The Blitz Sisters

Coming in at just under 500 pages, this is truly an epic tale. The size would have thrilled me as a child because I was an avid and quick reader and really liked to get my teeth into a meaty read. But, while it might appear daunting to some, it is actually very accessible and highly readable and just think how proud of their achievement young readers will be when they complete it. They will be helped by the novel’s structure in being in three distinct parts, each taking the story arc forward chronologically from the start of the war in 1939 through to 1948, but each narrated by and focused on the perspective of one of the three Linden sisters, whose young lives are turned upside down by World War II. We start with Lydia, the eldest, who feels a huge sense of responsibility for her sisters and mother Cassie. Their father had recently died, forcing their mother to work to support their straightened circumstances. Lydia is a budding chef and takes on the responsibility for cooking the family meals throughout rationing and food shortages that are to come, but when they are forced to evacuate to the country, she finds the fear for her mother in the Blitz and the loneliness and bullying she encounters too much to bear. Her rash return to London will have long lasting consequences that will affect the whole family. One of the very great satisfactions of this expertly plotted tale is the way all the threads of the story weave together. We turn to Peggy, the middle sister, in 1943 with the family together in London again during a lull in the bombing.  Impulsive, volatile and artistically gifted, but with what would obviously be diagnosed as dyslexia today, she struggles in school and starts to bunk off, which leads her to meet refugee Arno, in whom she finds an artistic soulmate. Discovering that a nearby art school is preparing to take on young students, Peggy determines to be amongst them, but her impulsive actions lead her into trouble which could destroy her dreams. The personal dramas we get so caught up in are set against the wonderfully well realised backdrop of life on the Home Front where the good times are inexorably mixed with loss and trauma.     While not dwelling on blood and gore, no punches are pulled in depicting the full consequences of the conflict. The hugely empathetic youngest sibling Teddy takes up the story in the aftermath of war with everyone striving for normality. What she can’t do is solve everyone’s problems, but she is determined to try, even when it means putting herself in mortal danger. While all the threads are satisfactorily resolved not everything ends sentimentally or unrealistically. This is a thoughtfully nuanced, well researched and enlightening portrait of a pivotal period of history and its radical societal changes, especially to the lives of women like Cassie and her daughters and the other redoubtable women we meet, like Aunt Peggy, Barbara and Mrs Jessop. Such well-drawn characters are the compelling driving force which keeps the pages turning. As readers we simply have to know what happens to them next and are absolutely rooting for a good outcome as each challenge and obstacle arises. This is a genuine tour-de force from a writer who simply gets better and better.