The Lighthouse Sisters ~ by Gill Thompson, 2022, historical fiction, 439 pages, 10/10
1996: The war may have ended decades earlier, but for the elegant woman sitting alone now, the images live on in her memory: her sister's carefree laughter, the inky black of a German soldier's boots, the little boats that never came back. And the one constant through it all: the lighthouse that always guided them back to the island.1940: For sisters Alice and Jenny life is just beginning when the Nazis seize control of the island of Jersey, driving the girls down separate paths. While Alice is forced by the enemy to work in the German hospital, Jenny is attracted to the circle of islanders rising up to resist the occupiers. As the war tightens its grip, it will cause each of the sisters to make an extraordinary choice, experience unimaginable heartbreak, and emerge forever changed.
Exploring the boundaries of the genre, Bova not only writes of spaceships, aliens, and time travel in most of his titles, but also speculates on the beginnings of science fiction in "Scheherazade and the Storytellers," as well as the morality of man in "The Angel’s Gift." Stories such as "The Café Coup" and "We’ll Always Have Paris" dip into speculative historical fiction, asking questions about what would happen if someone could change history for the better. This ecollection includes: "Monster Slayer," "Muzhestvo," "We’ll Always Have Paris," "The Great Moon Hoax, or A Princess of Mars," "Inspiration," "Scheherazade and the Storytellers," "The Supersonic Zeppelin," "Mars Farts," "The Man Who Hated Gravity," "Sepulcher," "The Café Coup," "The Angel’s Gift," "Waterbot," and "Sam and the Flying Dutchman." I'm in the process of reading this book now.
Alice Pendelbury believes everything in her life is pretty much in order — from her good friends to her burgeoning career. But even Alice has to admit it’s been an odd week. Not only has her belligerent neighbor, Mr. Daldry, suddenly become a surprisingly agreeable confidant, but he’s encouraging her to take seriously the fortune-teller who told her that only by traveling to Turkey can Alice meet the most important person in her life. What’s more, the peculiarly insistent Mr. Daldry has even agreed to finance Alice’s trip — one that against all reason seems to be predestined. It’s on this journey, crazy from the outset and strangely irresistible, that Alice will find out that nothing in her life is real, that her past is not true, and that the six people she’s about to encounter will shape her future in ways she could never have dreamed. I don't remember buying this in April 2021, but it sounds intriguing right now, so I'll probably read it next.
Men wrapped in the Ukrainian flag at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.
4 comments:
That looks like a nice variety of books. Hope you enjoy.
You have had a busy reading week, Bonnie. I used to read nothing but science fiction for a long time, but that was many years ago, and I feel like I've lost touch with the current science fiction world. I read the occasional historical fiction book, but I often get annoyed with the writing when people use vocabulary or focus on situations that don't feel true to the time. Good historical fiction, though...it's fantastic.
These are all new to me. I hope you have a great week.
The images of people draped in Ukrainian flags from around the world is uplifting. I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy your books.
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