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Finally getting around to reviewing this book- even though I read it months ago now.

The story jumps back and worth between the experiences of Stephen Wraysford in France (which includes his life as a textile apprentice in 1910, and then his experiences in WWI up to 1918), and his granddaughter Elizabeth in England in the 70s . Her story largely includes her investigating Stephen's life in France and during the war which has largely been a blank spot in her family history, and the fact she is having an affair with a married man. This mirrors Stephen's experience of having had a deep affair with a married woman, which illuminates Elizabeth's mother's elusive life story and origins.

The book deals with the complexity of inheritance, the horrors of WWI, and the importance of knowing our history. It is also a fascinating book in how it not only demands a sense of sympathy for lovers of affairs (not at all unknown in books), but more radically treats these relationships from a completely judgement free position as if they are not an issue of morality at all- which I found interesting. The scene where Elizabeth reveals she is having her married lover's baby to her mother is marked only by a sense of joy from her mother (who we learn was conceived the same way), and when she later gives birth joy remains the predominate theme from both her and her lover Robert.

Overall, I found this to be an engaging and meaningful book, with some novel views. I gave it 4 stars.

Pre-2017 review:

*** 1/2

As the subtitle correctly points out, this was a novel about love and war. But after completing it, I am left with the feeling that the disjointed parts of this book don't actually mesh quite well together. The WWI graphic descriptions provide another vivid example of this terrible conflict; the love story between Stephen and Isabelle was quite passionate and (stereo)typically French. The storyline of Elizabeth, despite its obvious relation with the love and war stories, felt a bit out of place; it felt like mending a garment perfectly with a thread of the wrong colour.