Juliet West

This was a perfect holiday read, involving a rich cast of characters. There's privileged Hazel, living with her largely estranged parents in a Sussex village. Francine, Hazel's mother, has an almost resident lover, Charles. There are Tom and Lucia, blackshirts from London in Aldwick for a rally and camp. Hazel is drawn to Tom, and he to her, but this is no simply woven love story. The blackshirts, Lucia, Francine, the Spanish Civil War all conspire to prevent easy contact between these two young people.

The characters are well-drawn, the history well described, as is the day-to-day life of the period. I read the book eagerly and was sorry when it finished.… (más)

I had no expectations for this book, the author being unknown to me. To discover that this was her first novel was a surprise as it is a beautifully written book, tastefully and delicately handling the intimacies of the main characters. I knew how badly London, indeed many places, suffered during the First World War, poverty, rationing, unemployment, inadequate housing, air raids, and health. This book illustrates it all, but mostly the loneliness and despair of families split apart when husbands and fathers went away to war for months or years. Once I got into this book I found it hard to put down. A lovely read.… (más)

Hannah’s husband has gone to war leaving her with their two children. She’s not happy when she has to move in with her mother, sister, and brother-in-law. Hoping to earn some extra money, Hannah takes a job at a café where she meets Daniel Blake. Working as a ship worker exempts him from war, which isn’t to everyone’s liking.

I had read a lot of good reviews about this and I had high hopes for this one. It wasn’t bad but not as good as I wanted it to be. I didn’t quite connect with any of the characters and even the ending didn’t really move me. Especially Daniel felt very distant which wasn’t helped that Hannah’s narrative was in the first person while Daniel’s was in 3rd person.

It moved too slow at times to keep my interest. But on the positive side, it did give a realistic feeling about the time.… (más)