It covers a short time – the day before D-Day, D-Day and the following day. Incredibly Henry describes not only the women’s D-Day experiences but through short chapters, manages to provide the reader with their background stories giving us a full understanding of emotions, purpose, and reasons for their actions. Each story for the most part is separate to the others. Each has their faults, but they are strong and persist in their beliefs and aims. The reader may not agree with their actions, but they represent many women during war and should not be judged.
Characters
include real people and fictionalised people based on the author’s research.
The characters are well developed and as their stories unfold you understand
the hardships of war on ordinary people.
The
five women represent women in different countries and different situations.
They are in non combative roles but enormously impacted by the war around them.
Adelaide is in her sixties. Her home in France has
been taken over by German soldiers and she is compelled to care for their
needs. She cares for them like a mother but it’s not until her town is affected
by fighting that she sees the cold-heartedness within them. Her only wish is to
be with her daughter who lives in another town. Bravely she leaves her home and
heads off to find her. In doing so she experiences more of the horrors of war.
Emilia is a young German woman brought up to
believe the Nazi way was the right way. She is a classic Aryan woman with
golden hair and perfect blue eyes. She works as secretary to a Gestapo
intelligence officer in Caen, France. After observing the constant cruelty of
her boss’s interrogations, she begins to question everything and plans to
escape.
Flora is a young member of the French Resistance
passing on messages. She is frustrated at not being permitted to do more but
there is more than just discrimination behind the reasoning.
Mildred is an American expatriate who makes her living as a radio
broadcaster in Berlin. She is based on a real person, Axis Sally, who spread
Nazi propaganda over the air waves. She has foolishly convinced herself she is
only an actress, it’s not propaganda, its’s just her job. When the DA-Day
landing is over she realises she will most likely go to prison or worse for her
actions.
Theda is member of the Voluntary Aid detachment (VAD)- a medical
volunteer caring for wounded soldiers in Portsmouth England. She shares a
dormitory with her friends but unlike them who see their future as wives and
mothers, she wants to follow a nursing career.
The
struggle and frustration of caring for the wounded is brought home on D-Day
when hundreds of soldiers are brought in needing attention. It depicts not only
the suffering of those soldiers but those that cared for them often working
around the clock.
The
women’s stories were so real I felt their pain and fears and hope for the
future. Anyone who thinks that the
atrocities of WWII did not happen needs to read this. I know it is
"fiction”, but the author nailed the reality. It was like
looking at the war from above as the women move through their troubled lives.
It is an absorbing read with vivid descriptions and
emotional stories. Some scenes are graphic but needed to emphasise the horrors
of war and the impact on everyday people – to put history in perspective.
If you read this book don’t ignore the author’s
notes at the back where she explains how real people influenced the characters
in the story. They also demonstrate how much research she undertook to get the
realities of D-Day right.
I admire Henry’s writing style and dedication to
researching the facts. I will be keeping an eye out for her future books.
Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press and MB Henry for a
pre-publication copy of this book. It is due for release on 10th May.
My
rating 5*
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