, highlights the importance of books and reading especially during times of hardship.

“It’s important to carry on giving people some much-needed escape from the cruel realities of war.”

“They are bound to one another and their country and the only freedom they still have is in the landscape of their minds”

Centred around Alice Cotton and the publishing company she worked for in London, Caroline Beecham brings to the fore the plight of women at a time when outward appearance was very important and unmarried mothers were scorned and vilified. A time when women went away, and lied about nonexistent husbands, to have their babies where no one knew them.

The men in the story were supportive but I noticed their surprise when they realised that Alice was intelligent and could give useful effective input into the publishing business. I found this aspect very real and it’s good to see how far we have come from the archaic outlook of the 1940’s.

Two plot lines run through Finding Eadie. Firstly the hardship suffered by businesses, especially publishing houses with rationing of paper meant a reduction in books being published and the London fires having destroyed almost all their printing equipment. The second storyline is the ostracization of unmarried mothers, baby farms, illegal adoptions and the women working to have laws changed to protect these babies.

The story travels from London to New York where we see the American side of Partridge Publishing. Leo Bloom is sent from New York to the London office to check through their accounts with a view to selling the London office. I loved the nostalgic mentions of blocks of book shops and how important books were for people’s mental health and it was sad to learn about the demise of a lot of these shops. These things are still extremely relevant, especially this year when books are being used to entertain and distract as we are isolating.

I was immediately invested in the characters and fascinated by the working of the book industry. This is the kind of story I want! A book I’m so engrossed in that the pages turn effortlessly. A story of true friendship as Alice’s friends support her at a time when lesser friends would have shunned her.

Finding Eadie is a feel good read, all nicely wrapped up at the end leaving a permanent smile on my face.

5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Photo: Goodreads

Caroline Beecham is a novelist, writer and producer. She is the author of three books: the bestselling novel Maggie's Kitchen, Eleanor's Secret and Finding Eadie. Her debut novel was shortlisted for Booktopia's Best Historical Fiction in 2016 and nominated for Book of the Year and Caroline herself was named Best New Authro by AusRom Today.

She has worked in documentary, film and drama and discovered that she loves to write fiction and to share lesser known histories: in particular, those of pioneering women whose lives transport us back to the past, yet speak to us now.

This review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge
and the Australian Women Writers challenge 

and the Passages to the Past Historical Fiction Challenge

Book Review: House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon #BRPreview

House on Endless Waters

by

Emuna Elon

Translated by Anthony Berris & Linda Yechiel

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 
Publication date: 3rd March 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction / WWII
Pages: 320
RRP: $29.99AUD
Format read: paperback uncorrected proof
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Better Reading

At the behest of his agent, renowned author Yoel Blum reluctantly agrees to visit his birthplace of Amsterdam to meet with his Dutch publisher, despite promising his late mother that he would never return to that city. While touring the Jewish Museum with his wife, Yoel stumbles upon a looping reel of photos offering a glimpse of pre-war Dutch Jewish life, and is astonished to see the youthful face of his beloved mother staring back at him, posing with her husband, Yoel's older sister Nettie…and an infant he doesn't recognise.

This unsettling discovery launches him into a fervent search for the truth, revealing Amsterdam's dark wartime history and the underground networks which hid Jewish children away from danger-but at a cost. The deeper into the past Yoel digs, the better he understands his mother's silence, and the more urgent the question that has unconsciously haunted him for a lifetime-Who am I?-becomes.

Part family mystery, part wartime drama, House on Endless Waters is an unforgettable meditation on identity, belonging, and the inextricable nature of past and present.

 

Yoel’s discovery on a trip to Amsterdam, the place of his birth, of old picture of his parents, his sister Nettie and a baby boy too young to be himself, sets off a crisis; of who am I?

Suddenly he feels he doesn’t know his mother. The woman he was so close to had secrets from him that went to the grave with her. With this new revelation he starts to question their close relationship.

Piecing together scraps of information from older sister, Nettie, Yoel returns to Amsterdam to write his greatest book ever and in the process discover his past.

Through her haunting prose Elon delivers a story of a displaced Yoel Blum, a man who is sensitive and deep feeling however finds he is unable to give of himself to others.

“…..only he alone is alone. So transparent and voiceless that he often thinks he doesn’t really exist.”

As Yoel writes his story it becomes a story within a story and at times his characters blend into his real life. Yoel, so immersed in his story, experiences bouts of paranoia and a sense of persecution when out in public.

Elon describes the beauty of present day Amsterdam whilst not denying the underlying horror of the past that still lingers. Through Yoel’s story we learn how slowly every freedom was taken from the Jewish citizens, first their rights, their passage and then their possessions.

I enjoyed the unique way Elon tied the two timelines together. They are not expressed in separate chapters however blend into each other blurring past and present, fact and fiction.

The character of Yoel is hard to connect with at first and I took pleasure in his growth from a closed man to one who appreciates those around him and started to open up a little.

House on Endless Waters is a fascinating tale of one man’s journey to unlock his past and discover his true self. Elon, in her unique writing style, brings to the fore stories that must never be forgotten. 

House on Endless waters has been impeccably translated from Hebrew by Anthony Berris and Linda Yechiel and a  big kudos must go to the translators for how seamlessly the story flows.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

My rating  5/5

This review is part of the Passages to the Past Historical Fiction Challenge 

 

 

Emuna Elon is an internationally bestselling, critically acclaimed novelist, journalist, and women's activist. Born in Jerusalem to a family of prominent rabbis and scholars, she was raised in Jerusalem and New York. She teaches Judaism, Hasidism, and Hebrew literature. Her first novel translated into English, If You Awaken Love, was a National Jewish Book Award finalist.  

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