Historical
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Book Review- A Shout in the Ruins
Title: A Shout in the Ruins Author: Kevin Powers Published: 15th May 2018 Pages: 272 Genre: Fiction, Historical Rating: 4/5 stars “A masterpiece. Powers has written a novel that includes all the ferocity, complexity, and racial violence of the American South” — Philipp Meyer, author of American Rust Set in Virginia during the Civil War and a century beyond, this novel by the award-winning author of The Yellow Birds explores the brutal legacy of violence and exploitation in American society. Spanning over one hundred years, from the antebellum era to the 1980’s, A Shout in the Ruins examines the fates of the inhabitants of Beauvais Plantation outside of Richmond, Virginia. When war arrives, the…
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Book Review- Flamingo Boy
Title: Flamingo Boy Author: Michael Morpurgo Published: 19th February 2018 Pages: 352 Genre: Children’s, Historical Fiction Rating: 4/5 A stunning new classic from master storyteller Michael Morpurgo for readers of 9+, in the vein of PRIVATE PEACEFUL and THE BUTTERFLY LIONThis is a landmark new novel form the nation’s favourite storyteller, set in the unique landscape of the Camargue in the South of France during WW2. There, a young autistic boy lives on his parents’ farm among the salt flats, and the flamingos that live there. There are lots of things he doesn’t understand: but he does know how to heal animals. He loves routine, and music too: and every…
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Book Review- The Hunger
Title: The Hunger Author: Alma Katsu Published: 5th April 2018 Pages: 376 Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction Rating: 4/5 Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere. Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone–or something–is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow a disastrous experimental route West, or just plain bad luck–the 90 men, women, and…
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Book Review- Estoril
Title: Estoril Author: Dejan Tiago-Stankovic Published: 8th March 2018 Pages: 352 Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 3/5 stars Set in a luxurious grand hotel just outside Lisbon, at the height of the Second World War, Estoril is a delightful and poignant novel about exile, divided loyalties, fear and survival. The hotel’s guests include spies, fallen kings, refugees from the Balkans, Nazis, American diplomats and stateless Jews. The Portuguese secret police broodingly observe the visitors, terrified that their country’s neutrality will be compromised. The novel seamlessly fuses the stories of its invented characters with appearances by historical figures like the ex-King Carol of Romania, the great Polish pianist Jan Paderewski, the British…
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Book Review- The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Title: The Tattooist of Auschwitz Author: Heather Morris Published: 11th January 2018 Pages: 288 Genre: Fiction, Historical Rating: 5/5 The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival – literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims’ arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for…