Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

I love Erik Larson's historical nonfiction books. I finished reading Dead Wake the other day, and it was one of his better ones. 

One thing I really enjoyed was the way Larson delved into the people's lives during this tragedy. For example, President Woodrow Wilson was depressed and then courting a woman he would later marry... that is, he was distracted. 

The British government didn't provide military escorts for the large luxury ocean liner when it entered the channel between Ireland and England. 

So many things happened that could have eliminated or reduced this tragedy.

I don't remember reading about this bit of history before and found it fascinating.


Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe

Okay, this was the first book by Jonathan Coe that I've read, and I'm a fan! 

This novel is set in 1958 mostly in Belgium where the World Fair (the Expo) was held, but also in England where Thomas Foley, the main character of this funny, tongue-in-cheek in many places book lived.

One thing that sold me on Expo 58 was the recommendation by Nick Hornby. He's a great writer and when he said "The best English novelist of his generation" about Coe, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

Expo 58 almost felt like a fairy tale at times in the telling of this story of a man (Foley) who was recruited to oversee a bar erected at the Expo for the British government. 

The subtle subplots (the most understated spy drama I've ever seen!) all come together at the end and though I hadn't exactly figured them out, they all made perfect sense.

Read it. Bet you'll love it, too.

Book Read:  Expo 58
Author:  Jonathan Coe

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

I love Tracy Chevalier's novels. I think I've read them all, and her latest, The Last Runaway, is one of her best. For one thing, The Last Runaway is set in America (mostly) during the mid-1800s. Chevalier is American but lives in England and usually sets her books there or in Europe.  

The premise--Honor Bright, a young Quaker woman, travels with her sister from England to America because she was jilted by her fiance--is a good one. When her sister, who is engaged to marry a Quaker from their English town who has settled in Ohio, dies on the trip, Honor is left in alone in a strange country where she only knows her sister's fiance. 

On top of this, the Underground Railroad that was big in Ohio at the time plays a large part. As do quilts.

From there, the story gently unfolds like real history with the help of the letters at the end of each chapter, usually written by Honor but occasionally but another character.
 
I found the Quaker history and customs interesting and pretty shocking in places. Read it. You'll see!

Book Read:  The Last Runaway
Author:  Tracy Chevalier

Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd

I finished Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd this morning. Yes, it was a good book and with really good ones, I like to read the end during the day while I'm alert. This one was good but the ending left me wondering. It seems like Boyd was messing with me (the reader, not just me) a little with the ending. But I still liked it. A lot.

I had heard of William Boyd but never read any of his books. One of my favorite movies Any Human Heart is based on his book by the same name. I think I'll have to read it now. I like his writing style and have read reviews saying Any Human Heart is one of his best books. I know the movie is fabulous!

This book began in Vienna and ended in England, and chronicles the life of Lysander Rief, an actor turned soldier turned spy. 

Like I said, the ending left me wondering though.

Book Read: Waiting for Sunrise

Author:  William Boyd

ISBN:   978-0-06-187676-9

Nancy Wake: SOE's Greatest Heroine by Russell Braddon

 
I finished another female spy book the other night but hadn't had a chance to list it here till now. Nancy Wake was a 20-something woman during World War II. She was originally from New Zealand who had immigrated to England. When World War II broke out, she was living in Marseille, France, married to a Frenchman. 


She started her spy efforts by aiding the French Resistance by giving them money and food since her husband was wealthy. She gradually took on more duties like being a courier delivering messages by train to other French cities. For her own safety in 1943, she went to England but signed up with the SOE and returned to France to work undercover.

Buy the end of the war she was a full-fledged spy, arranging parachute drops of supplies, weapons, and people, as well as whatever else needed to be done to defeat the Bosch/the gerries/the Germans.

This book was written relatively soon after the war, in 1956. I found the writing to be almost comical in places, but it was partially just the style of the time, I think. Fascinating woman though she could be irritating as hell at times, almost playing dumb, but she was obviously intelligent and probably used her feminine wiles to her advantage to get what she wanted.


I read online that the first two seasons of Wish Me Luck were based on some of her experiences. I wrote a Squidoo article on Women Spies in World War II, if you want to read about more of these brave women.
 

Book Read: Nancy Wake:  SOE's Greatest Heroine

Author:  Russell Braddon

ISBN:  978-07524-5485-6

Small Island by Andrea Levy

I finished reading Small Island last night, late. Then when I woke up this morning, I fiddled around on the computer a little then watched the PBS Masterpiece Classic show Small Island. I love being able to do that!

The book was exceptional, telling the tale of four young people during and after World War II. Hortense and Gilbert Joseph are from Jamaica and come to England after the war to begin new, better lives. Gilbert met Queenie during the war and since her husband, Bernard does not return home after serving in the RAF during the war, she lets rooms. Gilbert and Hortense rent a room and since I don't want to giveaway more of the story, I'll stop with the storyline.

Small Island won the British Orange Prize in 2004, and rightfully so. This novel is well written and tells a story, though fiction, of a snippet of four main characters' lives during the war, bringing that period to life. Oh, the Masterpiece Classic show was very good too. It followed the book closely but they added a small ending that wasn't in the book reflecting what present day was like thanks to the main characters.

Book Read: Small Island

Author:  Andrea Levy

ISBN:  0-312-42467-1

A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George

  

(See all Literature & Fiction Books)Wow! It took me two weeks to read this book. I can't believe it. Granted A Traitor to Memory is 700+ pages long but gee whiz. I thought I'd never finish it! I love Elizabeth George's writing. She is thorough, develops characters like nobody's business, and holds the suspense to the very last page.

In this mystery, the story shifts back and forth in time, which I have to say, I was slow to pick up on exactly. The characters are well-developed but there are a lot of them. Even with a wide group, I didn't have trouble keeping track of all of them. I would highly recommend this book, or any of Elizabeth George's novels in case you haven't read them for yourself.

I have this Inspector Lynley DVD on reserve at the library and can't wait to see what they did with it. Have you read any of Elizabeth George's novels?

Book Read: A Traitor to Memory

Author: Elizabeth George

ISBN: 978-0-553-38601-1