Tag Archive | Rachels Random Resources

The House Of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer

Apr27

Ripples

The House Of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer is a compelling historical novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is a very unique novel. It opens as the Titanic sinks, but in another dimension – The Titanic survives! Parallel lives with subtle differences. Only two characters share this unique perspective, and for years, each believes the other to be a ghostly voice!

We see the devastation that World War I brings. A generation of young men, lost forever.

Those who returned home were scarred – physically or mentally or both. In August 1914 young men believed that war was glorious, an adventure. They were soon disillusioned. “There’s no glory in the waterlogged pits of death I walk through.”

The role of women was changing as they demanded the right to vote. Lives were opened up due to war, as the women stepped into the men’s roles. In fact, my own paternal Nanny said that the First World War gave her, her freedom as she worked in a munitions factory examining the shell cases.

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The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins

Apr20

Marvellous Dual Timeline

The Cornish Witch by Elena Collins is a marvellous dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in 1625 and present day in a Cornish fishing village. A modern-day inn is at the centre of the action.

Tragic events in 1625 means that there are lost souls unable to rest. These spirits cause havoc in present day as they want everyone to suffer as they did. Present day owners of the inn are losing trade due to the restless spirits.

In 1625 there are women accused of being witches. They are in fact midwives with knowledge of herbs and plants. Locals believe they are causing mischief.

In present day there are a mother and daughter who run a new age shop in Minehead who also believe in the healing power of plants.

A shipwreck on the sea bed has lain there undiscovered for four centuries until a pair of divers come along. The Cornish coast is littered with wrecks as smugglers used to lure ships to their doom.

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Eva Is Waiting by Romola Farr

Apr1

Highly Entertaining

Eva Is Waiting by Romola Farr is a gripping historical novel that I read in just two sittings.

The action is set in 1965 at a girls school. It is a time of uncertainty, only twenty years since World War II ended and is fresh in the minds of all. It is now at the height of the Cold War – a time of mistrust.

Historians will know of Berlin being split into four zones. The Stasi had far-reaching fingers and underhand tactics.

We see that war criminals hid in plain sight, blending in and denying their past.

The lead character is a teenager who finds herself haunted by a young Jewish girl who disappeared ten years earlier. Shadowy figures are seen, and the past is re-lived through dreams.

It is a time of awakening as the teen is on the verge between adulthood and childhood. The swinging sixties were definitely swinging in the girls boarding school!

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Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest by Ann Bennett

Mar26

Powerful & Heart-Wrenching

The Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest by Ann Bennett is a powerful historical novel. It is based on the author’s father’s wartime experiences as a POW on the Thai Burma railway and is absolutely heart breaking.

The novel is set over two time periods – 1943 onwards in Malaya, and in London in 1986. It is linked by the young man in 1943 who became the elderly father in 1986.

The father had never spoken of his time as a POW. It is only after his death that his daughter goes on a quest to find out about her father’s lost years.

Ann Bennett pulls no punches. This is a very hard-hitting read. The Japanese (though a gentle nation now) were brutal to all those in captivity. The comprehensive detail of the sufferings makes this a very hard read. But it is a necessary read. We need to know what happened so we never forget the generation of young men who went to war, and returned changed, if they returned at all.

We witness a beautiful budding love that is brutally ripped away by war. This contrasts sharply with a selfish, young, egotistical young man in 1986.

The title Bamboo Heart “means that the heart has been permanently weakened by starvation” at some time in the past.

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