Scan barcode
A review by maitaylor01
The Poppy Field by Deborah Carr
5.0
The Poppy Field is a poignant story of the parallels between two women living 100 years apart, who find themselves drawn to the same building in France. The book shifts between the present day and the latter half of the First World War, as Gemma, our modern day nurse, unravels the tale of Alice’s war, whilst searching for her own sense of peace.
World War One, the Great War, was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but the world we live in today sometimes seems to be headed full circle, as reflected by Tom’s experiences in Kabul, and even by the injuries witnessed by Gemma working in a UK trauma centre.
Whilst I enjoyed Gemma’s part of the story as she tried to settle her personal demons whilst renovating the old farmhouse, it was Alice’s story that really got under my skin, and lit a fire under my inner war historian. Whilst the true horrors of the casualty clearing stations where VADs like Alice spent their war are just unthinkable, Deborah Carr’s writing brought them to life through her sensitive characterisation of the varied patients that passed through them. I was intrigued to see mention of the “casualty dogs” as this was not something that I had come across before, but have since read up on further. I had no idea that dogs were used in this way during the war.
There were a number of times when reading this book when my emotions got the better of me, but there is one particular scene about a quarter of the way in that really got to me, and which I hope Deborah won’t mind me pinpointing (don’t worry, it doesn’t give anything away). In this particular scene there is a conversation between two of the soldiers at the casualty clearing station who are wondering if anyone would remember the soldiers who fought and all the men who died in a hundred years time. Even writing about this now brings a tear to my eye, because as we approach this hundred year mark, yes, we do remember and we will continue to do so.
World War One, the Great War, was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but the world we live in today sometimes seems to be headed full circle, as reflected by Tom’s experiences in Kabul, and even by the injuries witnessed by Gemma working in a UK trauma centre.
Whilst I enjoyed Gemma’s part of the story as she tried to settle her personal demons whilst renovating the old farmhouse, it was Alice’s story that really got under my skin, and lit a fire under my inner war historian. Whilst the true horrors of the casualty clearing stations where VADs like Alice spent their war are just unthinkable, Deborah Carr’s writing brought them to life through her sensitive characterisation of the varied patients that passed through them. I was intrigued to see mention of the “casualty dogs” as this was not something that I had come across before, but have since read up on further. I had no idea that dogs were used in this way during the war.
There were a number of times when reading this book when my emotions got the better of me, but there is one particular scene about a quarter of the way in that really got to me, and which I hope Deborah won’t mind me pinpointing (don’t worry, it doesn’t give anything away). In this particular scene there is a conversation between two of the soldiers at the casualty clearing station who are wondering if anyone would remember the soldiers who fought and all the men who died in a hundred years time. Even writing about this now brings a tear to my eye, because as we approach this hundred year mark, yes, we do remember and we will continue to do so.