Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Kirjasto sodan keskellä by Kate Thompson

3 reviews

lorialdenholuta's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

During the Second World War, many British citizens took shelter underground where the bombs couldn’t reach them. They would sometimes wrap an extra layer of protection around their hearts and minds by escaping into good books.

The Little Wartime Library gives readers a chance to understand the power of comfort-reading. It’s a book that’s difficult to set aside once you bond with the characters you’ll meet within the pages. The story reveals itself best when read while snuggled into your safest, coziest corner, preferably with blankets and tea (or gin).

Knowing that this fictional story is heavily based on the very real history of a tiny, makeshift library hidden away as part of a secret village that’s coalesced inside a tube tunnel deep underground in London’s East End makes it all so much more meaningful, and a little bit more magical.

The reader becomes a time traveler. It’s impossible to feel as if you’re passively reading a story about fictional characters. I stayed up hours past my usual bedtime more than once, simply because I had left my own home, crossed the pond, and escaped to the Bethnal Green tube station. I needed to know if my new friends were going to be okay, and certainly couldn’t leave them hanging in the midst of one of the many adventures or situations they get into. I cared about them all. (Okay, I absolutely loathed two of them, but trust me, you will too. And for good reason!)

Author Kate Thompson is a masterful storyteller who took the time to do the work before setting pen to paper. Her research pays off with a story that’s already a classic, as far as I’m concerned.

If you are curious about how ordinary people got by during the war, you’ll gain so much insight. If you’re a bookworm who likes seeing librarians get the spotlight, dive in! If you aren’t sure if this book is for you, just check to see if you have a heartbeat. Yes? Great, it’s for you, too.

There’s a bonus in the back of the book that feels like a ‘making of’ movie featurette. This extensive section will delight book clubs, along with anyone interested in behind the scenes photos and explanations about the events, people, and places that inspired this story.

My only regret is that various online systems won’t allow me to give this book higher than 5 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism

reading_ladies_blog's review against another edition

informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and War

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The Little Wartime Library is a heartwarming - if flawed - fictionalised look at life during the Second World War for the residents of London's East End.

It is told from the viewpoint of two women - Clara Button, the librarian of the underground library at the disused Bethnal Green tube station shelter, and her assistant, Ruby Munroe. Clara is a widow with a passion for making reading accessible to everybody, whilst hiding a tragic secret about her late husband. Ruby presents a cheery, devil-may-care attitude, but this is a front. She grieves the

loss of her sister in a tragic accident

and constantly worries about

her fragile mother, married to Ruby's stepfather, who is an abusive, violent alcoholic

.

If that wasn't enough, there are multiple bombing raids, a

would-be rapist on the loose

, a misogynistic, small-minded bully of an administrator

making Clara's life hell

, and two young evacuee sisters fleeing the Nazi occupation of Jersey.

Kate Thompson is an accomplished writer, and is clearly passionate about libraries and the role they play in society. The chief thing that I felt was really well done is depicting the changing roles of women (granted, mostly white women, but still) during this period in history - using the books they read as inspiration to make changes in their own lives.  Also depicted well is the trauma of the bombing raids and the senseless loss of life, and also the glimpse we got into the lives of the East End's Jewish population. This novel had more depth to it than I was expecting, which was refreshing.

I mentioned earlier in my review that this novel was flawed. The reason for this, I feel, goes to the fact this novel was far longer than it needed to be, and there was too much of well, everything. Thompson, as I have already stated, is a highly competent author, but in my opinion, she tried to cram too many issues into the novel - which meant some of them weren't given space to breathe.  The happy endings given to each character felt too predictable and in the case of

Clara's relationship with ambulance man Billy

, very problematic.

Overall, this novel has a lot of passion and heart - but it could have done with some editing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Deportation

Minor: Cannibalism

This novel is set in and around London's East End during the Blitz. Bombings and rocket attacks are frequent occurrences and many people are killed, including children. There are also descriptions of

the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster, a crowd crush event in 1943 in which women and children were trampled and asphyxiated

. A main character's - Ruby's - sister

dies as a result and Ruby suffers panic attacks

. Strong warnings for domestic abuse -

Ruby's mother is married to a violent alcoholic who frequently physically abuses her and on one occasion almost kills her. He is prevented from doing so by another who accidentally kills the husband in an act of self-defense.

Some graphic descriptions detailing the Nazi occupation of the island of Jersey, including restrictions to civilian life, and deportation of the island's Jewish population to concentration camps. There is a scene in which

a Holocaust survivor is shown to have prematurely aged and having severe mental health issues as a result. An East End housing estate, home to a significant Jewish population, is targeted by a Nazi bombing raid and many people are buried in the rubble.

There is also a brief - but not graphic - scene in which

a man masturbates in the library, and then proceeds to flash Ruby, resulting in him being removed from the premises.