The care and management of lies
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
"By July 1914, the ties between Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, friends since girlhood, have become strained--by Thea's passionate embrace of women's suffrage, and by the imminent marriage of Kezia to Thea's brother, Tom, who runs the family farm. When Kezia and Tom wed just a month before war is declared between Britain and Germany, Thea's gift to Kezia is a book on household management--a veiled criticism of the bride's prosaic life to come. Yet when Tom enlists to fight for his country and Thea is drawn reluctantly onto the battlefield, the farm becomes Kezia's responsibility. Each must find a way to endure the ensuing cataclysm and turmoil. As Tom marches to the front lines, and Kezia battles to keep her ordered life from unraveling, they hide their despair in letters and cards filled with stories woven to bring comfort. Even Tom's fellow soldiers in the trenches enter and find solace in the dream world of Kezia's mouth-watering, albeit imaginary meals. But will well-intended lies and self-deception be of use when they come face to face with the enemy?" --
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is perhaps Jacqueline Winspear's ‘book of the heart' – something she needed to write.
It is a story of life, of friendship, and of love. As you might well presume from the subtitle, it is also a story of war and of loss. Compared to her Maisie Dobbs stories, this one is slower paced and perhaps less exciting, but IMHO more beautifully written.
(Aside: The readership of this book is predominantly female. An artifact of marketing perhaps? This male, however, found it worth his time.)
3.5 stars rounded up.
