4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: Twitter
In a Nutshell: WW1 soldier is invalided home after injury, only to face a feeling of alienation - and the Spanish flu epidemic.
An emotional family drama about one of the hardest times in the 20th Century, Plagued tells the story of Thomas, a soldier who gets a 'Blighty wound' during his time at the front during the last year of World War I. Having changed in every way from the man who left so joyfully in 1914 - he and his friends thinking that they were setting off on glorious, honourable adventure - he finds integration back into 'normal' life beyond difficult. Like his friends, he doesn't want his wife to know how hellish the war actually was, but at the same time feels alienated because he has been through appalling experiences that he can't talk about.
This is also the story of Thomas's wife Mary and her many friends who face the hardship of civilian life during a war, of fear that their husbands, sons and brothers will not come home, and finally of the Spanish flu that felled so many at that time.
This is a highly readable book and I looked forward to getting back to it each time I put it down. So many aspects of the time are dealt with, and the research is evident without being intrusive. I did have trouble remembering who was who in the large cast of characters - who was married to whom, which children belonged to which mother, but this didn't really matter.
I particularly liked the ending, in 1919, when Thomas and some friends stand by the site of the future cenotaph; it had a sadly poignant ring to it. If you like wartime family dramas, you'll love this.
No comments:
Post a Comment