By Anthony Doerr
This is a world war II story that centers around the lives of two young people: a young blind girl in Paris and a young orphan, who lives with his sister at an orphanage in Germany.
The young girl's mother has died. Her father wants her to be able to navigate her way in the world so he builds her a model of their immediate neighbourhood. He then takes her out into the streets and helps her learn how to navigate her way around. Her father is the locksmith for Paris museums and issues keys to employees every day. As the German invasion of Paris is imminent her father is called to the Director's office and given an assignment to take his daughter out of Paris to a friend of the museums. They had planned to take a train but the trains don't arrive so they walk all the way to the man's house. When they arrive they find the house abandoned. Not knowing what else to do they decide to head to St. Malo on the Normandy coast to seek safety with the Girl's strange uncle. He is scarred from the first world war and won't leave his house. He also has panic attacks. He welcomes the girl and her father warmly.
We find out that the Paris museums are thought to have a rare diamond and that they have sent this diamond out of the city, possibly making forgeries to trick people who might be seeking it. The girls father was given one of the diamonds and has hidden it inside a model of the Uncle's house. One day he is contacted to ask to return to Paris. He leaves the diamond in the little model and is never heard from again.
Meanwhile the young German boy Werner is a precocious young man. He finds a radio that has been thrown away and brings it home and fixes it. He and the other inhabitants of the orphanage enjoy listening to the broadcasts. The boy especially enjoys some stories he hears spoken by a man who also plays music at times. Werner gets books to teach himself more about radios and other things and is successfully in getting selected to a very special school your young men. This quasi-military school is straining young men to the nazi philosophy. It is a brutal place but one of Werner\s teachers notices his skill and knowledge and gets him to be his assistant to build radio signal triangulating equipment. This role keeps Werner from being abused.
As the war goes on Werner moves to Berlin to help build more of the equipment but as the German defeats increase he is tasked with going on the road to track down radio signals.
Marie-Laure is looked after by her uncle and his housekeeper. The housekeeper and some other ladies start to plan ways to sabotage the Germans who have arrived in their town. She later convinces the uncle, who has a radio hidden in his attic, to join the resistance activities and he finally agrees to do so.
The housekeeper dies and then the uncle is arrested. Marie-Laure is all alone in the house with no food and very little water. She is terrified, especially when a German officer comes to the house looking for the diamond. He is seeking it for its purported healing properties (he has advanced cancer) not for the glory of the Third Reich.
Although it is dangerous, Marie-Laure reactivates her uncles radio and reads from her braille book. Werner hears her signal, but is reminded of the man he used to hear on the radio so he does not turn her in. In the end he turns up at her home and saves her from the German officer.
This was a very engrossing novel, another amazingly well written story. The author did a wonderful job of portraying the climate and life during the war and it was ingenious how he wove all the elements of the story together. I was very impressed.
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Hunting Shadows
by Charles Todd
This is the 16th title in the Inspector Rutledge mystery series. I have read about 1/2 dozen of them. These are quite reliable mysteries, they keep you guessing. This one involves the deaths of two men by sniper shots in two different towns. Rutledge can't figure out why they would be killed nor how the two victims could be connected.
Rutledge at first thinks he has his man, but then that person, professing his innocence tags along with him as he investigates further. He ends up identifying two murderers. We learn that the two original victims were blamed for the death of a third victim, a young woman. We also learn of a family secret.
These stories are interesting because of the descriptions of the characters, the English landscape and of life in England following the second world war. Soldier carrying war wounds and war memories figure frequently in the stories. Hamish, the dead soldier who used to torment Rutledge is still around but Rutledge doesn't seem so rattled by him anymore.
This is the 16th title in the Inspector Rutledge mystery series. I have read about 1/2 dozen of them. These are quite reliable mysteries, they keep you guessing. This one involves the deaths of two men by sniper shots in two different towns. Rutledge can't figure out why they would be killed nor how the two victims could be connected.
Rutledge at first thinks he has his man, but then that person, professing his innocence tags along with him as he investigates further. He ends up identifying two murderers. We learn that the two original victims were blamed for the death of a third victim, a young woman. We also learn of a family secret.
