Middle Grade Monday: A Place to Hang the Moon

Title: A Place to Hang the Moon
Author: Kate Albus. Read by Polly Lee
Publication Info: Tantor Media, 2021. Original Margaret Ferguson, 2021, 309 pages

Source: Library

Publisher’s Blurb:

It is 1940 and Anna, 9, Edmund, 11, and William, 12, have just lost their grandmother. Unfortunately, she left no provision for their guardianship in her will. Her solicitor comes up with a preposterous plan: he will arrange for the children to join a group of schoolchildren who are being evacuated to a village in the country, where they will live with families for the duration of the war. He also hopes that whoever takes the children on might end up willing to adopt them and become their new family--providing, of course, that the children can agree on the choice.

Moving from one family to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets, and the hollowness of empty tummies. They seek comfort in the village lending library, whose kind librarian, Nora Muller, seems an excellent candidate--except that she has a German husband whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Nevertheless, Nora's cottage is a place of bedtime stories and fireplaces, of vegetable gardens and hot, milky tea. Most important, it's a place where someone thinks they all three hung the moon. Which is really all you need in a mom, if you think about it.
 

My Review:

This is a totally easy feel-good read. There is nothing extraordinary about it: the plot progression is obvious, and the standard tropes are called forth as expected. That doesn't stop it from being a highly enjoyable orphan story, in the great tradition of books about abused orphans who find their forever home with someone who will care for them. 

The biggest issue I had with the book was actually not the predictability of the plot (which these days is kind of a bonus for me), but a slight tendency to anachronism. Some of the language and diction of the characters didn't quite ring true to 1940s England, though I think most of the big-picture story did (leaving aside the utter absurdity of the premise, which is... utterly unrealistic). I do tend to get hung up on that sort of thing! 

The audio book was well produced and the reader did a good job--the characters were voiced distinctively and different accents rendered  convincingly.

My Recommendation:

This is utter brain-candy, a fun read if you are feeling the need for something a bit simple and sentimental. It's probably not the best introduction to the period for children, though the depictions of the mixed conditions for evacuees and the general mess the war caused are pretty good, really.

FTC Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of A Place to Hang the Moon from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”   

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2021

 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.

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Audiobook Review: Beyond the Call, by Lee Trimble and Jeremy Dronfield

 

Title: Beyond the Call: The True Story of One World War II Pilot's Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front

Author: Lee Trimble with Jeremy Dronfield. Read by Donald Corren

Publication Info: Audible Audio, 2015. 11 hours. Hardcover 2015 by Berkley, 352 pages.

Source: Library digital resources

 

Publisher’s Blurb:
Near the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front, modern day Ukraine. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men.

The Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Russia. As they advanced across Poland, the prison camps of the Third Reich were discovered and liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans.

The United States repeatedly offered to help recover their POWs, but were refused. With relations between the allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield; it would provide the base and the cover for the operation. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble.

With little covert training, already scarred by the trials of combat, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police, saving hundreds of lives. At the same time he battled to come to terms with the trauma of war and find his own way home to his wife and child.

One ordinary man. One extraordinary mission. A thousand lives at stake.
This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow men home to safety and freedom.

My Review:
I enjoy finding books about bits of history I never heard about. This book delivered that in almost a larger dose than I wanted. It's mostly the story of one man's war--the part of the war he fought after he thought he was done, since Robert Trimble had completed his 35 bombing missions. But it's also about a much bigger issue, the question of how the US handled the USSR as the war wound down, and it's not always pretty.

Perhaps that's why I never heard more about this part of WWII in my school history classes, since I grew up in the Cold War and you'd think there'd have been a rush to tell us anything bad about the Soviet Union. But I never knew about how the Soviets treated POWs, released prisoners of the Nazi death camps, or other war refugees. Let's just say it was an eye-opener, especially how the US just walked away from a lot of our own people. I know political necessity made that inevitable, but this book tells what it looked like on the ground.

The book is well written. Lee Trimble was smart to partner with an experienced writer to tell his father's story, and the research they put into confirming Robert Trimble's story shows. Any incident they could not confirm, they make clear is based only on the elder Trimble's memory. In general, the narrative flows clearly, though at times I got confused as we jumped from one narrative line to another. Part of that is the nature of audio books, where everything relies on the listener's memory and attention.

The narration itself doesn't stand out in my mind at all--which means it was well done. In a book like this, especially, I'm all in favor of narrators who stay out of the way of the text.

My Recommendation:

A fascinating story and well worth a read, or a listen, especially for history fans.

FTC Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of Beyond the Call from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”   

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2021

 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.

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Non-fiction audiobook review: 81 Day Below Zero

 Title: 81 Days Below Zero: the Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness

Author: Brian Murphy. Ready by Richard Ferrone

Publication Info: Audible Audio, 2015. 8 hrs, 42 min. (Hardcover Da Capo Press, 2015)

Source: Library digital resources

 

Publisher's Blurb:

Shortly before Christmas in 1943, five Army aviators left Alaska’s Ladd Field on a test flight. Only one ever returned: Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia with little more than a parachute on his back when he bailed from his B-24 Liberator before it crashed into the Arctic. Alone in subzero temperatures, Crane managed to stay alive in the dead of the Yukon winter for nearly twelve weeks and, amazingly, walked out of the ordeal intact. '81 DAYS BELOW ZERO' recounts, for the first time, the full story of Crane’s remarkable saga. In a drama of staggering resolve with moments of phenomenal luck, Crane learned to survive in the Yukon’s unforgiving landscape. His is a tale of the human capacity to endure extreme conditions and intense loneliness—and emerge stronger than before.

