February 2, 2010

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

I received a free review copy of The Postmistress from the publisher.

Sarah Blake does an excellent job in The Postmistress of weaving the tale of 3 women together in a beautiful way. While set in the early World War II era, this book is not overwhelmed by the war nor is driven to see the war through to the end.

The story is told by Frankie Bard, wartime correspondent. What she sees and hears (and records) on her trip through Europe changes her...and through her reports, changes others. Through circumstance, she's driven to tell the story of the escaping Jews. Though the horrors of concentration camps were yet unknown, the terror done to the Jews was already beginning.

Iris, the postmistress herself, is a single 40-year-old woman in her early days of her first romance. In her role as postmaster in the small Cape Cod community of Franklin, Massachusetts, she serves as the central source of news in town...and she knows more than she tells.

The third woman is Emma Finch, the new (and new-to-town) bride of the town's doctor--the very doctor who decides he must help out England, leaving his pregnant wife behind not knowing of her expectancy.

I wish this story touched me more than it did. I don't know if was when I read it (was I too tired to appreciate it?) or that I've read too many good books about this same time period, but I didn't quite connect with it. It was beautifully done and I enjoyed it, so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt.

If you enjoy World War II fiction, I recommend this book. It comes out February 9th.

3 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to read this one! Thanks for the review.

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  2. I've been eying this book and do want to read it. I hope I have not set my expectations too high?? Thanks for the honest review.

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  3. I've been wanting to read this one and love WWII fiction. Really enjoyed your review!

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