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Eva Is Waiting by Romola Farr

Apr1

Highly Entertaining

Eva Is Waiting by Romola Farr is a gripping historical novel that I read in just two sittings.

The action is set in 1965 at a girls school. It is a time of uncertainty, only twenty years since World War II ended and is fresh in the minds of all. It is now at the height of the Cold War – a time of mistrust.

Historians will know of Berlin being split into four zones. The Stasi had far-reaching fingers and underhand tactics.

We see that war criminals hid in plain sight, blending in and denying their past.

The lead character is a teenager who finds herself haunted by a young Jewish girl who disappeared ten years earlier. Shadowy figures are seen, and the past is re-lived through dreams.

It is a time of awakening as the teen is on the verge between adulthood and childhood. The swinging sixties were definitely swinging in the girls boarding school!

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Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest by Ann Bennett

Mar26

Powerful & Heart-Wrenching

The Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest by Ann Bennett is a powerful historical novel. It is based on the author’s father’s wartime experiences as a POW on the Thai Burma railway and is absolutely heart breaking.

The novel is set over two time periods – 1943 onwards in Malaya, and in London in 1986. It is linked by the young man in 1943 who became the elderly father in 1986.

The father had never spoken of his time as a POW. It is only after his death that his daughter goes on a quest to find out about her father’s lost years.

Ann Bennett pulls no punches. This is a very hard-hitting read. The Japanese (though a gentle nation now) were brutal to all those in captivity. The comprehensive detail of the sufferings makes this a very hard read. But it is a necessary read. We need to know what happened so we never forget the generation of young men who went to war, and returned changed, if they returned at all.

We witness a beautiful budding love that is brutally ripped away by war. This contrasts sharply with a selfish, young, egotistical young man in 1986.

The title Bamboo Heart “means that the heart has been permanently weakened by starvation” at some time in the past.

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Playing For Keeps In Starr’s Fall by Kate Hewitt

Mar23

Very Charming

Playing For Keeps In Starr’s Fall by Kate Hewitt is a very charming contemporary novel. It is the second book in the Starr’s Fall series but can be read as a stand-alone.

All the characters are well drawn, believable and easy to empathise with. We see that Starrs Fall is a warm and welcoming community, where everyone knows your name – and your business! The residents help each other as they journey through life.

Starrs Fall offers a place to heal from life’s hurts. Various residents all have different stories – from the original resident of the town to the teenage boy recovering from bullying, and all those in between.

Life deals us blows. Life squashes the life out of some people – but lives can be redeemed and restored.

We learn of lives being controlled by others. “She’s let herself be changed.” Sometimes others are coercive in ways that are not recognized at the time. “Her life behind the glowing, golden bars of what had felt… like a gilded prison.” Riches do not make one happy, love and care do.

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The Secretary by Deborah Lawrenson

Mar16

Smoke & Mirrors

The Secretary by Deborah Lawrenson is an intriguing historical espionage thriller which I read in just two sittings.

Partly fact and partly fiction, the novel is based around the author’s mother’s life and her diaries. The action is set in 1958. Real life figures pop up within the narrative.

The reader journeys to Moscow. It is a post war world of espionage and spies. Trust is in short supply. One has to be very cautious about one’s actions and words for fear of being incarcerated by the Soviets. It was a time of mistrust and distrust.

Still, there was time to party, form alliances and fall in love. All the time keeping one eye open for traitors.

Deborah Lawrenson writes in a very personable style bringing both the characters and Cold War Moscow to life.

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