 

My Review:

This was one of several books I listened to last month while driving across the country and back. Given how cold some of my camping nights were, I'm not sure if this made me feel colder, or served to remind me that 18 isn't really *that* cold. 

Either way the book made for good listening. Meticulously researched, at least as far as I could tell, the story pulls together all the available information from many sources to give a detailed account of Crane's experience in the Alaska winter (too detailed? I did at times wonder how, as I don't believe the author was able to directly interview the subject, there could be so many tiny specifics. I have to assume liberties were taken with regard to dialogue, at the least).

The actual story may have proven a little thin for a full book, but the author works in information on the war, the history of aviation in Alaska, survival, and more. The extras felt occasionally tacked, on but for the most part were good enhancements of the story. In particular, the accounts of the discovery and investigation of the wreck were fully relevant, and used to effect.

The narration was excellent, adding to the overall effect (my hands are cold just thinking about the story!). The main question I'm left with is the one Crane had: how on earth did he get so lucky? Because by all rights, he shouldn't have survived the many mistakes he made.

 

Recommendation:

Recommended for fans of both outdoor adventure/survival stories and WWII history. I learned a lot about what went on in Alaska during the war, much of which I didn't know.

FTC Disclosure: I checked 81 Days Below Zero out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Non-fiction double-review

This isn't really a proper review post, because my mind just doesn't seem to be working that way. But I've recently finished a couple of works of non-fiction, one audio, one on the Kindle, and at least have a few thoughts. 

First, the books. Both were fairly random selections from the library's Overdrive collection, nabbed in something of a hurry for my road trips. As a result, the print book was read in snatches, the audio book with whatever attention was left after driving.

In general, for me the mark of a good work of history is that it makes me care about something I may not have known I was interested in. Both of these books managed that.

In print we have:

        

Title: Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

Author: Adam Makos

Publication info: Ballantine Books, 2019. 395 pages 

From the author of the international bestseller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel—and forge an enduring bond with his enemy.

When Clarence Smoyer is assigned to the gunner’s seat of his Sherman tank, his crewmates discover that the gentle giant from Pennsylvania has a hidden talent: He’s a natural-born shooter.

At first, Clarence and his fellow crews in the legendary 3rd Armored Division—“Spearhead”—thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: The lead tank always gets hit.

After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art “super tank,” one of twenty in the European theater.

But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: Now they will spearhead every attack. That’s how Clarence, the corporal from coal country, finds himself leading the U.S. Army into its largest urban battle of the European war, the fight for Cologne, the “Fortress City” of Germany.

Battling through the ruins, Clarence will engage the fearsome Panther in a duel immortalized by an army cameraman. And he will square off with Gustav Schaefer, a teenager behind the trigger in a Panzer IV tank, whose crew has been sent on a suicide mission to stop the Americans.

As Clarence and Gustav trade fire down a long boulevard, they are taken by surprise by a tragic mistake of war. What happens next will haunt Clarence to the modern day, drawing him back to Cologne to do the unthinkable: to face his enemy, one last time.

 My thoughts: (Note I'm not claiming "review" status for this). 

With reference to my above comment on how to know if a history or biography is good, I can't claim I wasn't already interested in WWII. But I had no idea I cared about the tank war in particular, and in fact had never thought about the men who operated them. I had no idea there were so many in each of those tanks--they hardly look big enough for one or two crewmen, let alone a half a dozen. Makos brought those men to life, and brought home how young they were-- most of them around the ages of my sons, a sobering thought.

This was a good book to have chosen for reading, rather than listening, as there were lots of photos and maps. It would probably have been even better in print, where the maps are bigger and easier to reference as you read!

 

Title: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Author: Robert K. Massie.  Read by Mark Deakins

Publication Info: Random House Audio, 2011 (24 hours). Hardback Random House, 2011, 625 pages

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars, and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution. Catherine’s family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies—all are here, vividly brought to life. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, an eternally fascinating woman is returned to life. 

 My thoughts:

This one really was something I wouldn't have gone looking for. If I knew there was a Catherine the Great of Russia, that was as much as I knew. I was predisposed to be attracted once I saw the book, because Eldest Son is studying Russian, but I'd never have gone in search of such a book. 

It didn't take long to get me interested in the history, starting right off from the unexpected fact that one of the "Great" Romanovs wasn't even Russian, and was a Romanov only by marriage. On the other hand, since all the noble houses of Europe seemed to be related one way or another, it didn't seem to matter that much.

I was intrigued by the ways in which strong, intelligent women with a knack for leadership had to negotiate their times. The limitations on female power were real, and only partly went away when one was crowned Empress. If the book spends a lot of time talking about Catherine's lovers (and those of her predecessor, the Empress Elizabeth), it's because they had an outsized influence on the course of the nation's history for as long as each remained a favorite.

 The structure of the book did sometimes confuse (the overall progress was from beginning to end of her life, but each chapter seemed to follow one thread for a long way, then the next would jump back), but in general the narration was easy to follow while my attention was on the road, and I credit both author and narrator for keeping me awake.

