Tag Archive | Connie Hampton Connally

Fire Music by Connie Hampton Connally

May17

Light Shining In The Darkness

Fire Music by Connie Hampton Connally is a powerful dual timeline novel surrounding a Hungarian family. The novel concentrates on the years 1945 and 2013 as we alternate between the two time periods.

Most of the action is set in Budapest. The two time periods are united by a sixteen year old in 1945 who becomes a grandfather in 2013.

We meet a young American searching for her roots, after her grandparents passing. She wants to know her story and where she comes from.

1945 was a terrible time for Hungarians. First there were the Nazis and then the Russians moved in. Both were brutal. Women were not safe as they could be attacked and far worse.

We follow a family who had very little but had a tremendous musical talent. Music breaks down barriers, uniting those from all walks of life. Music can be passed down the years to future generations. Music also sends us back down the years to a moment in time. As talents unite, beautiful music is made.

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The Songs We Hide by Connie Hampton Connally

Apr3

Serene Beauty

The Songs We Hide by Connie Hampton Connally is a powerful, heart wrenching historical novel that I read mainly in one sitting.

The novel is set in Hungary in 1951. It is a time of great heartache and difficulty. Communism, under Stalin, had taken over the country following the second World War.

Farming is now organized into collectives. Those who did not join were heavily penalized. There was much cruelty. Just as in Ukraine during the 1920’s, people are killed, persecuted or just disappear.

Life is equally hard in towns. People inform on others. People who are loyal to the state are rewarded. People who are not, are punished.

Throughout the novel, there is the air of fear. No one must openly criticize the state, not even children.

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