The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson #Review

 

The Wartime Book Club is a marvellous historical novel set on Jersey in World War Two. Written by Kate Thompson, it was published by Hodder $ Stoughton on February 13th.

Jersey, 1943. Once a warm and neighbourly community, now German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule on the people of the island.

Grace La Mottée, the island's only librarian, is ordered to destroy books which threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, postwoman Bea Rose, she wants to fight back. So she forms the wartime book club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.

But as the occupation drags on, the women's quiet acts of bravery become more perilous - and more important - than ever before. And, when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . .

Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times - as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.

 My Thoughts

I was drawn into the story from the beginning and loved how the period details shone through in the actions of the islanders and the living conditions they had to endure. It felt like a real tribute to the courage of the people of Jersey who were left behind in the Occupation. You saw how people reacted when pushed to the limit. Not everyone put country first as they strove to survive and get by. Some turned on their fellow islanders but the majority stood fast and showed real heroism, I loved how you realised that the most seemingly unnoticeable people were quietly doinfg their best and risking so much.

    You also got an insight into the more general attitudes of the time, especially as they affected women. They were expected to conform to a strict morality in their behaviour and the fear of being ostracized was powerful. Grace and Bea  are warm and well drawn characters. So different in temperament, their bond is unbreakable. Red is a breath of fresh air with his irrepressible determination to keep fighting  I also absolutely loved the place of the Library and love of books in the story. Reading offered real comfort to the villagers which bound them together. They showed how ideas cannot be eradicated even if the paper they are written on can be burnt. This was one of those books I was sorry to put down.

In short: V for Victory

About the Author

Kate Thompson is an award-winning journalist, ghostwriter and novelist who has spent the past two decades in the UK mass market and book publishing industry. Over the past eight years Kate has written twelve fiction and non-fiction titles, three of which have made the Sunday Times top ten bestseller list.

 

You can follow Kate here: X (Twitter)  |  Website   Instagram

Kate’s new podcast, ‘From the Library with Love’, is available to listen to now.

Book links: Amazon UK

Thanks to Kate Thompson, Hodder and Stoughton and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out the rest of the tour