Top Ten Tuesday: Books set during or after WWI

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books I Enjoyed that Were Outside My Comfort Zone (or books you’d like to read that are outside your comfort zone!) However, it might not be a surprise to see that I am going rogue. It's not the first time and it won't be the last.

Instead, in honour of the fact that today is Remembrance Day which commemorates the end of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, I am sharing ten books I have read that are either set either in or just after WWI.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonsen - This book is set in the immediate aftermath of WWI and deals with the impact on society and for those who returned. I could have chosen The Summer Before the War too. I read both of these books earlier this year. (my review)

The House at the River's Edge by Rachel Burton - This book starts just before the outbreak of WWI. It is a dual timeline so we get to see what the legacy of the events that occurred were through the generations. (my review)

The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart  - Follows a young Australian woman who becomes a nurse in  Egypt during WWI.

 The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell - Another dual timeline, with the historical section being set in the Champagne area of France during WWI. 

The Girl from Paris by Ella Carey- I used to read a lot of Ella Carey's books which are predominantly set in WWII. This one, however, is a WWI story.  (My review)

When I Come Home Again by Caroline Scott - Set in the aftermath of WWI, this story looks at the impact of trauma on two men who both served.  (my review)

In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl - I loved this book when I read it a number of years ago.  This is another nurse story with a young Australian woman travelling to France to work in the field hospitals in France

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes - I had forgotten that this was a WWI story. It is set in occupied France and is another dual timeline story. (my review)

Black Diamonds by Kim Kelly - This book tells the story of a young man who goes to war but also of life on the home front with the woman he left behind. (my review)

The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally - Two sisters head off to become nurses in WWI.

Lest we forget.

Blog Tour: When I Come Home Again by Caroline Scott

Every now and again a book comes along which makes you really stop and think. This is one of those books.

When a man is arrested for damaging a statue in Durham Cathedral, police are puzzled that he seems to have no memory of his life, how he got there, or who he is. He is named Adam Galilee by the policeman, and then transferred to a psychiatric facility in Cumbria, Fellside House.

 

There, over the course of several years, the doctors try to unravel the puzzle of who the man is and why it is that he seems to have chosen to forget his past. They try encouraging him to talk, as well as hypnotism and other treatments. Clearly Adam is traumatised, but what is it that he saw or did during the war. There are things that Adam does know - he is a talented sketcher of nature, and there is one face that he draws over and over again.

One of the doctors, James, is dealing with his own trauma from the war, or rather not dealing with it. He and his wife Caitlin have moved to Fellside House to effectively start their lives together. Whilst Caitlin and James have been married for several years, they have spent most of that time separated by war. And as much as James is helping Adam, he is dealing with his own memories, many of which involve the death of Caitlin's brother.

When the facility is visited by a journalist, they take a photo of Adam and publish it, thinking that maybe Adam's real family might come forward. Instead, dozens of people come forward, claiming that Adam is their missing husband, brother, or son, back from the dead.

Part of what is intriguing about this story is how is it that so many people can think that this man, is their son. Surely, there are things about each of us that make us uniquely us and therefore that there is only one family that we belong too, or is

At it's heart this book is more than a story. It is a study of the effect of trauma on different people, about the effect of loss and about identity. This is a book that you have to think about, you can't rush through it. It is a thought provoking read.

Thanks to Random Things Tours for the review copy

About the book

They need him to remember. He wants to forget.

1918. In the last week of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral. When questioned, it becomes clear he has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there.

The soldier is given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home where his doctor James is determined to recover who this man once was. But Adam doesn’t want to remember. Unwilling to relive the trauma of war, Adam has locked his memory away, seemingly for good.

When a newspaper publishes a feature about Adam, three women come forward, each claiming that he is someone she lost in the war. But does he believe any of these women? Or is there another family out there waiting for him to come home?

Based on true events, When I Come Home Again is a deeply moving and powerful story of a nation’s outpouring of grief, and the search for hope in the aftermath of war.

This week....

 I'm reading...

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I wasn't really listening to any audiobooks at the moment. The time that I could be listening is while I am working,, but there are just times when I can't possibly have another piece of information coming into my head so I just can't listen. However, I decided at the end of last week that the time was right to listen to Jenny Colgan's Christmas at the Island Hotel despite the fact that I don't normally go out of my way to read Christmas books. I have listened to all the books in this series and this is just the right combination of fun and serious and so far it is working for me. I also like that this audio is under 10  hours. A couple of the other books I want to listen to are around 25 hours which is quite an investment in time. 


I have also just started reading When I Come Home Again by Caroline Scott. I have one of this author's other books out of the library which is why I said yes to reading it. Luckily I have a public holiday tomorrow so I might be able to get a good chunk of it read, otherwise there is going to be a mad scramble to get it done.

I'm watching....

The Mandalorian is back!! That is our Friday night viewing set for the next few weeks at least. And we also watched the first episode of The Boys so maybe we will watch more of that. I don't know. 

