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Why can't he just move on? Not just him. All of them. All of the ex-soldiers, standing, begging in the street, boards tied around their necks. All of them reminding you of something that you want to forget. It went on long enough. She grew up under it, like a great squatting thing, leaching all the color and joy from life.
The war's over. Why can't all of them just bloody well move on?

Oh my heart! Once I started this well researched account of a post WWI historical, I was glued to the couch. Anna Hope gives us three women of various ages that have all been shaped by the war; for better or for worse. Hettie, Ada, and Evelyn are just three representations of the many women that dealt with the loss of a brother, lover, friend etc. Through their stories we also see how unprepared people were for the wounded especially those who bore the mental scars of war.

The situations and dialogues are unflinching, raw, ugly and show the ramifications of war on a people. Woven into this story is the approaching Armistice Day of 1920 as the people of England welcome the arrival of the Unknown Warrior. It is a subject largely ignored today and often forgetten that back when memories of the battles were still fresh and people remember the men whose names were etched in the marble, that remembrance ceremonies left many people uncertain. Mothers like Ada felt again that absolute heartache of the son buried somewhere in "France or Belgium." Young girls like Hettie wondered about the names their brothers would call out in the middle of the night. Women like Evelyn would congratulate friends and family on their marriages and babies and think about the lover who never came home.


Definitely a book worth attention! Can you believe I picked up the hardcover for $3!!