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Title: The Postmistress
Author: Sarah Blake
Genre: Literary fiction
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: In the fall of 1940, Europe burns. In the tiny coastal town of Franklin, Massachusetts, though, life continues on untouched. The postmistress, Iris James, watches over her town, from the young doctor and his new bride to the mysterious German immigrant and his boss who scans the waves for U-boats. They all listen, from their sleepy vacation town, to the devastation of the Blitz, as narrated by spunky radio "gal" Frankie Bard. It seems very far away. But Iris and Frankie's lives will strangely intertwine when they each betray their calling, with a letter one can't bear to deliver and a story the other can't bear to report.
Thoughts: Given the urgency of the historical framework, this novel thankfully skips some of the meandering tendencies of a lot of the literary novels I've read recently. There is an actual plot, with real stakes, and the characters pull you into making an emotional investment. Excellent, thank you.
I found Frankie's war time travels somewhat more compelling, overall. The devastation of London during the Blitz is described in ways that are shocking and heartbreaking without being gratuitously gory (I'm looking at you, Saratoga). As she moves to mainland Europe to cover the mysterious disappearance of the Jews being rounded up, you know where things are going. But she doesn't, just as the press really didn't at the time. (The novel ends before Pearl Harbor, so the concentration camps are only mercifully aluded to.)
Franklin seems small stakes in comparison, and it is. It's a testament to the author's skill that their lives still feel relevant and that the two storylines do pick up resonance from each other. Blake excels at the small details that establish character.
That said, once again, I'm not quite sure how I feel about the ending. Certain things work, but some of the final events seem pointless to me, or rather, too quickly forced to overemphasize the overarcing theme. It doesn't feel quite earned, and the resolution (or lack thereof) is somewhat abrupt. It fits the conventions of its genre well, so I suppose that the fact that I find some of those conventions irritating shouldn't be held against it. I wavered between the 3.5 and the 4 and finally gave it the 4 for the luminosity of some of the descriptions. But I'm still a little annoyed.
Author: Sarah Blake
Genre: Literary fiction
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: In the fall of 1940, Europe burns. In the tiny coastal town of Franklin, Massachusetts, though, life continues on untouched. The postmistress, Iris James, watches over her town, from the young doctor and his new bride to the mysterious German immigrant and his boss who scans the waves for U-boats. They all listen, from their sleepy vacation town, to the devastation of the Blitz, as narrated by spunky radio "gal" Frankie Bard. It seems very far away. But Iris and Frankie's lives will strangely intertwine when they each betray their calling, with a letter one can't bear to deliver and a story the other can't bear to report.
Thoughts: Given the urgency of the historical framework, this novel thankfully skips some of the meandering tendencies of a lot of the literary novels I've read recently. There is an actual plot, with real stakes, and the characters pull you into making an emotional investment. Excellent, thank you.
I found Frankie's war time travels somewhat more compelling, overall. The devastation of London during the Blitz is described in ways that are shocking and heartbreaking without being gratuitously gory (I'm looking at you, Saratoga). As she moves to mainland Europe to cover the mysterious disappearance of the Jews being rounded up, you know where things are going. But she doesn't, just as the press really didn't at the time. (The novel ends before Pearl Harbor, so the concentration camps are only mercifully aluded to.)
Franklin seems small stakes in comparison, and it is. It's a testament to the author's skill that their lives still feel relevant and that the two storylines do pick up resonance from each other. Blake excels at the small details that establish character.
That said, once again, I'm not quite sure how I feel about the ending. Certain things work, but some of the final events seem pointless to me, or rather, too quickly forced to overemphasize the overarcing theme. It doesn't feel quite earned, and the resolution (or lack thereof) is somewhat abrupt. It fits the conventions of its genre well, so I suppose that the fact that I find some of those conventions irritating shouldn't be held against it. I wavered between the 3.5 and the 4 and finally gave it the 4 for the luminosity of some of the descriptions. But I'm still a little annoyed.