 

My Recommendation:

Give history a chance. Check out random books and learn about something you never knew happened. 

 

FTC Disclosure: I checked the above-reviewed books out of my library, and received nothing from the writers or publishers for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."    

Non-fiction Review: The Winter Army

Title: The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey of the 10th Mountain Division, America's Elite Alpine Warriors

Author: Maurie Isserman. Narrated by Brian Troxell

Publication Info: Audible Audio, 2019. Hardcover 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 336 pages
Source: Library digital resoures
 
Publisher's Blurb/Goodreads:
The epic story of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, whose elite soldiers broke the last line of German defenses in Italy’s mountains in 1945, spearheading the Allied advance to the Alps and final victory.

At the start of World War II, the US Army had two cavalry divisions—and no mountain troops. The German Wehrmacht, in contrast, had many well-trained and battle-hardened mountain divisions, some of whom by 1943 blocked the Allied advance in the Italian campaign. Starting from scratch, the US Army developed a unique military fighting force, the 10th Mountain Division, drawn from the ranks of civilian skiers, mountaineers, and others with outdoor experience. The resulting mix of Ivy League students, park rangers, Olympic skiers, and European refugees formed the first specialized alpine fighting force in US history. By the time it deployed to Italy at the beginning of 1945, this ragtag group had coalesced into a tight-knit unit. In the months that followed, at a terrible cost, they spearheaded the Allied drive in Italy to final victory.

Ranging from the ski slopes of Colorado to the towering cliffs of the Italian Alps, The Winter Army is a saga of an unlikely band of soldiers forged in the heat of combat into a brotherhood whose legacy lives on in US mountain fighters to this day.

My Review: 

I’m a sucker for interesting books about bits of WWII, as well as for books about mountaineering and outdoor adventures, so of course I had to check this one out. I got the audiobook from my library, and enjoyed it, but didn’t find it as compelling as I expected. The story is well-written, and many of the players are familiar: David Brower (Sierra Club), Fred Beckey (who wrote THE mountaineering guides to the Cascades), and a couple of other names I knew all showed up on the roster of the 10th Mountain Division.

 

What held it back was in part how much of the book was about the drive to create the force, and the initial struggles to get it going. The other disappointment was finding out just how little of their mountain training they ended up using. I knew about the elite mountain troops, and somehow I had thought they got to prove that their training and expertise were worth it. Instead, they had very little opportunity to do so, though they fought valiantly and well when they got to Italy, and played no small role in the Allied victory there. They just didn't get to do it on skis.

 

Reality interfered with a great story, and left us with a very good story, well told. This was an unusual bunch of men, many of whom chose to serve as enlisted men in the 10th rather than as officers elsewhere. They deserve their own chapter in the history books, and I am glad to have read it. Kudos to the narrator as well, for an excellent delivery that never called attention to itself.

My Recommendation:

Another worthwhile chapter for those interested in those who fought WWII, and how they did it, with a bonus for the skiing and mountaineering.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Winter Army out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Non-fiction review: A Woman of No Importance

Title:  A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
Author: Sonia Purnell
Publication Info: Viking Press, 2019. 368 pages.
Source: Library digital resources

Publisher's Blurb:
In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her."

The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and--despite her prosthetic leg--helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.

Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day.

Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall--an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity.

My Review:

I’m not sure where I got the tip-off for reading this book—I think it might have been the collection of brief sketches on women heroes of WWII I reviewed here. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I picked it up. The biography is well-written and historically diligent, with no effort to create thoughts and motives where they aren’t known—which is almost everywhere.

Virginia Hall was an exceptionally private person, perhaps because of her work as a spy, perhaps just by nature (which caused which?). In any case, we have to learn to know her primarily through the eyes of the men she worked with, and official documents. The reward for that research effort is a book that combines all the elements of a spy thriller with a strict adherence to fact. You might even call it a slightly dry spy thriller, except I was never bored. 

The other aspect of the book that makes it both a valuable and at times painful read is the history of sexism it exposes. Virginia Hall was acknowledged by the vast majority of those who knew her work as one of, if not the best spy in France during the war. Yet because of her gender, she was consistently passed over for promotion, and for much of the war the SEO (British Intelligence) and later the OSS (US Office of Special Services) routinely tried to put men with less—or no—experience and qualifications in command of her. After the war, it was even worse.

Happily for all of us—because in the end Ms. Hall performed feats of espionage and guerrilla warfare that may have tipped the balance for the Allies after the D-Day landings—she wasn’t particularly inclined to give in and accept her “place” as a woman. I might say she was a woman ahead of her time, but in fact I would argue that she was one of the women who made our time possible.

My Recommendation:

This is a book that helps to explode the myths not only about what women can do, but also about what they *did* do. And I didn’t even mention the fact that she had a disability, having lost one leg below the knee due to a hunting accident and a case of gangrene. Any time I’m feeling sorry for myself because things hurt when I’m hiking, I’ll be remembering Virginia, crossing the Pyrenees on foot, in winter, with a 1930s-technology false leg (named Cuthbert).

FTC Disclosure: I checked A Woman of No Importance out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Non-fiction review: Code Girls, by Liza Mundy

Title: Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II

Author: Liza Mundy.

Publication Info: Hachette Books, 2017. 432 pages (Kindle edition).

