Coventry by Helen Humphreys

Coventry by Helen Humphreys

Fiction, Paperback 180 pgs.

Harper Collins

This was my first novel by Helen Humphreys. I have read her previous book, The Frozen Thames, which deserves its place as a #1 national bestseller in non-fiction. This woman certainly knows her history.

In deceptively simple language Humphreys here portrays the night of November 14, 1940 and the bombing of Coventry , England during World War Two. Harriet has been a widow since the First World War. Through her eyes we experience unending hours of destruction and terror, but there is kindness and love too. She starts out on fire watch on the roof of Coventry Cathedral, which does not survive, and ends up with Maeve who searches for her son throughout the city that is burning and reduced to rubble.

This is a novel with heart, a story of shared tragedy. So much is lost to the people of Coventry, life will never be the same for any of them. Humphreys' writing is beautiful, as when Maeve, rushing home from the bomb shelter hoping to find her son there, sees tin soldiers in formation on his bedroom windowsill and realizes that they are young Jeremy's " last station of childhood ". He had tried to enlist but was turned down because he is colour blind. He was on fire watch with Harriet and they spent some hours helping with the injured where they could and dodging falling incendiaries and collapsing buildings in an attempt to get home.

The details of the history are accurate and the novel ends with an epilogue about the dedication of the newly rebuilt cathedral some twenty years after the war. I wanted to begin reading this book again as soon as I'd finished it, not something that usually happens with me. I will be rereading it to enjoy the way language is used in the story, and I look forward to reading her other novels. A very satisfying read that I can recommend to everyone. Five stars.

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Thank you to Deanna at Harper Collins Canada for providing me with a review copy.

Other Harper Collins books I have enjoyed recently:

Breath**** by Tim Winton (Australia)
Day**** by A.L.Kennedy(UK)
Broken Colors**** by Michele Zackheim (US)
Skeletons at the Feast**** by Chris Bohjaian (US)
Atmospheric Disturbances**** by Rivka Galchen
The Letter Opener***+ by Kyo Maclear
The Line Painter**** by Claire Cameron
Run by Ann Patchett****
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett****
The Yiddish Policemen's Union**** by Michael Chabon

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer - Review

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Fiction, Paperback, 274 pgs.

Dial Press (July 2008)

I really enjoyed this story about England's Guernsey Island in the years following its occupation by the Germans during World War Two. The personal experiences and memories of several islanders in letters to a English writer tell the story and it's a very interesting one. Rationing and food shortages, getting along with the Germans-or not, subversive acts, serious and not so serious, the entire absence of children for two years; they had been shipped to the mainland for safety before the invasion. These are some of the details that make this a fascinating and sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes humourous story.

The title refers to a book group, started inadvertently under clandestine circumstances that lasted throughout the war and beyond. This is one book group I'd like to have belonged to. Interesting literary references, lots of history, a warm and poignant story of hope and heartbreak, I liked it all. A lovely cover too. A nice gift book, especially for those with memories of the time period. Four and a half stars out of five. Highly recommended.

Also reviewed by wordlily and Embejo.

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Mary Ann Shaffer worked as an editor, a librarian and in bookshops. This was her first book , written with the help of her niece Annie Barrows who is is a well-known author of childrens books in California.

Thank you to Dial Press and LibraryThing for providing me with a review copy.

If you've read or reviewed this book please leave comments or links. I'd love to read them.

Next review: A Jerusalem Tale by Haim Sabato.
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