What began as a slow and cold (le Carré-esque) waiting game grew into a white hot flash of deceit, anxiety, and dangerous thrills. I cannot claim to know the full horrors and trials of World War II- nor can I draw a true comparison between that dark time and the present, but the world of this book is a different world from our current version. One constant remains: the truth is subjective. In 1940 a young woman is recruited into the fold of MI5. Europe […]
(It’s a witty aside, do you see?)
In 1940’s London, Juliet Armstrong is recruited to MI5. Initially doing mostly secretarial work, she finds herself tasked with more and more espionage, infiltrating right wing groups sympathising with Hitler. Ten years later, she’s working for the BBC when a run in with a former colleague brings her previous work back to haunt her. Is she going to pay for what she did for her country? I so struggled with this one, and it pains me to say it as I have enjoyed a couple […]
Their names written on water. Or scorched into the earth. Or atomized into the air. Legion.
CBR10Bingo: This Is The End (BINGO!) Have you ever read a book that you hated to put down but also hated to keep reading because you couldn’t bear the thought of reaching the end? That’s how I felt reading Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins, the companion to her brilliant Life After Life. Unlike Ursula in Life After Life, her younger brother Teddy only gets one shot at life. He still becomes a bomber pilot during World War II, still gets shot down over Germany, […]
I couldn’t even remember the title
I’m honestly a little impressed that Atkinson managed to take a novel about World War II and Cold War espionage and make it downright forgettable. It’s one of those nested novels, taking place in three distinct time periods and each one flashing back to the other. If you’re anything like me, you’ll soon lose the ability to tell the various characters apart. Also, thanks so much all y’all for the congratulations :) I’m still firmly ensconced in cloud nine and I’m afraid my reading and […]