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The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander

Sep1

So Powerful

The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander is a powerful dual timeline novel that totally consumed me.

The novel is set during World War II in Berlin and the Sudetenland, and also in London in 1994 as Britain is preparing to celebrate the fifty years anniversary since the end of World War II.

People want to hear war stories from their grandparents/parents. Silence has been kept for nearly fifty years. Now it’s the time to reveal long hidden secrets.

We hear the stories of Katja and Lou. Hers is told verbally, his is in the form of a diary. Finally, a daughter hears her parent’s stories.

Seeing World War II from the point of view of a German girl is a different perspective and one I had not thought of before. We witness the effect Allied bombing had on lives and see that not all Germans were Nazis. “It was inevitable that ordinary people should reap what their ruler had sown.” The women and children, the old and the young were all caught up in a war they did not want.

Kind hearts do what they can. We witness the bravery needed to stand up against the Nazis. Trust was in short supply as neighbours informed on each other, and people disappeared.

Was disillusioned many. Some wounded soldiers witnessed first hand the futility of war, and did what they could to sabotage the Nazi war efforts.

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The Steel Girls At War by Michelle Rawlins

Aug31

Warms My Heart

Steel Girls At War by Michelle Rawlins is a powerful historical novel that I became totally engrossed in. It is the fourth book in the Steel Girls series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first in order to get to know the characters and to see their development and progression.

The book is set over the summer of 1940 in Sheffield. We return to the familiar faces who work in the steel industry. The camaraderie, love and support grow ever stronger. It is the women who pick up the slack left behind by the men going to war.

Women stepped up and into the jobs vacated by men. They still had homes to run and children to look after. They developed a network of support and love.

This book focuses in on one particular family. They are the microcosm for the macrocosm of what was happening in homes up and down Britain. We follow a young mother and her children as they wait for news on the whereabouts of a husband and father. We can understand the conflicting emotions of worry and despair needing to be balanced with remaining upbeat for the sake of the children. It is important to hold on to hope. “Without hope you haven’t got anything.”

June 1940 saw the evacuation of Dunkirk. Lives were left on hold as they wait for news.

Returning soldiers came home with more than injured bodies, minds were damaged too. PTSD moved in, altering personalities. We witness how hard it is for wives and children. Our hearts go out to them.

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The Postcard by Carly Schabowski

Aug29

Powerful

The Postcard by Carly Schabowski is a powerful dual timeline novel that totally consumed me.

The action is set during World War II and in 1999 in a small town that straddles the German/Polish border. It is a heartbreaking read as we hear of the horrors that the Poles suffered. As the novel opens in 1937 life is carefree and there is a gaiety as Germans and Poles exist side by side. As war looms, the atmosphere becomes oppressive as the Poles are hunted down and persecuted.

There are those who cannot stand idly by. “I don’t want to be like the others. I don’t want to do nothing, say nothing.” Unfortunately, youthful enthusiasm fails to project forwards to anticipate the consequences of actions.

The reader travels to Bergen Belsen as we witness the absolute horrors of mans inhumanity to man. We ‘meet’ Janek, a brave Pole, who sees goodness even though He walks through hell on earth. He believes that as long as we take control of our minds, we can never be in captivity. The Nazis can take bodies but not minds, without permission.

Lives have been held captive by thoughts of bitterness and unforgiveness. One can never live in freedom until forgiveness is given.

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The Girl Who Never Came Back by Suzanne Goldring

Aug25

Heart Breaking

The Girl Who Never Came Back by Suzanne Goldring is a powerful, historical, heartbreaking novel that tore my emotions to pieces.

The action alternates between World War II and up to 1999. We witness the devastating effect that war has on lives – a young boy who never recovers from the loss of his sister and a young woman who was responsible for training women to go overseas as spies.

Contrary to what some may believe, losing her girls to the Nazi war machine in occupied France, haunted a character for the rest of her life. She spent a lifetime searching for answers. She wanted to bring the guilty to justice and would not rest until she did.

The reader travels from wartime England to postwar Europe and back again. We learn of the horrors of the camps and those who ran them. It is dreadful and horrifying to see the Nazi ideals still retained in former Nazis, who ran the camps, many years later. Unrepentant characters with black hearts still believed in what they did.

Uncovering the truth brings the search to an end. Sometimes it is best to keep the painful truth hidden.

We follow a friendship that spanned eighty years. Love and loyalty remained.

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