Source: Library digital services

Publisher’s Blurb:

In the tradition of Hidden Figures and The Girls of Atomic City, Code Girls is the astonishing, untold story of the young American women who cracked key Axis codes, helping to secure Allied victory and revolutionizing the field of cryptanalysis.

Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

My Review:

Another fascinating bit of history, and another story of smart women doing work that has been underappreciated and ignored. In this case, there was some justification for the silence: it was top-secret work. Still, like other books I've read (and still more I'm about to read), it's a tale both uplifting and frustrating. Frustrating to see such talented women being treated like second-class citizens, and equally so to see how they, on the whole, accepted it. Valued as "computers" for their attention to detail, they were still somehow seen (or treated) as less able than men at math and science. But it's also uplifting to see that even at a time when they were too often not allowed into graduate programs, or couldn't get jobs teaching math (beyond the high school level, anyway, and especially after the war), these women found a place where their math and reasoning skills were put to good use.

Not all of what the "code girls" did was highly mathematical, of course. But code breaking requires a level of mathematical reasoning beyond the average, as well as a sharp and creative mind that can leap to some intuitive connections. The author does a good job of conveying both the difficulty and the tedium of the work, the excitement and the frustration.

Mundy also presents some nice portraits of several of the young women who traveled to Washington, DC, with very little (or no) idea what they had signed up for. Many were civilians (especially early on), specially recruited from the best women's colleges of the East. Later, many more were WAVES (the women's unit of the Navy) who tested well for mathematical reasoning and were assigned to the code-breaking unit, as well as some WACs (women's army corps). 

I did at times lose track of the timeline, as Mundy traced individual women's courses through the war. It took me a while to realize that we were circling back repeatedly to different stages in the war effort. Other than that, I had no complaints. The writing was engaging and easy to read, and the story interesting. It's not one of the great works of history I've read, but it's good, and a story worth telling. 

Their wartime work left a mark on some of the women, and on their families. I was delighted to read that Bill Nye (the Science Guy) is the son of one of the Code Girls. In that case, maybe the love of math and science was passed along. In other cases, codebreakers suffered from PTSD (utterly undiagnosed or treated, of course), due to either the stress of the work they did, or their failures to save lives--or the later realization of the lives they'd cost, too, since their work led directly to the sinking of many enemy ships. 

As so often, the women were first brought into this work because much of it was tedious, and women were considered better at tedium (got to wonder if any of the men ever examined the realities behind that assumption!). Later, as men became scarce, the women proved to themselves and their superior officers, and eventually the world, that they were fully equal to men in their abilities. It's a shame the story couldn't be told for so long, because it would have forced universities and other agencies to give up the stupid idea that women can't do math, and might have saved a whole generation of women from undermining their own skills.

My Recommendation:
This is an interesting and worthwhile story. I think it never hurts to remind ourselves that women have been doing things that "women can't do" for a very long time. Every book of this sort helps us examine our assumptions and perhaps break down some stereotypes, so read it!

This is just a random thought, but I was reminded of some books I've read about the "Navajo code talkers" of WWII, who used the same native language that the government had until recently been trying to eradicate to create an unbreakable spoken code. Seems that in time of war, the oppressed may suddenly become useful and prejudices temporarily set aside.


Full Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of Code Girls from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Middle Grade Historical Fiction, Audio book review: The War I Finally Won

This book is a great addition to my "Hero Month," because there are a whole lot of heroes in here, mostly people just managing to go on in spite of terrible things. Ordinary heroes, you might say.

Title: The War I Finally Won
Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Read by Jayne Entwistle
Publisher: Dial Books, 2017. 389 pages. Audio book by Listening Library
Source: Library digital services

Publisher's Summary:
When Ada’s clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she’s not what her mother said she was—damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She’s not a daughter anymore, either. What is she?

World War II continues, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorton—along with Lady Thorton herself and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded cottage is tense enough, and then, quite suddenly, Ruth, a Jewish girl from Germany, moves in. A German? The occupants of the house are horrified. But other impacts of the war become far more frightening. As death creeps closer to their door, life and morality during wartime grow more complex. Who is Ada now? How can she keep fighting? And who will she struggle to save?  


My Review:  
This sequel made me want to go back and re-read The War That Saved My Life. Not so much because I needed to know details that I've forgotten (though that wouldn't hurt; this follows right on and it took me a bit to come up to speed, though everything is adequately explained to allow you to read it as a stand-alone), as because the books are so good.

In some ways, there isn't as much of a story arc here as in the first book. The really big questions have been settled: Ada and Jamie are living with Susan, and her clubfoot has been fixed, allowing Ada to stop seeing herself as something worthless. Now she has to learn to be a normal child, and it's a struggle. That struggle, along with the blows that war brings to those around her (even while Ada is aware that the war has brought her far more good than ill), is what makes this story interesting.

Narrator Jayne Entwistle is excellent, as always. It caught me by surprise, as familiar narrators often do, since I strongly associate her voice with Flavia du Luce. But after a chapter or so I was firmly clear on this being Ada (though she probably could have used a bit more East End in her accent).


My Recommendation:
I'll peg this series for kids about 8 and up. It deals with some fairly heavy stuff--war and death--but in ways that I think make it accessible and not frightening for younger children. The lessons about acceptance and human value are still here, but where at times I felt in the first book that the author was a little heavy-handed with them, in this one the balance feels right. In print or audio, this is well worth reading.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The War I Finally Won out of my (digital) library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Fiction Revew: The Tuscan Child

Title: The Tuscan Child
Author: Rhys Bowen
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing, 2018. 352 pages.
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary: 
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal.

