Read the 1940s: October - Post War

CharlasVirago Modern Classics

Únete a LibraryThing para publicar.

Read the 1940s: October - Post War

Este tema está marcado actualmente como "inactivo"—el último mensaje es de hace más de 90 días. Puedes reactivarlo escribiendo una respuesta.

1lauralkeet
Sep 30, 2019, 7:06 am

We've moved through a variety of war-related themes, and now with October the war has finally come to an end. Our topic is Post War.

As usual, books can be fiction or nonfiction, Viragos, Persephones, books by Virago/Persephone authors, or books that otherwise embody the "Virago spirit." They can be set in the 1940s, or published in the 1940s. In short, there are no rules here -- participants can set rules to suit themselves. For questions, comments, and general chat about the theme read go to our General Discussion thread.

Visit the Book Recommendations thread for help choosing books that fit the theme & monthly topic. We also have a fabulous Google spreadsheet created by Heather/souloftherose, which compiles and classifies all the book recommendations mentioned on the thread. The spreadsheet includes a "categories" column that shows which topic(s) each book would be suitable for. Below are links to two different views of the data:
* Full spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-b4Y2YrG4VseFT5qn546IjWy0JYst7cOVIrmeBHB...
* Filtered on the "Post War" category:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-b4Y2YrG4VseFT5qn546IjWy0JYst7cOVIrmeBHB...

Note that the filtered view does not work on mobile devices, and it may take a few extra seconds to load in your browser. Please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions for the spreadsheet.

What are you planning to read in October? Join the conversation here.

2Sakerfalcon
Oct 8, 2019, 3:51 am

Thank you for starting the thread, Laura. I will be getting off to a late start on this month's theme, as I'm still finishing up If this is a woman from September. But I have Tory Heaven lined up and ready to go!

3lauralkeet
Oct 8, 2019, 9:21 pm

I just read The World my Wilderness, which was a great fit for our theme and a good read, but didn't "wow" me.

Set in 1946, both France and England are dealing with the aftermath of the Second World War. At 17, Barbary Deniston has lived in the shadow of war most of her life. She lives in France with her mother, a self-centered woman more focused on her romantic entanglements than on raising her daughter. Barbary had the freedom to mix with the local Resistance, and has seen more than most her age. When her mother decides to ship her off to her father in England, Barbary struggles to adjust to a radically different culture, resists those who can help her, and falls in with a rough crowd. Consequences ensue.

This novel had some interesting characters and there were some moments of humor and depth, but I also found the plot somewhat contrived. Nevertheless, the examination of both France and England post-war made it a good fit for this theme read.

4kayclifton
Oct 10, 2019, 5:09 pm

I intend to read Little Boy Lost byMarghanita Laski. She's a Virago author but the book is not published by Virago. I intend to borrow it from a public library.

5kac522
Oct 11, 2019, 12:36 am

>4 kayclifton: That's a great book, which I read recently. Raises so many ethical questions. And it's a Persephone, so it counts!

6Sakerfalcon
Oct 11, 2019, 7:32 am

I finished Tory heaven which was a very enjoyable, if scary, fast read. The vision of England to which our shipwrecked cast return feels very much like the ideal some of our current politicians would like to see. This is great political satire with a very satisfying ending.

Now I've started Mrs Tim gets a job.

7Heaven-Ali
Oct 11, 2019, 8:03 am

I have got completely out of sync with this reading event. I would like to read my next Mrs Tim book this month but might not manage it due to other commitments.

Last month I read Wine of Honour by Barbara Beauchamp from Dean S tPress which would be perfect for this month's theme.

https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/wine-of-honour-barbara-beauchamp-1945...

8Sakerfalcon
Oct 16, 2019, 6:25 am

Mrs Tim gets a job was as delightful a read as I'd expected, having enjoyed the previous 2 books in the series. This volume sees Hester taking a job as general dogsbody at a hotel in the Scottish borders while her husband is stationed abroad after the end of the war. We meet some interesting new characters and a few old favourites and the sense of humour is strong.

Now I'm reading the short stories collected in Minnie's room.

9LyzzyBee
Oct 18, 2019, 1:51 am

I read Peace, Perfect Peace by Josephine Kamm in August which fits very well with this month, out of step as usual https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2019/08/28/book-review-josephine-kamm-peace-... - one from Dean Street Press - highly recommended if you're looking for something for this month if we allow Furrowed Middlebrow, too.

10Sakerfalcon
Oct 18, 2019, 8:24 am

Finished Minnie's room, these were good stories but I think the wartime ones had more of an impact and impressed me more.

Now I'm reading Flight of the maidens which has been on my TBR pile for an embarrassingly long time!

11Sakerfalcon
Oct 26, 2019, 5:49 am

And I've finished Flight of the maidens which was a good read. Nice to have a book set outside London where life and expectations of women could be very different. I felt Liselotte's story was somewhat sidelined and suddenly became rather surreal, but other than that I enjoyed it.