This book intrigued me as I enjoy historical novels and although I have read about characters in the Second World War before and how they have survived bombings, I have not read about the attacks on Belfast so it was interesting to see how the Northern Irish were living in rationing like the rest of Britain however their neighbours in the south were not. The description of the raids on the shipyards and the devastation when the streets were hit, deaths of residents and people looking for missing loved ones was hard to read but also necessary for the story to work.
The characters were well written and you could empathise with each one as their individual stories unravelled.
The novel follows the Bell family, with mum Florence and dad Patrick, the two sisters Audrey with her fiancé Richard, her work in an office and how there is an expectation that she will give up when she marries and Emma with her secret girlfriend in a time when this would have been unacceptable to society, the younger brother sent away to live with aunt and uncle outside of the city to protect him, how they cope with day to day trials as war surrounds them and they try to continue with their lives.
I look forward to reading further books by the same author.
The characters were well written and you could empathise with each one as their individual stories unravelled.
The novel follows the Bell family, with mum Florence and dad Patrick, the two sisters Audrey with her fiancé Richard, her work in an office and how there is an expectation that she will give up when she marries and Emma with her secret girlfriend in a time when this would have been unacceptable to society, the younger brother sent away to live with aunt and uncle outside of the city to protect him, how they cope with day to day trials as war surrounds them and they try to continue with their lives.
I look forward to reading further books by the same author.