Play Book Tag discussion

by Chris Cleave - 3.5 Stars

In the opening chapters, Mary, a blue-blooded daughter of an English aristocrat, has volunteered for the war effort. She has been assigned as a teacher and is helping evacuate London's children to the countryside ahead of the expected German bombings. When the son of an African-American performer living in London at the time is routinely ridiculed the two return separately to London and cross paths again when Mary begins working at a school run by Tom. Tom and Mary begin dating and eventually introduce their friends, Hilda and Alastair, on a blind date. But, the attraction between Mary and Alistair is undeniable. What follows is a sweeping novel on the effects of war on those who go off to fight as well as those who stay behind and yet still contribute; all are changed by the experiences in the end.

The only other Cleave's novel I've read is Little Bee. I absolutely adored it. I loved everything about it. While I did not enjoy this one as much, I certainly appreciated the work and the fact that the story is loosely built on Cleave's grandparents stories certainly adds a poignant layer to the work. However, for much of the book the characters fell flat. I cared more finding out what happened next rather than what happened with the characters. I felt the strength in the book was the depth of despair Londoners felt in living with the air raids and how much Mary's character changed over the course of that time. It was also interesting to read about racial prejudice faced by blacks in England during this time. We live with a daily barrage of accusations in the U.S. that I rarely stop to consider the experiences from other countries' perspectives.

I have to say I didn't really like Mary all that much for the first 3/4 of the book. She certainly isn't the kind of friend that deserved Hilda's loyalty. But, she experienced a lot of loss and tragedy in her life. While she stumbled at times, she fought through it and reconciled herself in my eyes. I really liked Hilda and hope she ended up with a happy ending.

I rated it 3.5 and rounded up to 4.

This is on my TBR and like you, I loved Little Bee and as you know, I am a big fan of WWII era books, both fiction and non-fiction.

This is on my TBR too. Some days I think I will never catch up. The TBR list should have levels...

I think I rated this a 3. It was so depressing. I know war is depressing but every time you think there is a glimmer of happiness or hope the rug is pulled out from under you.

Have any of ya'll read Gold? I'm keeping it on my radar but would love to hear from someone who's read it if you think I will like it.

Regina wrote: "Have any of ya'll read Gold? I'm keeping it on my radar but would love to hear from someone who's read it if you think I will like it."

I read Gold and Little Bee. My impression of Cleave is that he has mastered the craft of writing --- but he knows it. While I appreciate the writing I don't usually like the characters/stories as much so neither was a 5 star read more me.