These stories are interesting because of the descriptions of the characters, the English landscape and of life in England following the second world war. Soldier carrying war wounds and war memories figure frequently in the stories. Hamish, the dead soldier who used to torment Rutledge is still around but Rutledge doesn't seem so rattled by him anymore.
Saturday, 12 July 2014
The Orchardist
by Amanda Coplin
This is a book that I picked up quite a while ago, the reviews were very good. However, for some reason I never took it up to read. I am glad that I finally decided to read it, it is a book that will stay with me for a long time.
At the turn of the century a reclusive orchardist, who lives in the pacific northwest, finds two you girls, both of whom appear pregnant hanging around his farm. They won't come into his house but they will eat the food he leaves for them.
Talmadge has had a sad and lonely life. His mother brought he and his sister to this land but she died young leaving the young people on their own. And then, one day Talmadge's sister goes for a walk into the woods and never returns. He is haunted by her absence.
He continues to be kind to the young girls and learns that they have run away from a man who was abusing them, having sex with them and selling them and other girls to men for sex. Talmadge eventually enlists the help of a woman friend from the town to help to get the girls into his house when they go into labour. One of the girls was pregnant with twins but loses them both. The other girl, Jane, gives birth to a a baby girl Angelene. Jane tries to get Della interested in helping with the girl including nursing her but Della ignores the girl.
One day the man the girls ran away from comes looking for them as someone has told them they are at Talmadge's. The girls run away into the forest and hang themselves. Jane dies. Della almost dies. Talmadge finds the baby where Della hid it. He choses to raise the baby and takes good care of her, with advice from his lady friend.
At times some horse rustlers arrive on the property with horses they have captured. Della is very interested in the horses and the wranglers and then goes off with them, against Talmadge's wishes. Della leads a very independent almost wild life. She works hustling horses, gambling, cutting down trees.
Talmadge and the child have a good life, he teaches her how to tend the orchard and lets her have her own garden with full independence as to what to grown. He keeps listening for word of Della and even tries to track her down. Angelene seems puzzled ad even jealous by the time Talmadge spends thinking about Della. She has absolutely no interest in Della.
Then he finds out that Della has confessed to a murder and is in jail in a nearby town. He goes to see her but is not able to see her as she is in isolation for attacking another prisoner (the man who abused her). Talmadge tries to give her an opportunity to escape from prison but she won't take it as she still wants to kill her abuser. As a result Talmadge and another man he asked to help receive small jail sentences for plotting to help her escape. Even when he gets out of prison he worries about Della and is devastated when he finds out she has been killed in an accident at the prison. When Talmadge dies he leaves all his property to Angelene who sells the farm to a family. She is shocked when she returns a few years later to find the orchard had been sold and is not well tended.
This was a very interesting book. Most of the book is told simply in the actions of the characters. We rarely get an idea as to what they are thinking. We never really understand what would have caused Della to leave the safety of Talmadge's orchard and care for a life of danger and poverty. The disregard that Della and Angelene feel for each other is understandable. Although they are relations they don't really develop any relationship with each other til the end of the book. This is largely Della's fault, if she had been kind to the child, she might have reciprocated. The contrast of the innocent and kind orchardist and the wild, almost feral girls is fascinating.
This was a very powerful book, leaving one with lots to think about.
This is a book that I picked up quite a while ago, the reviews were very good. However, for some reason I never took it up to read. I am glad that I finally decided to read it, it is a book that will stay with me for a long time.
At the turn of the century a reclusive orchardist, who lives in the pacific northwest, finds two you girls, both of whom appear pregnant hanging around his farm. They won't come into his house but they will eat the food he leaves for them.
Talmadge has had a sad and lonely life. His mother brought he and his sister to this land but she died young leaving the young people on their own. And then, one day Talmadge's sister goes for a walk into the woods and never returns. He is haunted by her absence.
He continues to be kind to the young girls and learns that they have run away from a man who was abusing them, having sex with them and selling them and other girls to men for sex. Talmadge eventually enlists the help of a woman friend from the town to help to get the girls into his house when they go into labour. One of the girls was pregnant with twins but loses them both. The other girl, Jane, gives birth to a a baby girl Angelene. Jane tries to get Della interested in helping with the girl including nursing her but Della ignores the girl.
One day the man the girls ran away from comes looking for them as someone has told them they are at Talmadge's. The girls run away into the forest and hang themselves. Jane dies. Della almost dies. Talmadge finds the baby where Della hid it. He choses to raise the baby and takes good care of her, with advice from his lady friend.
At times some horse rustlers arrive on the property with horses they have captured. Della is very interested in the horses and the wranglers and then goes off with them, against Talmadge's wishes. Della leads a very independent almost wild life. She works hustling horses, gambling, cutting down trees.
Talmadge and the child have a good life, he teaches her how to tend the orchard and lets her have her own garden with full independence as to what to grown. He keeps listening for word of Della and even tries to track her down. Angelene seems puzzled ad even jealous by the time Talmadge spends thinking about Della. She has absolutely no interest in Della.
Then he finds out that Della has confessed to a murder and is in jail in a nearby town. He goes to see her but is not able to see her as she is in isolation for attacking another prisoner (the man who abused her). Talmadge tries to give her an opportunity to escape from prison but she won't take it as she still wants to kill her abuser. As a result Talmadge and another man he asked to help receive small jail sentences for plotting to help her escape. Even when he gets out of prison he worries about Della and is devastated when he finds out she has been killed in an accident at the prison. When Talmadge dies he leaves all his property to Angelene who sells the farm to a family. She is shocked when she returns a few years later to find the orchard had been sold and is not well tended.
This was a very interesting book. Most of the book is told simply in the actions of the characters. We rarely get an idea as to what they are thinking. We never really understand what would have caused Della to leave the safety of Talmadge's orchard and care for a life of danger and poverty. The disregard that Della and Angelene feel for each other is understandable. Although they are relations they don't really develop any relationship with each other til the end of the book. This is largely Della's fault, if she had been kind to the child, she might have reciprocated. The contrast of the innocent and kind orchardist and the wild, almost feral girls is fascinating.
This was a very powerful book, leaving one with lots to think about.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Dark Moon Walking
by R. J. McMillen
The mystery involves retired police officer, Dan Connor, who is sailing the islands off of Vancouver Island trying to overcome his grief at the murder of his wife. He is surprised to get a radio call from an indian man he had imprisoned years before. The man, Walker, tells him that a young researcher, Clare is missing, and her boat has been sunk. He asks Walker for help finding her.
Clare is safe, but in hiding. She had returned to her boat one day, travelling in a kayak to hear men talking about tracking her down. She runs to the far side of the island and hides out without food or warm clothing.
Walker and Dan find her and take her to safety but not before they see a sleek black yacht that seems to have something illegal going on. The boat has brought crews of men in and sent them out in dinghy's to search for Clare. The boat has large tubes of materials that they initially hide in the water and later bring onto the wharf to load onto other vessels.
Dan tries to get his former police colleagues interested but they have a big international event in Vancouver occupying their attention. the story develops another loaner living in the area is enlisted to keep Clare safe. She contacts Dan to tell him that a local hermit has shown up at her boat mumbling about a dead man with red hair. Clare fears this is her boss.
As Dan doesn't think he can get the police attention that is needed he and Walker discuss how to investigate or stop the black ship. Walker enlists some fellow native men. They disable the ship and the plans of the terrorists start to unravel. It is Dan who figures out that these terrorists will actually be a diversion so that a sniper can carry out an assasination.
This was an interesting mystery. The setting is an interesting part of the story. You feel the environment as much as the action of the story. I enjoyed it.
The mystery involves retired police officer, Dan Connor, who is sailing the islands off of Vancouver Island trying to overcome his grief at the murder of his wife. He is surprised to get a radio call from an indian man he had imprisoned years before. The man, Walker, tells him that a young researcher, Clare is missing, and her boat has been sunk. He asks Walker for help finding her.
Clare is safe, but in hiding. She had returned to her boat one day, travelling in a kayak to hear men talking about tracking her down. She runs to the far side of the island and hides out without food or warm clothing.
Walker and Dan find her and take her to safety but not before they see a sleek black yacht that seems to have something illegal going on. The boat has brought crews of men in and sent them out in dinghy's to search for Clare. The boat has large tubes of materials that they initially hide in the water and later bring onto the wharf to load onto other vessels.
Dan tries to get his former police colleagues interested but they have a big international event in Vancouver occupying their attention. the story develops another loaner living in the area is enlisted to keep Clare safe. She contacts Dan to tell him that a local hermit has shown up at her boat mumbling about a dead man with red hair. Clare fears this is her boss.
As Dan doesn't think he can get the police attention that is needed he and Walker discuss how to investigate or stop the black ship. Walker enlists some fellow native men. They disable the ship and the plans of the terrorists start to unravel. It is Dan who figures out that these terrorists will actually be a diversion so that a sniper can carry out an assasination.
This was an interesting mystery. The setting is an interesting part of the story. You feel the environment as much as the action of the story. I enjoyed it.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
The Storied LIfe of A. J. Fikry
by Gabrielle Zevin
This is a book for lovers of books and bookstores. It is a gentle, loving story of a man and events that change his life.
A.J. is the owner of a small bookstore on an Island somewhere. Most of his business comes in the tourist season. A.J. is spiralling into despair after the death of his wife. He is drinking too much and not looking after himself.
His one love is books, serious literature. A young publishers agent comes to visit him and he is very rude to her.
One day A.J. is drunk and he leaves his prized possession, a rare book, unlocked. When he awakes his messy kitchen has been cleaned but the book is gone. Police searches turn up nothing.
A short time later A.J. returns to his store, which he has left unlocked, to find a toddler, abandoned by its mother. She leaves a note saying she wants her daughter, Maya, to grow up around books. Her body is later found, she drowned herself.
A.J. agrees to look after the child for a weekend, but he comes to love and cherish her and ends up adopting her. The description of how the little girl comes to do her job, reading the children's books in the store and then writing picture reviews of them is delightful. She also gives books to children so that their parents will be convinced to buy them.
A.J. also realizes he really likes the agent he was so rude to. He woes her and eventually they marry. They are having a very happy life, sadly A.J.'s sister-in-law is not. Her husband is unfaithful to her and we find out that Maya is actually a child from one of her husband's liaisons. She had stolen A.J.'s prize book to try to bribe the mother of the child to leave her husband alone. The girl refuses the offer but Maya has defaced the book, so the sister-in-law doesn't return the book to him. Her husband is killed in a car accident and she eventually finds happiness with the local police chief.
Sadly, A.J. is diagnosed with cancer but doesn't feel he can afford the treatment. The missing book suddenly appears and he is able to get surgery but it only gives him a temporary reprieve. The sister and law and her husband buy the bookstore after A.J. dies.
Each chapter of the book makes reference to a piece of literature. After Maya arrives many of the references are addressed to her.
This was a poignant story. Perhaps not a great work of literature, but I enjoyed it.
This is a book for lovers of books and bookstores. It is a gentle, loving story of a man and events that change his life.
A.J. is the owner of a small bookstore on an Island somewhere. Most of his business comes in the tourist season. A.J. is spiralling into despair after the death of his wife. He is drinking too much and not looking after himself.
His one love is books, serious literature. A young publishers agent comes to visit him and he is very rude to her.
One day A.J. is drunk and he leaves his prized possession, a rare book, unlocked. When he awakes his messy kitchen has been cleaned but the book is gone. Police searches turn up nothing.
A short time later A.J. returns to his store, which he has left unlocked, to find a toddler, abandoned by its mother. She leaves a note saying she wants her daughter, Maya, to grow up around books. Her body is later found, she drowned herself.
A.J. agrees to look after the child for a weekend, but he comes to love and cherish her and ends up adopting her. The description of how the little girl comes to do her job, reading the children's books in the store and then writing picture reviews of them is delightful. She also gives books to children so that their parents will be convinced to buy them.
A.J. also realizes he really likes the agent he was so rude to. He woes her and eventually they marry. They are having a very happy life, sadly A.J.'s sister-in-law is not. Her husband is unfaithful to her and we find out that Maya is actually a child from one of her husband's liaisons. She had stolen A.J.'s prize book to try to bribe the mother of the child to leave her husband alone. The girl refuses the offer but Maya has defaced the book, so the sister-in-law doesn't return the book to him. Her husband is killed in a car accident and she eventually finds happiness with the local police chief.
Sadly, A.J. is diagnosed with cancer but doesn't feel he can afford the treatment. The missing book suddenly appears and he is able to get surgery but it only gives him a temporary reprieve. The sister and law and her husband buy the bookstore after A.J. dies.
Each chapter of the book makes reference to a piece of literature. After Maya arrives many of the references are addressed to her.
This was a poignant story. Perhaps not a great work of literature, but I enjoyed it.
Friday, 11 April 2014
Namesake
ByJhumpa Lahiri
This book is about a young man whose parents have immigrated to the U.S. from India. The parents were married in an arranged marriage. When they come to the U.S. the husband is busy with his career. His wife however is very unhappy. She misses the comraderie and support of family in India. When their son is born they are asked for his name but are waiting for a grandmother to send a letter with the formal name. When pressured they give the name Gogol in tribute to the father's favourite author, Nikoai Gogol .
The father was almost killed in a train crash as a young. A fellow passenger who was killed in the crash was reading a Gogal book. The young man waved a page of the book and that is how rescuers spotted him. They don't explain the reason for his name to the boy. When the boy goes to start school the parents decide he should be called by a formal name not the friendly family name. They say his name is Nikhil. The boy is upset at the thought of having to take on a new name. He resists this and the Principal goes against the wishes of the parents and lets him use the name Gogol. In high school Gogol learns of the sad life of his namesake.
His family may be separated from their family in India but they develop connections with other Indian immigrants in the city. The boy and his family have a circle of friends almost exclusively limited to Indian immigrants.
His father eventually tells him how he came to be called Gogol. The boy is very angry that he was not told sooner.
When it comes time to attend university he chooses one away from his parents so he can escape his culture. He also assumes the name Nikhil to start his new life. He studies toi be an architect and has several romantic liaisons. While he is on a holiday with a girlfriend he learns his father has died from a heart attack while tezahing in a distant city. He, his mother and sister are devastated. His despair at his father`s death causes his relationship to collapse. He mopes for a while and then pressured by his mother dates a girl from a family that was friends with his parents. Both he and the girl do this because of stress from their families and to their surprise they like each other and marry. It seems things are going well but then he finds out his wife is having an affair. As the book ends his moither is selling the family hime and plans to spend part of her year in India and part with her children and family friends. Gogol hopes that he will meet someone and maybe even have children. As Gogol comes to help his mother pack and leave for India he finds a copy of a book of Gogol short stories that his father gave him years before.
This book presents an interesting picture of the life of a new immigrant and the way the children tend to draw away from the traditional practices and become part of their new country. I read the author's most recent book The Lowland, earlier this year. The book the Namesake was praised by many as the better book. While I had some trouble with some of the story elements in the Lowland I personally think it was a more powerful and interesting story. With this story, the Namesake, I have to ask... What's in a name, why did the name Gogol make a difference? Does a famous name affect our fate? With this book I have to ask so what.... I can't see that Gogol grew or changed in the book.
This book is about a young man whose parents have immigrated to the U.S. from India. The parents were married in an arranged marriage. When they come to the U.S. the husband is busy with his career. His wife however is very unhappy. She misses the comraderie and support of family in India. When their son is born they are asked for his name but are waiting for a grandmother to send a letter with the formal name. When pressured they give the name Gogol in tribute to the father's favourite author, Nikoai Gogol .
The father was almost killed in a train crash as a young. A fellow passenger who was killed in the crash was reading a Gogal book. The young man waved a page of the book and that is how rescuers spotted him. They don't explain the reason for his name to the boy. When the boy goes to start school the parents decide he should be called by a formal name not the friendly family name. They say his name is Nikhil. The boy is upset at the thought of having to take on a new name. He resists this and the Principal goes against the wishes of the parents and lets him use the name Gogol. In high school Gogol learns of the sad life of his namesake.
His family may be separated from their family in India but they develop connections with other Indian immigrants in the city. The boy and his family have a circle of friends almost exclusively limited to Indian immigrants.
His father eventually tells him how he came to be called Gogol. The boy is very angry that he was not told sooner.
When it comes time to attend university he chooses one away from his parents so he can escape his culture. He also assumes the name Nikhil to start his new life. He studies toi be an architect and has several romantic liaisons. While he is on a holiday with a girlfriend he learns his father has died from a heart attack while tezahing in a distant city. He, his mother and sister are devastated. His despair at his father`s death causes his relationship to collapse. He mopes for a while and then pressured by his mother dates a girl from a family that was friends with his parents. Both he and the girl do this because of stress from their families and to their surprise they like each other and marry. It seems things are going well but then he finds out his wife is having an affair. As the book ends his moither is selling the family hime and plans to spend part of her year in India and part with her children and family friends. Gogol hopes that he will meet someone and maybe even have children. As Gogol comes to help his mother pack and leave for India he finds a copy of a book of Gogol short stories that his father gave him years before.
This book presents an interesting picture of the life of a new immigrant and the way the children tend to draw away from the traditional practices and become part of their new country. I read the author's most recent book The Lowland, earlier this year. The book the Namesake was praised by many as the better book. While I had some trouble with some of the story elements in the Lowland I personally think it was a more powerful and interesting story. With this story, the Namesake, I have to ask... What's in a name, why did the name Gogol make a difference? Does a famous name affect our fate? With this book I have to ask so what.... I can't see that Gogol grew or changed in the book.
Thursday, 3 April 2014
Maisie Dobbs
by Jacqueline Winspear,
This is the first book in a series about a female detective Maisie Dobbs.
The story is kind of unusual, perhaps a bit unbelievable, but maybe it is realistic.
The book opens with Maisie, a female detective, getting settled into her new office. One of her first cases comes from a man who suspects his wife is having an affair as she spends long periods of time out of the house. Maisie follows her and finds out she visits the grave of a soldier (whom she loved).
She finds graves with only the soldier's first names on them, she is intrigued by this.
The story then switches to years prior to the first world war. We are introduced to a young Maisie and her father. He is a widower who uses his horse and cart to sell fresh produce. He loves his daughter but they are very poor. He doesn't want to see her starve or suffer so makes arrangements for her to be hired on as a household worker at the home of one of his clients.
She does her job well and works long hours, but when she discovers the huge library in the house she starts arising even earlier in the morning, 3 am , to have time to sneak into the library to read. She doesn't just read fiction, she reads philosophy and even tries to learn Latin.
One night the family members arrive home late from a party and discover her in the library. She thinks she will be sacked but instead the wife of the household wants to help her. They agree to let her study, under the guidance of a family friend, if she does her studying and coaching on her own time. She eagerly agrees. She is a diligent student and eventually passes the exams to be admitted to a woman's college at Cambridge. Her father is proud of her but afraid of losing her...
She is working on her education but when WWI arrives everyone' lives are turned upside down. The death of one of her former co-workers prompts her to leave her exams and volunteer to become a nurse in the war effort. She works hard in hospitals near the front lines in France, sees a lot of tragedy and is the victim of a tragedy herself. We don't learn the details about this until the end of the book.
Maisie sees a young doctor she met just prior to the war and they fall in love. He asks her to marry him but for some reason she hesitates to say yes. Yes, he is a higher social status than she, but that is not really what bothers her.
