Tag Archive | Book Outure

The Girl Who Never Came Back by Suzanne Goldring

Aug25

Heart Breaking

The Girl Who Never Came Back by Suzanne Goldring is a powerful, historical, heartbreaking novel that tore my emotions to pieces.

The action alternates between World War II and up to 1999. We witness the devastating effect that war has on lives – a young boy who never recovers from the loss of his sister and a young woman who was responsible for training women to go overseas as spies.

Contrary to what some may believe, losing her girls to the Nazi war machine in occupied France, haunted a character for the rest of her life. She spent a lifetime searching for answers. She wanted to bring the guilty to justice and would not rest until she did.

The reader travels from wartime England to postwar Europe and back again. We learn of the horrors of the camps and those who ran them. It is dreadful and horrifying to see the Nazi ideals still retained in former Nazis, who ran the camps, many years later. Unrepentant characters with black hearts still believed in what they did.

Uncovering the truth brings the search to an end. Sometimes it is best to keep the painful truth hidden.

We follow a friendship that spanned eighty years. Love and loyalty remained.

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The Orphan Sisters by Shirley Dickson

May28

Teamwork

The Orphan Sisters by Shirley Dickson is a marvellous historical novel beginning in the late 1920’s but mainly set during World War II. It is a fabulous debut novel and I cannot wait to read more by Shirley Dickson.

The novel concerns the beautiful, unbreakable bond between two sisters abandoned in an orphanage by their mother. In their own way, each looks out for the other. They both seek to protect in their own unique ways.

Set in Northumberland the reader sees the area is not immune to Luftwaffe bombing raids. Due to comprehensive descriptions, we are able to ‘see’ the devastation and ‘feel’ the fear.

There is an eclectic mix of characters as we are treated to the camaraderie of friends – the philandering of some and the steadfastness of others. Brushes with near death cause some to take their eyes off the ball.

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The Midwife Of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart

May4

Where You Go I’ll Go

The Midwife Of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart is a powerful, horrifying historical novel set during a truly evil time and in a place that is the embodiment of evil. It is also a novel of hope, bravery and love.

The action moves from Lodz to Auschwitz as we follow two midwives. Being together helped to strengthen their resolve to survive. Amazingly they delivered over three thousand babies live babies over two years, not losing a single one at birth. It gave them a reason to hope whilst in the deepest pit.

As the Nazis moved the Jewish people out of their homes and into the ghetto, it felt like even God had abandoned them. “Searching for God. He was hard to find these days.” God was there, even when He couldn’t be felt. He walked alongside His people in their darkest hours.

As the Jewish people fought to survive, very few saw their pain but “ignorance was no excuse” to turn ones back on neighbours and friends. We do follow a Christian family, who with no thought to their own safety, did what they could, even though it could lead to the deepest pit.

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The German Wife by Debbie Rix

Feb3

Powerful And Horrifying

The German Wife by Debbie Rix is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

As the title suggests, the reader follows the German wife from the 1930’s, through the war years and just beyond before leaping forwards to 1984. It is a powerful read as we witness a character whose goodness of heart never wavered. “It was a tiny act of kindness in a sea of inhumanity.” It was a time of mass cruelty and unspeakable horrors.

Married to a doctor who worked in Dachau meant freedom of speech was curtailed. Inner most thoughts of the horror of it all ate away at what had started as a loving relationship. We witness that many had their secrets.

We see a character torn between what he does and his conscience – to speak out? Or remain safe and keep quiet? Living in Munich under Nazi control was a dangerous place.

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