We Were the Lucky Ones
Book
Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II,...
Jewish Fiction historical WWII WW2 World War II
Send For Me
Book
An achingly beautiful work of historical fiction that moves between Germany on the eve of World War...
Historical fiction Holocaust Germany WWII Family Refugees
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter in Books
Jul 19, 2022
Historical fiction ✅
Set somewhere completely out of my previous knowledge ✅
A strong female character, operating in a difficult situation ✅
A bit of a mystery ✅ (I don’t really want to try and solve it, I just like the big reveal!)
As is often the case, the expectation of women in historical fiction is to stay at home, look after the house, wait to get married and have babies. But Eliza won’t stay at home when her father goes missing - she doesn’t assume he’s dead like the rest of the townsfolk.
There’s a real feeling of danger in a town where there appears to be no law keepers - not honest one’s, anyway. And if the corrupt, prejudiced townsfolk don’t get you, the climate and the wildlife (jellyfish, crocodiles!!) will.
This is a gripping, descriptive novel, that puts the reader firmly in Eliza’s world. I certainly had more of an idea of the hardships of living in NW Australia at this time. What will stay with me however, is Eliza’s determination to save her father and her family. She’s single-minded in her quest to find him, and determined not to let anyone else take the blame for his supposed death. It’s unnerving at times, when the attitudes of the white settlers towards the Aboriginals and other people of colour are starkly described.
A dark time in history, indeed.
And I’d highly recommend this. It’s wonderfully told.
BUT, when I looked at it on Goodreads, one of the tags was “historical fiction”. Has it come to this now, that 1995 - the year I graduated from Uni - is seen as historical fiction?!
I’m feeling a bit old.
Anyway, I’ll hobble on to the review…
Diana and Aurelle live next door to one another in a wealthy neighbourhood, but have nothing to do with one another until Diana’s brother unexpectedly dies. Diana has had a poor relationship with her brother, but he was clearly their parent’s favourite. Diana is pushed away by her parents, and she ends up next door with Aurelle.
They become close friends, decide to study at the same college, and live together in Aurelle’s family house near the university campus. It’s an idyllic setting. Classrooms in woodland, near a lake. It sounds beautiful.
Aurelle starts to go off the rails, whilst Diana’s art really takes off.
And then it all goes terribly wrong with misunderstandings, envy and obsession.
I didn’t see the latter half of this book coming at all, and it was a real shock!
The whole book was fascinating, though. A prime example of young adults cut loose from the relative stability of their families and left to do whatever they want. And what these girls want to do, especially Aurelle, just isn’t good for them.
So if you like a ‘good’ toxic relationship in a story, then this will be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it
Brushstrokes from the Past (Soli Hansen Mysteries #4)
Book
WWII and the mid-seventeenth century are entwined in this fourth dual timeline novel about Nazi art...
Historical Fiction Mystery Sweet
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Atomic Love in Books
Mar 10, 2022
I haven’t read much historical fiction set in America in the 1950’s, so it was interesting to see that the women who had worked in important roles during the war, had been moved out to be replaced by the men returning from war - just the same as pretty much everywhere else.
Rosalind’s reasons for not working in Atomic Research are a little different. Her ex-lover, Weaver, had her removed after he wrote a report damning her ability and suitability. So, Rosalind finds herself working on a jewellery counter, doubting her abilities as a scientist. She’s lonely, struggling to make ends meet when two men suddenly turn up in her life: Thomas Weaver (her ex), and an FBI agent called Charlie Szydlo.
Charlie, an ex-Japanese prisoner of war, believes Weaver is spying for the Russians and feeding them important information in their own Atomic research. Charlie asks Rosalind to help him find out for sure if that’s what he’s doing. So against her better judgement, she does.
There’s a lot of tension running through this, both the dangerous and romantic kinds. It’s a great book that would have slipped under my radar if not for The Pigeonhole!
German Queer Crime Fiction: Feminist Politics, Justice and Desire
Book
A marriage of mystery fiction and queer concerns, queer crime literature celebrates the pairing of...
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated His Bloody Project in Books
Jul 25, 2017
Well written and researched but a bit bland.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Shadow Princess (Taj Mahal Trilogy, #3) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Simon Bolivar: Travels and Transformations of a Cultural Icon
Maureen G. Shanahan and Ana Maria Reyes
Book
One of Latin America's most famous historical figures, Simon Bolivar has become a mythic symbol for...