The one thing we watched over the weekend was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. We have friends who throw a Halloween dress up party every year. Dress up isn't really my thing but we go to see everyone. This year, though, that wasn't really an option because of our restrictions so instead we all watched this movie and chatted about it in a group chat. I also thought it counted as a good last hurrah for RIP XV.

I have to say I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I also found myself reminiscing over that time around 7 years ago when blogland went mad for the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Do you remember? I think I spent a whole Easter just watching episodes of that show. Good Times!

Life....

One of the reasons we didn't watch much over the weekend is that we were finally allowed to go further than 5kms from our home, so yesterday we want to a botanic gardens to catch up with a friend, and then had coffee with my husband's daughter and her partner. We are still limited to within 25kms of our homes, so we can't yet go wherever we want but hopefully that restriction will be eased soon too! I can't wait to be able to do a day trip to the country somewhere! 

Oh, and I got my hair cut! Thanks goodness! My colour is back to what it should be....which is obviously not the natural colour!

And lastly, yesterday was our first wedding anniversary. It's been a strange year as I am sure I don't have to mention, but we are still super duper happy! Still newlyweds according to one of my colleagues and I am happy with that! This is the beach on a resort island in Vanuatu where we got married. I would love to be there now, I can tell you.

RIP  XV

The end of October bring the end another Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge for another year.

I watched Rebecca,  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Warrior Nun and The Umbrella Academy.

I listened to Turn of the Screw by Henry James on audiobook

I  read The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James,  and The Deadly Hours.

It kind of surprises me that I have read and watched that much that qualified! 

Posts from the last week

Blog Tour: Serena Fairfax on Why I Love the Rani of Jhansi
Blog Tour: The Exiles by Christine Baker Kline

Weekend Cooking: What I Baked in October

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I currently have out from the library

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. There is no set theme this week and so today I am sharing the books that I currently have out of the library. Our library system is still closed because we are still in lockdown, so they keep on extending the return date. At the moment the return date is due to be 31 October but that could be extended further depending on what happens. 

The Opal Dragonfly by Julian Leatherdale - I read this author's first book a few months ago and I liked it so requested this one. I intend to read his last book too.

Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten - This was reviewed a lot a couple of months ago and it sounds so good. I requested it from the library straight away

The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman - I saw this mentioned a few times and knew I wanted to read it!

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi - I saw this mentioned on a few Top Ten Tuesday posts over a few weeks so decided I needed to read it myself

Ambulance Girls at War by Deborah Burrows - This is the the third book in the Ambulance Girls trilogy

Those Who Are  Loved by Victoria Hislop - I really enjoyed some books by Victoria Hislop years ago but it has been a long time since I read one.

The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks - This is a middle grade book but I have heard good things about it.

The Poppy Wife by Caroline Scott - I saw this on someone's blog somewhere and it prompted me to request it from the library, but I can't remember where or when.

Rosewater & Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran - This is the last book that I borrowed from the library before it closed that I haven't read yet, so I want to read it before the library opens again

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown - This is the current Cook the Books bookclub choice, I am about half way through this at the moment.

Library Loot: 21 July

Earlier this year when the COVID19 pandemic hit, our local libraries closed to everyone. Gradually as our restrictions lifted, a couple of the local branches reopened with limited opening hours. Unfortunately my branch was not one of those which was disappointing given that I had lots and lots of books waiting to be picked up from the hold shelf. I thought I was being smart in getting my holds transferred from my branch to one of the branches that was opened. I then planned to go and pick them up. Good plan right?

What I hadn't counted on was that we would go back into lockdown and therefore I couldn't go to the other branch either. Luckily my library system does have a delivery service, so I was able to request that my books were delivered to my door! It was exciting to receive that package yesterday. I suspect I might use this delivery service again yet.

Here's what I got:

The Opal Dragonfly by Julian Leatherdale - I read this author's first book a few months ago and I liked it so requested this one. I intend to read his last book too.

Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten - This was reviewed a lot a couple of months ago and it sounds so good. I requested it from the library straight away

The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman - I saw this mentioned a few times and knew I wanted to read it!

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi - I saw this mentioned on a few Top Ten Tuesday posts over a few weeks so decided I needed to read it myself

Ambulance Girls at War by Deborah Burrows - This is the the third book in the Ambulance Girls trilogy

Those Who Are  Loved by Victoria Hislop - I really enjoyed some books by Victoria Hislop years ago but it has been a long time since I read one.

The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks - This is a middle grade book but I have heard good things about it.

The Poppy Wife by Caroline Scott - I saw this on someone's blog somewhere and it prompted me to request it from the library, but I can't remember where or when.

The Spanish Promise by Karen Swan - Bree from All the Books I Can Read has been reading a lot of Karen Swan books this year, so I have decided to see if I like the author as much as she  does. I borrowed this one as an ebook.


Now to decide what to read first.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries