A sad tale of family secrets and endurance in a time of war.
The Brogan family have survived the first years of the war but times are becoming hard for Jerimiah as the Government regulates the supply and cost of scrap metal. Meanwhile Ida is making the best she can of early preparation for Christmas as food supplies and presents become increasingly scarce and vegetables begin to be used in cake making in lieu of other ingredients. Queenie meanwhile continues her illicit trade in bet taking and out with this manages to “find” the occasional treat such as a fresh egg. They are a family that is managing to make the best of things.
All of this changes however as war begins to take its toll – both Ida and Jerimiah find themselves contributing to the war effort in their own way – her in the WVS and him in the Home Guard. The long hours and successive nights of limited sleep due to German bombing effects them both physically and mentally. Added to this Ida discovers that Jerimiah may have had a son with her best friend. This places added stress on their relationship as each has to make decisions that will affect the whole family as time goes on.
This time more of the focus of the tale lies with Mattie and Cathy the older daughters of the family as each tries to negotiate motherhood within very different home environments. Cathy’s husband Stan, is still in prison and the story does not flinch from covering his continued pro-fascism views and the effect that these have on Cathy.
This is a good read though at times it does cover challenging issues such as British Fascism and the struggle to survive day to day or night to night in bomb shelters.
All of this changes however as war begins to take its toll – both Ida and Jerimiah find themselves contributing to the war effort in their own way – her in the WVS and him in the Home Guard. The long hours and successive nights of limited sleep due to German bombing effects them both physically and mentally. Added to this Ida discovers that Jerimiah may have had a son with her best friend. This places added stress on their relationship as each has to make decisions that will affect the whole family as time goes on.
This time more of the focus of the tale lies with Mattie and Cathy the older daughters of the family as each tries to negotiate motherhood within very different home environments. Cathy’s husband Stan, is still in prison and the story does not flinch from covering his continued pro-fascism views and the effect that these have on Cathy.
This is a good read though at times it does cover challenging issues such as British Fascism and the struggle to survive day to day or night to night in bomb shelters.