Please note, that some of the links within this article may be affiliate links and we may make a small commission on purchases through them.
Here’s a cosy winter read for you if there every was one.
It’s hard to find the right words for this book which has a war time setting but isn’t about a war, talks a lot about books but isn’t about books, doesn’t have a clear storyline and where the main character turns out not to be quite the main character.
Confused? So sorry, you’ll just have to trust us and read.
Here’s a little back story though: The British troops are being sent to France, in Germany, Hitler is making Jews wear yellow stars and rationing has begun. While there are no air raids in the little village of Churchwood, the war is noticeable even there: Some families had to send their young men off, a woman is taking care of children of her Polish relatives, people are having to ration and the hospital is full of injured men back from the war.
Our seemingly main character is Alice, who moves to Churchwood from London with her father, a retired doctor. She is recovering from a hand injury and is trying to find a way to keep busy and support the troops, though her motions are somewhat limited due to her accident. Not quite at ease with the townspeople and the Queen Bee Naomi Harrington, she finds herself volunteering at the army hospital, entertaining the patients with books and stories.
Is that it? Is that the Wartime Bookshop? Far from it.
(If you read on it will spoil a couple of little surprises, but if you still need to be convinced, do read on)
Through her open and friendly nature, Alice gets to know the patients, but also other townspeople. She becomes friends with Kate, a young farm girl who grew up with her father and brothers after her mother passed away; slaving away for them, not having clothes of her own, and looking almost vile, which is why people in town ignore her at best or look down on her for the most part. Except Alice doesn’t care much about what people say and looks past it, getting to know Kate, but also trying to make things right with Naomi Harrington after a bit of a rough start.
She has lots of projects in mind, but between difficult townspeople and a security breach at the hospital, it’s not easy for her. Yet in her letters to Daniel, a young man she is in love with but who only stays in touch with her because he feels guilty for her accident, she tries to keep the news upbeat; after all, he is in France and shouldn’t worry about her.
Bringing books to the hospital is only the start for Alice and she has ideas for the community and is determined to make them happen. The story moves slowly, due to the many storylines, but it’s a comfortable pace, a snippet of a slower life back in the day and while it’s not full of drama or suspense, it’s a refreshingly comforting book telling the story of a little village, with some wonderful character developments in the process.
The Wartime Bookshop by Lesly Eames, published 20th October 2022 by Transworld Digital. ISBN: 9781787636163
