Monday, January 30, 2012

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

 

                       

  • Paperback: 326 pages
  • Genre:  Fiction
  • Publisher: Penguin 2011
  • Source: Passed on to us by a UK friend.
  • First Sentence : ‘There were years after it happened, after I’d returned from the town and come back here to the busy blank of the city, when some comment would be tossed off about the Second World War and how it had gone – some idiotic remark about clarity and purpose-and I’d resist the urge to stub out my cigarette and bring the dinner party to a satisfying halt .’
  • A Favourite Quote: “It is the story that lies around the edges of the photographs, or at the end of newspaper account. It's about the lies we tell others to protect them, and about the lies we tell ourselves in order not to acknowledge what we can't bear: that we are alive, for instance, and eating lunch, while bombs are falling, and refugees are crammed into camps, and the news comes toward us every hour of the day. And what, in the end, do we do?”
  • Review Quote : A beautifully written, thought provoking novel that I’m telling everyone I know to read.” — Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help
  • My Opinion: Heart wrenching story of three young women.

     

    While reading this book I was at first, thanks to the title expecting there to be much more about The Postmistress. It didn’t matter in the end as it turned out that the story was actually three stories, linked together by The Postmistress herself. A heart wrenching story of three young women, that at first was confusing, as it took me awhile to understand how the protagonists tales were all going to weave together.

    Iris James is the postmistress in Cape Cod,  Emma Fitch is the Cape Cod doctor’s wife and Frankie Bard is a radio journalist. The story follows the young women as WWII touches the lives of them all, but in very different ways until their paths cross thanks to fate. Initially Iris and Emma listen to Frankie’s radio broadcasts from a London under siege from nightly bombings. A war that is far from home and difficult to comprehend even after Emma’s husband goes there to work helping the war effort with his much needed skills.

    It is certainly a tantalizing mix of stories with a huge cast of peripheral characters that are all important to the overall understanding of this emotional novel.  Without exception I thought every single one of the characters in this novel felt like ordinary human beings, real people living through traumatic episodes, horribly realistic. What more can I say really without spoiling it except to urge you to read this.

    Sarah Blake

    Author photo and biographical information courtesy of authors Goodreads Profile and her official website.

    Born in New York city, Sarah taught high school and college English for many years in Colorado and New York. She has taught fiction workshops at the Fine Arts Works Centre in Provincetown, MA, The Writer’s Centre, in Bethesda MD, The University of Maryland, and The George Washington University. She lives in Washington DC with her husband, the poet Joshua Weiner, and their two sons.

    I found this book trailer an excellent introduction to The Postmistress.

    Uploaded by PenguinDigital on Jan 24, 2011

    If you are interested in learning more about the novel, I found an interesting interview  Kathryn Stockett interviews Sarah Blake on Goodreads

    Sarah Blake - Goodreads Author Profile

    Sarah Blake - Official Website

  • 24 comments:

    1. Replies
      1. Worth reading Susie, I will look forward to hearing what you think if you do get around to reading this one.

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    2. I so thoroughly was captivated by this book when I read it. Your reviews are "spot on" in my opinion (my attempt at a little British slang!) I especially appreciated the video trailer. Welcome back to la bella italia!

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      1. Thankyou so much for the lovely comment about my reviews and the Welcome Home Patricia.

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    3. I wish I liked this one more than I did. I think my expectations were too high and I kept getting frustrated with Emma. I really liked Frankie's story though.

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      1. I think they probably were Melissa, as in a different mood I think I also may have felt differently about this one. :)

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    4. I'll put this on my 'to read' list. I have been checking out books at the library at random and have been pretty disappointed with my choices! heehee! ♥

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      1. I am delighted to be a help with your choices, hope I do not disappoint!

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    5. Good to see you back Lindy.. This is another book I might pick up soon.. Thanks for the review!

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    6. Thanks it is good to be back reconnecting with everyone. This is a title definitely worth adding to the wishlist Jyoti.

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    7. I have read conflicting reviews on this book. I do have it at home. Thanks for your review.
      WELCOME BACK!!!!

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      1. Thanks for the welcome back. Yes, there are very conflicting reviews about this I think maybe because a lot of people have had had high expectations for this one, which it did not quite live up to. It was certainly different to how I had expected it to be. I will look forward to hearing what you think.

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    8. I read this book last month and like you found it confusing at the beginning. In fact I had a couple of false starts when I put it down thinking I wouldn't continue with it. As it turns out it was worth my perseverance.
      Great review.

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      1. It seems that many readers have found it not what they expected and have given up with disappointment. I agree that it was well worth persevering.

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    9. Hi lindylou many thanks for your email, for some crazy reason I couldn't reply normally. Enjoying your reviews!

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      1. That is ok Scarlet, delighted you are enjoying the reviews.

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    10. Lovely review and video Lindy :)!

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    11. Thanks for the review LindyLou, I have had this one to read for awhile and must get round to it.

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      1. I will look forward to hearing what you think Lindsay.

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    12. I have a copy of this waiting to be read. It appears to be exactly the type of novel I enjoy reading, and from your review above, I am sure it will be. When I have more time I will open it and read that intriguing first line :)

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      1. Do let me know if it turns out to be the good read you are hoping for Dolly.

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    13. Hi LindyLou finally my Easter "hols" have begun at 5pm this afternoon! And although I have a lot to do over the next fortnight, to finish off projects for the year end at college, I can at least catch up on my favourite bloggers too!

      I read this when I was over in London last month, and must say I was disappointed. The best part of the novel was London: the descriptions of the devastion of the bombing, the people Frankie knew, and when Frankie travelled around interviewing refugees on the trains.

      The characters and story in America I found not interesting at all which is probably why I was rather disappointed overall. Most of the characters were just not of interest, and I could not relate to, or empathise with, although the Postmistress herself was the best of the lot.

      All in all, I would have been quite content to read a whole novel on Frankie's story of the war.

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      1. Hi Dolly, lovely to hear from you, but sorry to hear this was a disappointing read for you. It does seem to have attracted very conflicting reviews and was definitely not what I was expecting. I know what you mean as it did feel like there was material for more than one novel in the story.

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