Churchill's People

Oct 11, 2024 11:19 PM

Author:Mary Jane Staples

Churchill's People

In 1941, the United Kingdom was in desperate straits, standing alone with its troops against the colossal war machine of Nazi Germany. There was always Prime Minister Winston Churchill, however, who growled his defiance to Hitler and induced in his people a determination to endure.

The Adams family shared that determination and their own kind of optimism. Emma went happily into her marriage with Jonathan, while Boots's son Tim, in between his hazardous exploits as a Commando, helped his fiancee Felicity in her courageous fight against blindness, the result of a terrible injury in the bombing. Rosie Adams was due to marry Matthew Chapman from Dorset, but Chinese Lady was unsure about it. He seemed a fine enough man, but what with a lame leg that prevented him from doing his bit for his country, and the uncertainty of his garage business, she felt that he was hardly the ideal choice for such an eligible young woman as Rosie. As for Boots and his new wife Polly, they came up with some very unexpected news for the family...

Reviews

Watch out Catherine Cookson

—— Northern Echo

A mesmerising patchwork of horror, humour and humanity

—— Independent

A magnificent, poetic, colossal novel... Superbly written... It is, in every sense, a sublime book

—— Irish Times

His most serious and ambitious achievement to date

—— Times Literary Supplement

Pleasurable... Like Steinbeck, de Bernières deserves praise for his imaginative sympathy

—— Independent on Sunday

Shafak will challenge Paulo Coelho's dominance

—— The Independent

An honour killing is at the centre of this stunning novel... Exotic, evocative and utterly gripping

—— The Times

Lushly and memorably magic-realist... This is an extraordinarily skilfully crafted and ambitious narrative

—— The Independent

The book calls to mind The Color Purple in the fierceness of its engagement with male violence and its determination to see its characters to a better place. But Shafak is closer to Isabel Allende in spirit, confidence and charm. Her portrayal of Muslim cultures, both traditional and globalising, is as hopeful as it is politically sophisticated. This alone should gain her the world audience she has long deserved

—— The Guardian

In Honour, Shafak treats an important, absorbing subject in a fast-paced, internationally familiar style that will make it accessible to a wide readership

—— Sunday Times

Fascinating and gripping - a wonderful novel

—— Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister

Vivid storytelling... that explores the darkest aspects of faith and love

—— Sunday Telegraph

Moving, subtle and ultimately hopeful, Honour is further proof that Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years

—— Irish Times

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