Nearly thirty years later, Hugo’s estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father’s funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.

Still dealing with the emotional wounds of her own personal trauma, Joanna embarks on a healing journey to Tuscany to understand her father’s history—and maybe come to understand herself as well. Joanna soon discovers that some would prefer the past be left undisturbed, but she has come too far to let go of her father’s secrets now…

My Review: 
Although this is billed as "a novel," Ms. Bowen's roots in the mystery genre are showing. The difference is that no one is setting herself up as a sleuth, and the questions we want answered go beyond the solving of a single crime. Still, Joanna can't let go of her desire to know more than some people would like her to, and her part of the story could easily be framed as a mystery.

The book belongs mostly to Joanna, but the nature of the story is changed some by chapters that follow Hugo after his 1944 crash. In those chapters, the reader sees some things that Joanna will never be able to know, removing the story from the ranks of whodunnits, in my opinion. That isn't a loss--Bowen can write a decent novel beyond the genre fiction for which she is best known (I'm a big fan of her Evan Evans and Royal Spyness mysteries, though I've been unable to really engage with the Molly Murphy books).

The pace of the book, overall, is deliberate. This isn't a hold-your-breath thriller, even when Joanna stirs up the hornets nest. It's really about Joanna and her search for who she is (even when she thinks she's searching for her father's past), and the pace and tone reflects that. I don't consider that a bad thing. I had no trouble keeping on turning pages, it just wasn't a thriller. In fact, my only real complaint was that there was a bit too much internal repetition of Joanna's fears, and a romance that felt a little too symmetrical to me. Those are small complaints against the backdrop of a satisfying story.

As always, Ms. Bowen is meticulous with her historical research, and her settings (both 1944 and the 1970s) feel well-painted and real. I didn't know much about the war in Italy, and the book does a little to fill in the gaps, though it's not really a book about the war.

My Recommendation:
Fans of Bowen's work will probably like this, especially if you liked her other recent foray into general fiction, In Farleigh Field (another book I classify as at least in part a mystery). The book lacks the lightness of the Royal Spyness series, but there are moments of humor and it reads quickly and easily.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Tuscan Child out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Non-fiction review: Home Fires/Jambusters

        

Note: this is the same book. The copy I read is on the left, and reflects a change of title and cover to go with the TV series made from the book. On the right is the original title and cover.

Title: Jambusters [Home Fires]: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War
Author: Julie Summers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2013. 368 pages.
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:

Away from the frontlines of World War II, in towns and villages across Great Britain, ordinary women were playing a vital role in their country’s war effort. As members of the Women’s Institute, an organization with a presence in a third of Britain’s villages, they ran canteens and knitted garments for troops, collected tons of rosehips and other herbs to replace medicines that couldn’t be imported, and advised the government on issues ranging from evacuee housing to children’s health to postwar reconstruction. But they are best known for making jam: from produce they grew on every available scrap of land, they produced twelve million pounds of jam and preserves to feed a hungry nation.

Home Fires, Julie Summers’s fascinating social history of the Women’s Institute during the war (when its members included the future Queen Elizabeth II along with her mother and grandmother), provides the remarkable and inspiring true story behind the upcoming PBS Masterpiece series that will be sure to delight fans of Call the Midwife and Foyle’s War. Through archival material and interviews with current and former Women’s Institute members, Home Fires gives us an intimate look at life on the home front during World War II.  


My Review:  

I was torn about this one. I greatly appreciated the view into the lives and contributions of the ordinary women on England during WWII. The overall concept of the WI was fascinating, as well--women working together to improve the lives of women and children (often despite a general lack of interest on the part of the powers that be). Nothing else I have read has talked about the programs to ensure that all produce grown during the war was saved and used, nor how the small communities coped with the influx of refugees (from their own cities and abroad) during the war.

My criticism of the book is two-fold. I will admit that I didn't find the writing style or the organization of the book to be as gripping as the blurb would suggest. It's a difficult subject to make work, in many ways, especially when we are used to a more narrative style even in our histories. That's the readability criticism--I found it slow going, though interesting enough overall to push on.

My second criticism is that I found it generally too positive. There was little said of the problems and resentments that I know ran strong among those being asked to billet children from the city, and absolutely nothing about the abuses that I have read of elsewhere. Similarly, no one seems to have admitted to feeling like the women were being asked to do far too much, with far too little--that they were, in fact, being taken for granted. I know that during the war people were generally determined to "do their bit," but find it hard to believe that there was so little resentment, even when reflected on years later. A few nods at the frustration of being asked to preserve fruits but denied extra sugar, etc., tell me that there is a more nuanced story that could be told. I wish Ms. Summers had told it.

My Recommendation:
For those interested in WWII, this is definitely worth looking at--as it is for anyone who is interested in womens' history. It's not a perfect book, but it does offer an insight I've not seen elsewhere.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Home Fires out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Middle Grade Monday: Stepping on the Cracks. An Audio-book Review.

