rosegarden Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 THIS TIME OF DYING BY REINA JAMES Genre: Historical Fiction Publishers: Portobello Books (2007) Pages: 290 ISBN-10: 1846270464 ISBN-13: 978-1846270468 Synopsis It is October 1918, and England is gathering its dead. For Henry Speake, Undertaker, laying to rest the shattered bodies of young men sent home from the front has become a grimly familiar duty. But then a country already reeling from war faces an unexpected shock: an epidemic. The Spanish influenza will kill more people than World War I. There is no cure, no help from the government, not even a clear sense of what is happening. Henry sees the dangers much sooner than most, especially when he finds a letter left behind by a dying doctor, who begs health officials to start closing ports and setting up quarantines before it is too late. Unable to get a government minister to listen to him, Henry turns to a local schoolteacher, Allen Thompson, a woman who would usually be above his station......... I'm not really sure why this book appealed to me, perhaps it was because of the time period, perhaps it was the cover. Well, whatever it was I'm very pleased that it did. It was a thoroughly engrossing and informative read, if somewhat ghoulish in parts. It covers 3 weeks in the winter of 1918 and it was interesting to note how people were kept in the dark about the epidemic. Reina James compelling writing was a delight to read and even though I didn't like either of the main characters - middle-aged, grumpy, dull, Henry the Undertaker who loves playing his piano, and lonely, indecisive Mrs Allen Thompson the Teacher, I was always hoping that their friendship would turn to a romance by the end of the book. This is not a book for the squeamish, as you can imagine there are plenty of deaths, sometimes whole families, but it was a fascinating account of how people coped while WWI was coming to an end, how they survived and carried on. Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlette Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 This sounds like a very interesting novel. I quite like stories set in wartimes (or postwar, even) and this one sounds like a fascinating read. The characters sound like my kind of people - I tend to be grumpy and indecisive at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosegarden Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Yes me too, Scarlette!! Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Now, this is quite spooky Rosegarden because only yesterday I was trawling Amazon for this book! I remember a few years back reading about it and I couldn't for the life of me remember the title. I was trying all different sorts of keywords but it wouldn't throw up any options. You are now my new best friend for putting me out of my misery:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosegarden Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Oh what an amazing coincidence! That is spooky If I owned the book I would send it to you but I borrowed it from the library. I'm really happy that I've made your day and I hope you enjoy reading it. Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 That's a kind thought Carole. Thanks:) Actually it's now on my Wish List as I have bought more than my quota this month (addiction is getting out of hand now:smile2:) and I will wait a while before giving it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I've just finished reading this novel and wanted to add my two penn'orth to Rosegarden's review above. It is a very well written book and evokes the terrible time of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 - just as the War in Europe is about to come to an end - extremely well. The characters are typically stoical of the period and social attitudes are well documented especially over the friendship of a well respected teacher and an undertaker who was thought to be beneath her station. Add to that the pure grimness of the flu epidemic which killed millions worldwide - as well as those killed fighting at the front - and you have one of the worst periods in the last century. My only criticism is although the story takes place in London, you don't get a feeling you are in a big city - no place names or landmarks are mentioned - but that is my only comment. An excellent book and, just by way of a piece of trivia, Reina James is actually the daughter of the late great Sid James! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuggleMagic Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 this sounds like a very interesting read thanks for the review. I'm going to add this one to my ever increasing reading list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amethyst Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Ooh I'll be adding this to my list too, it sounds really interesting, I like war based fiction as well so it ticks all my boxes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Ooh I'll be adding this to my list too, it sounds really interesting, I like war based fiction as well so it ticks all my boxes! Hi Amethyst If you like war fiction (esp Word War I) then you may be interested in the set of WW1 books by Anne Perry : World War One 1. No Graves as Yet: 1914 (2003) 2. Shoulder the Sky: 1915 (2004) 3. Angels in the Gloom: 1916 (2005) 4. At Some Disputed Barricade: 1917 (2006) 5. We Shall Not Sleep: 1918 (2007) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amethyst Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Oh thanks! I like war fiction from both wars, although I am more familiar with WWII fiction. I'll add these to my TBR list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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