Beautiful & Heart-wrenching

The Telegram by Debbie Rix is a beautiful historical story set over three main time periods – World War I, World War II and 1959. It is a novel that will haunt the reader long after the last page is read.

The novel is about the life of Charles Carmichael, his family, friends and those that he interacts with. All the action is seen through the alternating voices of the lead character, his wife and daughter. We see how one man interacts with those he meets and how these interactions influence events.

Sometimes in life there is a defining moment on which everything else that happens, hangs on. Subsequent actions ride on a moment in time. Charles Carmichael has experienced such an event. The reader is aware that something momentous has happened but we do not know what – although I had my suspicions which proved to be correct. When we do find out what has happened, suddenly the life of Charles Carmichael makes sense. We understand why he acted the way that he did, and why he chose to lead his life as he did.

Charles Carmichael is a complex character but one that I instinctively liked. He is a gentle soul who wants to do no harm. He is a man who loves deeply but cannot always show it. I think his true nature really shines through in the scene on Christmas Eve 1943 with his daughter. He is tender hearted, fiercely protective and moved to act.