Then we jump back to the "present" in the book and find that Maisie's sponsors are concerned about their son who has returned from the war with post traumatic stress. He is thinking of going to live at a farm for soldiers called the Retreat. They want her to check into it for them. As the single named soldiers are also affiliated with this estate she is eager to investigate. We learn that Maisie's teacher/mentor is the person who groomed her to be a detective. Maisie has recruited a young man who has helped her get her office set up to go to the Retreat. At first everything seems fine, the place seems to be helping the men who live there. Then the young "plant' phones Maisie to say that one of the soldiers who had wanted to leave has disappeared. Maisie tells him to get out quickly but when she goes to pick him up at their planned rendezvous place he is not there. She ends up saving him from being murdered for "desertion" by the Major who runs the Retreat. We then learn that Maisie's lover was badly injured in an attack on the hospital where he and she were working and he is an invalid, probably brain damaged.
The author did a fabulous job of portraying the impact of WWI on people. The characters are interesting. The things I wonder about 1) would a serving girl be singled out and sponsored for an education like Maisie was? 2) If this unlikely candidate for education got a university education would she really become an investigator? If you can suspend disbelief in these regards, she has written an interesting mystery tale.
This is the first book in a series about a female detective Maisie Dobbs.
The story is kind of unusual, perhaps a bit unbelievable, but maybe it is realistic.
The book opens with Maisie, a female detective, getting settled into her new office. One of her first cases comes from a man who suspects his wife is having an affair as she spends long periods of time out of the house. Maisie follows her and finds out she visits the grave of a soldier (whom she loved).
She finds graves with only the soldier's first names on them, she is intrigued by this.
The story then switches to years prior to the first world war. We are introduced to a young Maisie and her father. He is a widower who uses his horse and cart to sell fresh produce. He loves his daughter but they are very poor. He doesn't want to see her starve or suffer so makes arrangements for her to be hired on as a household worker at the home of one of his clients.
She does her job well and works long hours, but when she discovers the huge library in the house she starts arising even earlier in the morning, 3 am , to have time to sneak into the library to read. She doesn't just read fiction, she reads philosophy and even tries to learn Latin.
One night the family members arrive home late from a party and discover her in the library. She thinks she will be sacked but instead the wife of the household wants to help her. They agree to let her study, under the guidance of a family friend, if she does her studying and coaching on her own time. She eagerly agrees. She is a diligent student and eventually passes the exams to be admitted to a woman's college at Cambridge. Her father is proud of her but afraid of losing her...
She is working on her education but when WWI arrives everyone' lives are turned upside down. The death of one of her former co-workers prompts her to leave her exams and volunteer to become a nurse in the war effort. She works hard in hospitals near the front lines in France, sees a lot of tragedy and is the victim of a tragedy herself. We don't learn the details about this until the end of the book.
Maisie sees a young doctor she met just prior to the war and they fall in love. He asks her to marry him but for some reason she hesitates to say yes. Yes, he is a higher social status than she, but that is not really what bothers her.
Then we jump back to the "present" in the book and find that Maisie's sponsors are concerned about their son who has returned from the war with post traumatic stress. He is thinking of going to live at a farm for soldiers called the Retreat. They want her to check into it for them. As the single named soldiers are also affiliated with this estate she is eager to investigate. We learn that Maisie's teacher/mentor is the person who groomed her to be a detective. Maisie has recruited a young man who has helped her get her office set up to go to the Retreat. At first everything seems fine, the place seems to be helping the men who live there. Then the young "plant' phones Maisie to say that one of the soldiers who had wanted to leave has disappeared. Maisie tells him to get out quickly but when she goes to pick him up at their planned rendezvous place he is not there. She ends up saving him from being murdered for "desertion" by the Major who runs the Retreat. We then learn that Maisie's lover was badly injured in an attack on the hospital where he and she were working and he is an invalid, probably brain damaged.
The author did a fabulous job of portraying the impact of WWI on people. The characters are interesting. The things I wonder about 1) would a serving girl be singled out and sponsored for an education like Maisie was? 2) If this unlikely candidate for education got a university education would she really become an investigator? If you can suspend disbelief in these regards, she has written an interesting mystery tale.
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