Title: Stepping on the Cracks
Author: Mary Downing Hahn; read by Rachel Dulude
Publisher: Audio-Go, 2013. Original publication 1991 by Clarion Books.
Source: Library digital resources

Publisher's Summary:
Margaret and her best friend Elizabeth both have brothers fighting the war against Hitler; like everyone else they know, they are filled with feelings of patriotism. Margaret and Elizabeth support everything about the war: the troops, the reasons for going to war, even the food rations. After all, this is the good war and the Americans are the good guys.

But the girls are also involved in their own personal war at home. Gordy Smith, the worst bully in the sixth grade, teases and torments them, and Margaret is scared to death of him. But when Gordy and his pals Toad and Doug grow bolder than ever, Margaret and Elizabeth come up with a daring plan to get even. That’s when the girls discover a shocking secret about Gordy that turns their lives upside-down and draws them into a startling confrontation with family, friends, and their own strongly held ideas.  


My Review: 
Though it is in many ways a typical kid's book about the WWII era (younger sister at home, older brother off in the army, everyone stressed), this book takes some interesting turns and saved itself from being so-so by delving into several less obvious issues. (This no doubt explains why it got about half a dozen awards). Questions of courage and cowardice come up repeatedly, as does to what extent a child can make adult decisions. Likewise, we can watch while Margaret discovers that adults aren't always right, and don't always even know what's right.

The events that unfold over the 8 or 9 months of the story lead Margaret to see that she does not always have to agree with her parents, and she begins to question many things that they have taken for granted (including the right of a husband and father to "discipline" his family as he sees fit). I think it is for these things that the book received the awards, as the author doesn't take the common path of having the child grow up enough to see that her parents are right. In this case, she grows up enough to see that her parents may well be wrong.

The audio book is well-produced, and the narration is good, with characters voiced distinctly and appropriately.

My Recommendation:
A good read for upper-elementary (11-12) kids ready to consider some difficult issues, including the fallibility of parents. Listening to the audio with your child might provide some chances for discussion.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Stepping on the Cracks out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

YA Audio: The Children of Willesden Lane

Title: The Children of Willesden Lane. Beyond the Kinderstransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival.
Author: Mona Golabek; read by Lee Cohen
Publisher: Hachette Audio, 2016. Originally by Times Warner, Int., 2007. 288 pages.
Source: Library digital resources

Publisher's Summary: 
With the raw emotion of The Diary of Anne Frank, Mona Golabek's powerful memoir is a poignant story of tragedy and triumph in a time of war. Famed concert pianist Mona Golabek shares the inspirational true story of her mother's escape from pre-World War II Vienna to an orphanage in London--243 Willesden Lane. 'The music will give you strength....it will be your best friend in life.' With these words--the last she would ever hear from her mother--ringing in her ears, young piano prodigy Lisa Jura boarded the Kindertransport and headed for safety. Amidst the dozens of Jewish refugees trying to make their way in war-torn London, Lisa forms indelible friendships, finds romance, and, against all odds, wins a scholarship to study piano at the Royal Academy of London. This is a stunning testament to the power of music to lift the human spirit and to grant the soul endurance, patience, and peace. 


My Review: 
The Children of Willsden Lane is what I might call a novelized biography of the author's mother. That is, it doesn't stick exactly to what is known, but instead provides us with both imagined dialogue and Lisa's thoughts as she faces difficult circumstances. It's hard to know exactly how much Lisa would have remembered and told her daughter later, but I'm pretty sure not the amount of detail the book contains. The result works, however. Mona Golabek has created a book that is incredibly moving, as well as revealing a great deal about the lives of the children who were sent to England on the Kindertransport.

The youngest children were, of course, fostered to people who no doubt treated them in a variety of ways from the wonderful to the awful. But for those, like 14-year-old Lisa, who were old enough to work, work was required (to my 21st-Century mind, the idea that you'd require 14-year-old refugees to get a job is a bit mind-boggling, but it wasn't so unusual then).

Lisa's first post, as a servant in a country house, wasn't terrible. The people were kind, and the work not overly hard. But it was excruciatingly lonely, because no one seemed to recognize that a child of 14 might like to have some people around her who shared her religion, if nothing else. She was horribly homesick and isolated.

That s what made 243 Willesden Lane a home for Lisa and the other "kinder" who lived there all through the war: they were together, all refugees who had lost everything they knew. She still had to work hard, didn't always get enough to eat, and came very near to being killed by a German bomb during the Blitz. But she had her music, and she had her friends, and that was enough to keep her soul alive.

Because this is not exactly a novel, not everything works out as neatly as we might like. But one thing does, almost unbelievably: Lisa gets that scholarship, and is able to continue to study music (even as she has to continue working to earn a living, too).

My review of the audio aspect of the book is mixed. Lee Cohen reads well, and does a good job with the different characters. However--and this bothered me quite a bit--her English accents are hopeless. They end up sounding almost as German as the characters with German accents. And in the end, that didn't matter to me at all, because the audio book has something that makes it a must-listen: the use of the author's own piano music to enhance the story. Because the piano is so important to Lisa and to the story, having the music there as the narration describes Lisa's playing is amazing.


My Recommendation:
This is a must-read, and because of the use of the piano music, the audio book is a clear winner. It isn't a book for young children, and I'm not really sure if it was even meant for YA (as opposed to adults), but my feeling is that young adult readers might relate, and any child over about 13 or 14 should be able to cope with the story; there is no sex and the violence is what we read of in our history books, only made more personal because we care about Lisa.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Children of Willesden Lane out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Review: La's Orchestra Saves the World

Title: La's Orchestra Saves the World

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Publisher: Pantheon Books, 2008. 294 pages.

