The Last Christmas by Liz Fenwick

Oct25

Waiting. Always.

The Last Christmas by Liz Fenwick is a very charming dual timeline novel that I absolutely adored.

Readers of the author’s The Secret Shore will remember lead character Meredith Tremayne who features in this book as the ninety-eight-year-old grandmother. She is returning to Cornwall for one last Christmas.

The novel is set in 2012 and 1946, both in December. In 1946 Meredith married Jake, the love of her life. In 2012 Meredith is returning to scatter Jake’s ashes after he had died eight years earlier. Her dearest wish is that her ashes would be scattered with his.

Meredith was a cartographer during World War II, and was crucial to the war effort. However, “when the war ended, they basically told us to hang up our coats and go back to the kitchen.” With war, came choices, after the war, Meredith still pursued her work with the blessing of new husband, Jake.

The pair settled in Massachusetts. It is only in 2012 that Meredith returns ‘home’ to Cornwall with her granddaughter Grace. “My grandmother had been important in the war effort, but no-one in the family ever said anything about it.” Here, in Cornwall, Grace really gets to ‘know’ her grandmother, who in turn, really ‘sees’ Grace.

Grace is dyslexic and has been dubbed ‘stupid’ by her own mother. It is in visiting her grandmother’s family home that Grace really discovers her passion and her gifting. She finally finds her place in life.

War changes people. “Everyone of us who lived through that time carried things which… could sink us. We had to find a way of living with what we had witnessed or experienced.” There were horrors that they could not ‘unsee’. They had to learn to live with them. After the war, “I needed to make every moment count.”

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The Brunswick by Callie Murray

Oct24

Saves The World Entire

The Brunswick by Callie Murray is a fabulous debut novel set in the American South in 1939. It is a Christian historical novel, and although a work of fiction, has its roots based on real people and real events.

This is a story in two halves which alternate. There is The Brunswick in Norcross, America which used to be a hotel until the Wall Street crash of 1929, but is now a run as a store by a World War I veteran’s daughter. He had originally built The Brunswick but now is confined to his room with depression. The other venue is Austria where Jewish children are persecuted and need a safe harbour.

Within America there are anti-German feelings and we see characters marginalised because of their roots, despite the fact that their parents came to America many years earlier.

The World War I veteran is haunted by his past. He has withdrawn from life, even to the point of ignoring his daughter. His prejudice runs deep. “Who knew what he experienced when he was fighting abroad? – but he must hate an entire race, past and future?” Fears of how he will react to Jewish children in his hotel are very real. “Worry is a waste of time we have left.” We should worry about nothing and pray about everything, handing our worries up to Jesus.

We witness the cruelty and persecution by the Nazis, of the innocents. We see those who are brave. “I am comfortable because others were brave.” We wonder, what does brave look like? “Sometimes bravery looks like love… and love, you have.”

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The Warsaw Diary Keeper by Avi Dobzinski

Oct20

Four Ordinary Heroes

The Warsaw Diary Keeper by Avi Dobzinski is a powerful historical novel that has been constructed around the author’s wife’s aunt’s wartime diaries.

This is a heartbreaking book about the effects of war on a Jewish family of four, living in Poland.

In order to survive the family had to adapt and reinvent themselves as Roman Catholics. “You will have to learn to walk through the world as someone else” was the message given to the two girls aged just twelve and seven. This cannot have been easy – but the family of four realised that their lives were at stake. First Poland was invaded by the Soviets and then the Germans.

Everyone from the very youngest daughter wanted to help the war effort. Though only young, the youngest daughter delivered underground newspapers. She was very brave.

Hitler’s policy to eradicate the Jewish people soon spread throughout Poland. “Neighbours who had been polite in shops… had turned into monsters overnight.” Nowhere was totally safe for the family, who travelled to various places within Poland, trying to stay alive. This is their war. We see events through their eyes. We witness the bravery of them all, even the very young. We cannot imagine the fear the parents had for the safety of their girls.

War is not glamourous. There are heroes and there are villains. This is a book about a family of heroes – They moved. They adapted. They survived.

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The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous

Oct18

Believe In Me

The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous is a positively charming contemporary novel that I adored. It is the second book in the Empty Nesters series but can be read as a stand-alone.

As their twentieth anniversary is in full swing, something snaps and a couple wonder if their marriage is over. She has given up work. He is immersed in his. Their son has just left for uni. “How have they forgotten to nurture the very most important aspect of their relationship: them?” As their nest is empty, they wonder if their marriage is too? They decide to have twenty dates, one for each year they are married, and hope it’s enough to save their marriage.

Somewhere along the way, the couple had lost sight of each other and their needs. “Maybe we both stopped trying.” The couple want to re-connect.

The reader immerses themselves in the twenty dates – some are more energetic than others. As the couple tries new things, they hope to inject a sense of adventure back into their lives.

Both parties are likable and believable. They are still in love but allowed life to come between them. We learn that “this is how he shows his love: acts of service.” But sometimes she needs words to accompany the actions.

Both characters are believably flawed adults who are easy to like. Both have experienced childhood traumas. “Deep inside, he’s still the eight-year-old boy who was abandoned by his mum all those years ago.” When the person who is supposed to love you best, abandons you, it is natural to expect others to abandon you too.

The lead female character lost her father on her tenth birthday. She blames herself. “What happened… are not your fault… We’re not blaming you or punishing you… You need to show the same compassion to yourself.” Her thinking is flawed but her grief is still raw. There has not been closure. And she has placed her Dad on a pedestal. “I never quite believed someone could love me as much as Dad did. That no man could ever be as reliable as he was.” She has idealised her dad.

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