aidanjchristie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jtlars7's review against another edition
4.0
I highly recommend this book. It starts with the premise that the Allied invasion of Normandy has failed and the Germans have counter-attacked, invading Britain. All of the women in one Welsh valley wake up to find that their husbands have gone away - presumably to join the British resistance to Nazi occupation. Later, a patrol of war- weary German soldiers moves into the valley, and the women and Germans develop a close - if wary - relationship over the course of a harsh winter. The counterfactual history was unsettling (with off-hand references to the Japanese attacks on California, for example) and something about an invasion of Britain hit closer to home for me than the real history of Germany's WWII conquests, perhaps just because I didn't grow up knowing it as a real part of the past. I stayed up late to finish the book, then was awake even longer wishing for someone to discuss it with. While the ending didn't work out the way a big part of me hoped it would, it was satisfying in that the characters all stayed true to what I would have expected based on their development throughout the novel.
dja777's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this book was just all right. I got to the end and felt like I had spent the whole book waiting for something to happen. I suspect there was a lot of symbolism in it that someone with more of a literature background might have picked up. I wouldn't recommend it as an alternate history novel, as that aspect was very much in the background.
irissuurmond's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
pph_library_bookclub's review against another edition
2.0
Most people in the book club finished this book but not everyone had managed it.
We felt that this was a well written book but not very much happened, there really was not a very strong plot at all. There were some interesting historical elements to the story describing how things were done in those days in this small Welsh valley which we found interesting to read. We decided that we wanted more information and background about the men and where they went, more about George and his spying, and more about the women and how they felt about what the men had done. There was not a great deal of information about these elements which made it hard to bond with the different characters.
The fact that this is an alternative history caught out attention, the way that just a few different missteps by the UK and America allowed Germany to win the war was quite chilling. It was fascinating that a lot of the elements that Sheers used actually came from real life, the only different element was "what if Germany had won the war" which enabled him to move the Germans into Wales. As we're from Wales this made this book feel that much closer to home.
We discussed what we thought we would do if we had been in the war. Would we have done the things that some of the soldiers were described doing just to stay alive? How would we have felt if we were the women who suddenly woke up with no men beside us in this environment and then had to work alongside the Germans just to survive?
We all felt so sorry for Albrech, he really was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He tried his best with what he had but made some poor choices in order to do what he thought was right. We wondered what happened to him at the end of the book.
Overall this was an interesting read but not one that many of us enjoyed.
We felt that this was a well written book but not very much happened, there really was not a very strong plot at all. There were some interesting historical elements to the story describing how things were done in those days in this small Welsh valley which we found interesting to read. We decided that we wanted more information and background about the men and where they went, more about George and his spying, and more about the women and how they felt about what the men had done. There was not a great deal of information about these elements which made it hard to bond with the different characters.
The fact that this is an alternative history caught out attention, the way that just a few different missteps by the UK and America allowed Germany to win the war was quite chilling. It was fascinating that a lot of the elements that Sheers used actually came from real life, the only different element was "what if Germany had won the war" which enabled him to move the Germans into Wales. As we're from Wales this made this book feel that much closer to home.
We discussed what we thought we would do if we had been in the war. Would we have done the things that some of the soldiers were described doing just to stay alive? How would we have felt if we were the women who suddenly woke up with no men beside us in this environment and then had to work alongside the Germans just to survive?
We all felt so sorry for Albrech, he really was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He tried his best with what he had but made some poor choices in order to do what he thought was right. We wondered what happened to him at the end of the book.
Overall this was an interesting read but not one that many of us enjoyed.
merlin_2110's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
javeria's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5