Source: Library


Publisher's Summary:
It is 1939. Lavender—La to her friends—decides to flee London, not only to avoid German bombs but also to escape the memories of her shattered marriage. The peace and solitude of the small town she settles in are therapeutic . . . at least at first. As the war drags on, La is in need of some diversion and wants to boost the town's morale, so she organizes an amateur orchestra, drawing musicians from the village and the local RAF base. Among the strays she corrals is Feliks, a shy, proper Polish refugee who becomes her prized recruit—and the object of feelings she thought she'd put away forever.

Does La's orchestra save the world? The people who come to hear it think so. But what will become of it after the war is over? And what will become of La herself? And of La's heart?

My Review: 
With his fantastic #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, as well as the bitingly funny Portuguese Irregular Verbs books, Alexander McCall Smith doesn't really need me to tell the world that he writes good books. But here I am anyway.

There is nothing huge and earth-shattering in this book. And that's just the point. La and her orchestra save the world by providing normalcy, and a sense that the small things are more than worthwhile--they might be essential. They might be the things that save the world.

It's not that La or her village are particularly special, or that everything is sweetness and light. There are some not-so-nice people, but the drama is muted, leaving a story that is just a quiet pleasure to read.

My Recommendation:
Check it out. This feels less to me like any of the author's series, and more like his My Italian Bulldozer, which I read in May but apparently failed to review, even though I swear I remember writing about it...wonder where that was? Anyway, both are sweet books with a bit of humor and an understated love story (way understated, in fact). Great reads for disturbing times.

FTC Disclosure: I checked La's Orchestra Saves the World out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Review: In Farleigh Field, by Rhys Bowen

 

Title: In Farleigh Field
Author: Rhys Bowen
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing, 2017. 378 pages
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham’s middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret: she has taken a job at Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility.

As Ben follows a trail of spies and traitors, which may include another member of Pamela’s family, he discovers that some within the realm have an appalling, history-altering agenda. Can he, with Pamela’s help, stop them before England falls?

Inspired by the events and people of World War II, writer Rhys Bowen crafts a sweeping and riveting saga of class, family, love, and betrayal.

My Review:  
I'm a big fan of Rhys Bowen, especially her light-hearted "Royal Spyness" mysteries. This book for the most part lacks the lightness of that series, but it shares with all Bowen's books meticulous research and an ability to write so that the reader feels a part of the setting. Characters are well-developed and well presented, and if the solution to the mystery seemed a little plain to me, the intricacies of how it was all worked out were well worth reading on for (and it's only fair to note that this doesn't advertise itself as a mystery, but as "a novel"). I also greatly enjoyed the close look at the conflicts that arose between the birth of the modern age and the traditions of the aristocracy during that period.

Though this book doesn't advertise itself as a mystery, it is just that, at least in part. That the main characters trying to sort out what's up with the dead parachutist can't even tell each other where they work or what they are up to does add a nice twist. As I say, the mystery wasn't terribly difficult to guess, but the progression of the story still offered a lot of suspense and interest. I read through it fast, not wanting to put it down or quit. Bowen's pretty good at doing that to me (though I'm not so keen on her Molly Murphy mysteries, her other books have all really hit the spot).

My Recommendation:
This is well-researched and well-written, and should interest any fan of WWII or of period mysteries.

FTC Disclosure: I checked In Farleigh Field out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Audio-Book Review: The Japanese Lover

Title: The Japanese Lover
Author: Isabel Allende; read by Joanna Gleason. Translated by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson
Publisher: Audio: Simon and Schuster Audio, 2015. Hardback 2015, Atria Books. Originally published in 2015 in Spain by Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, S.A.U.
Source: Library digital sesrvices

Publisher's Blurb:
In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese Americans—are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.

Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco’s charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.

Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Written with the same attention to historical detail and keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change. 

My Review:
Isabel Allende's reputation as a writer is deserved, and this book definitely wormed its way into my mind and stayed there while I was listening to it. It covers familiar ground in so many ways--I regularly bike through the Sea Cliff area of San Francisco where the Belasco mansion is set, and I have long known about the Japanese internment in WWII. Part of what attracted me to the book was the familiar geography it covers. What kept me reading was my desire to know and understand the characters.


I felt like I was getting to know the characters as one does in life--a little at a time, with constant revisions of my understanding. The initial view of most of them sets up assumptions about the kinds of people they were, assumptions that are gradually eroded, developed, and sometimes overturned. A big part of the reading experience ended up being me trying to decide if Alma is a good person or not. That sounds harsh, and I'm not sure if that was Allende's intention, but she is certainly complex and that led to my ambivalence about her.

My biggest complaint about the book is that it takes on too much, and tries to make too many characters central. We see the internment camp through Ichimei's eyes, but that is the only part of the book where he is central, and feels a little gratuitous. We are given more and more glimpses of Irina's life and issues, until I concluded that this is really her story, disguised as Alma's. Maybe it is, but if so, the balance feels off, and in the end she gets short shrift.

On reflection, the one thing that maybe runs as a theme through all the stories is love. What it is, how you find it, and what it means. In that way, the book works--but I'd still rather know more about Irina and what she is like inside, rather than Alma, who in the end I find a bit too self-centered and self-absorbed. Maybe that's part of the understanding we are meant to achieve.

