Elizabeth Bales Frank
I was laid off from my "day job" in legal marketing.
My primary and immediate response to this has been to focus almost all of my energy on revising my novel, Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me. The novel takes place in Bermuda during the spring of 1941. During my revision process, I have kept my leisure reading "in period" in order to keep the voice of the novel "yar."
Among the nonfiction: a collection of essays by George Orwell (always a pleasure), Facing Unpleasant Facts, John Steinbeck's so under-crowed-about dispatches from the European theater, in a collection called Once There Was a War, transcriptions of Edward R. Murrow's broadcasts from the London Blitz called (of course) This is London, and a heart-rending accounting of Murrow, Harriman and Gil Wynant by Lynne Olson, entitled Citizens of London.
In addition to the John Lawton "Inspector Troy" series of novels (particularly Second Violin, Blackout and Riptide), I have read and can happily recommend several contemporary novels which are set in the period. A Fine Radiance by Lauren Belfer, The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and The Information Officer by Mark Mills. A Fierce Radiance follows the story of Life magazine photographer Claire Shipley and her involvement with a doctor on a medical team racing to perfect the formula for pencillin with the hope of saving the lives of millions of soldiers (since so many of the wounded died from the infection to their wounds when they might have survived the wound itself). It's a terrific evocation of the New York City of that period, particularly of my old neighborhood on the west side of Greenwich Village.
The Postmistress weaves together the story of three women, two of them residents of a small New England coastal town and the third a radio reporter and Murrow colleague with the wonderfully Dickensian name of Frankie Bard. Her reports from the London Blitz are both frank and bardic, and they reach into the lives of the two stateside characters with poignant and tragic consequences.
The Information Officer details another blitz -- that of the island of Malta. With its fast-paced and (almost unbearably) suspenseful plot and its witty, sexy characters, I wish British television would just hurry up and produce it already. It contains the best exchange of dialogue I have read recently. I can reproduce it here without spoilers since I'm not saying who, to whom, when or in what context:
"You threw him out of a plane?"
"You make it sound easier than it was. He fought me like a tiger all the way."
Labels: A Fierce Radiance, Citizens of London, Lauren Belfer, Lynne Olson, Mark Mills, Novels about World War II, Sarah Blake, The Information Office, The Postmistress
posted by Elizabeth at
7:23 PM
11 Comments:
Looking forward to your novel—and, in the meantime, to those you recommended. Already passed the recs on to two readers I think will really appreciate them. Thanks!
You are always reading the most interesting novels!! I can't wait to read yours. Go Elizabeth, go!!
can't wait to read that Steinbeck book... sounds fascinating...
Looking forward to the book . . . please keep us posted as to progress, and maybe include some excerpts?
Good luck, Elizabeth. I'll read A Fierce Radiance--and your book, too. I hope you manage to blog more often. It's a good pick-me-up for the lonely writer laboring laboring in anxious hope.
I dreamed the other night that my novel was rejected everywhere and the person telling me this--a job my agent had palmed off to a stranger--said, "they all say write a detective story. That's the only thing that will be published now."
So of course I woke up and wrote poetry.
Ha! Funny excerpt. I will check out those series. I was recently burned when I started an English mystery series, read and enjoyed the first two books, liked the characters, was glad to be in it from the beginning, and the published cancelled it! I read the sad note from the authors on their website. Oh well. I'll try these. I'm also enjoying Tana French's mystery books, In the Woods and The Likeness (she has a new one out). Set in Ireland. Good harsh and dreary. And I loved the ending of the Rebus series, too.
Hi, I'm one of the friends that received your book recs from Jody. Have you read Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis? Flawed, but tons and tons of period details. Good luck with your novel! - Lisa
Lisa mentioned Carmen's friend Connie! I should ask her to pick up those books from Connie for you.
All the books you mention sound like interesting and gripping books -- the only one I have read is the Steinbeck, but it has been 30+ years since I did so.
But your novel is going to be the best of the batch! You reveal such a fascinating aspect of the war, one I think very few people know about. I love what I have read of it -- voice, tone, setting -- all wonderul. And the characters live and breathe! -- Best, Linda
Hi Lisa (and Linda)
I have read "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis, which involved the bombing of Coventry, Three Men in a Boat, and a lot of time travel and whimsy.
Elizabeth Bales Frank
Great post and reading recommendations, Elisabetta! Can't wait to read Camilleri in English.
I look forward to continuing to consult for you on Italian phrases/expressions for your book.
Best,
Beatrice
I am dying to read your novel...you writing is wonderful...it's the best sort....the kind that makes you want to read no matter the topic...you are very much missed...anyone who lets you go should know what a terrible mistake has been made.
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