My Recommendation:
This is (no surprise) a book well worth reading. It deals not only with the nature of love, but also of age, illness, racism, and suffering. I'm not convinced it's a great book, but there is a lot in there to think about for a long time after you finish, and that may be the definition of a good book.


FTC Disclosure: I checked The Japanese Lover out of my (digital) library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Review: Heart Mountain

Title: Heart Mountain
Author: Gretel Ehrlich
Publisher: ebook: Open Road Media, 2017, 382 pages. Original hardback Viking, 1988.
Source: Free review copy from the publisher

Publisher's Blurb:
This is the story of Kai, a graduate student reunited with his old-fashioned parents in the most painful way possible; Mariko, a gifted artist; Mariko’s husband, a political dissident; and her aging grandfather, a Noh mask carver from Kyoto. It is also the story of McKay, who runs his family farm outside the nearby town; Pinkey, an alcoholic cowboy; and Madeleine, whose soldier husband is missing in the Pacific. Most of all, Heart Mountain is about what happens when these two groups collide. Politics, loyalty, history, love—soon the bedrocks of society will seem as transient and fleeting as life itself.

Set at the real-life Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming, this powerful novel paints “a sweeping, yet finely shaded portrait of a real West unfolding in historical time” (The Christian Science Monitor).

 My Review: 
I was offered this chance to review the re-issue (as an ebook) of what I believe was Gretel Ehrlich's first novel because I have reviewed many of the works of Ivan Doig, and I accepted it because of that connection, the historical and physical setting of the book, and the fact that I am aware of Gretel Ehrlich as a respected writer. I certainly wasn't sorry.

The story tackles a lot, wrangling the parallel stories of at least 6 people into something that works pretty well as a portrait of a community (or more accurately communities) in a time of struggle. Objectively, I think it probably would be a stronger book if it had tracked at least one less person, but all the threads do contribute to a strong whole.

It is impossible for me not to draw some comparisons with Ivan Doig, who wrote about a similar area. Ehrlich shares his ability to draw an evocative picture of a time and place, and her characters are well drawn, with a depth and complexity that makes them worth the writing. I did feel while reading that the book lacked something that I expect when I read Doig's works, and I think that I will call it warmth. This is a grim story in so many ways, and rightly so--it was a grim time, and the deportation of Japanese Americans to concentration camps in the interior was ugly. Even so, I think I would have enjoyed the book more had there been that warmth, that touch of humor, that allows a story to tell of grim events without weighing the reader down.

But several days after finishing the book, I am still contemplating some aspects of it, and seeing value in aspects of it that on first reading I thought gratuitous. Some parts that at first feel like they are intrusions by minor characters help to add depth and complexity to our understanding of the nation's treatment of the Japanese Americans (not justification, because some things cannot be justified, but we can at least understand the causes. Perhaps that understanding can help prevent similar mistakes from being made in the future). And that is proof to me that this is a good novel, and one that deserves reading, and possibly re-reading.

My Recommendation:
Read it. If you have any interest in American history, WWII, or how racism informs our actions, read it. And if you want to know what a Wyoming winter feels like, or a summer...read it. It's not a light book, but it does cast a good light.


FTC Disclosure: I was given a free ebook for review, and received nothing further from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Mystery Review: Journey to Munich, by Jacqueline Winspear

Title: Journey to Munich
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2016. 285 pages.
Source: Library


Publisher's Summary:
It’s early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.

The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.

Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas. . . .

My Review:
Winspear has been moving this series more and more toward suspense/international intrigue and away from classic mystery. That's not necessarily good or bad, but it does change things, and I personally kind of miss the feel of the early books. 

That said, it's fascinating to watch Maisie grow and mature as she approaches (dare I say it?) middle age. I'm not sure I approve of everything Winspear has done to our hero, but there's no denying it keeps her interesting. So Maisie, having taking the unlikely leap away from her career to be a wife and mother, gets that ripped from her, and has to figure out how to go back to being happy in a career. As it turns out, part of that question will be seeing how she handles espionage.
  
I have to say that I'm not sure Maisie handles it well. Some parts are excellent, but she seems to make--and get away with--some very dubious choices. She creates a case map in her Munich hotel room. Fine. That's how she thinks. But she doesn't destroy it, and as far as I can tell leaves it in the room when she potentially is not coming back. She has also carried with her at least one object that would, if discovered, blow her cover. And, despite the scrutiny she's under, this doesn't happen. No one searches her room. It stretches belief a bit.

But: I have to admit that I noticed those things in retrospect, not at the time (well, okay, the case map worried me at the time. I expected it to turn up again in the story, as something that put her in great danger). For the most part, Winspear's writing is good and keeps the reader engaged and buying into the story as you go, despite the weaknesses.

Finally, I wanted to note that the books have moved from one era to another. It's still "between the wars," but in 1938 it is much more about the approach of WWII (the rise of the Nazis) than about the aftermath of WWI. That doesn't really matter, other than that I like the earlier period of history. It does present Winspear with new challenges, as she needs to track the changes in the world during that period!

Recommendation:
If you are reading the series, you won't want to miss this. But this is a series to read in order. There is a lot of background and character development you won't want to miss as we follow Masie over the years. And if you prefer your mysteries classic, this one might disappoint, though there *is* a mystery she has to solve.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Journey to Munich out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."