Non Fiction, Memoir, 1920s, 1930s, WWII
Originally posted on Amazon HERE on 18 November 2012
This memoir of Harry Smith's early life in the poverty-stricken north of England was gripping, from the start - a short history of his family and how he came to be born into the situation he did - to the end, which was an account of the war from an average Joe's point of view.
I liked the early part best - it's so hard to believe that such hardship could have existed in this country, in the the last century, not so many years before I was born. I found the perceived difference between the starving north and the wealthy south most interesting, too. I kept being amazed over and over again that so many people had to live in the way they did, before the Welfare State. I know we all know about such things because we've been told about them, but to read someone's personal account of such a life brings it homes much more soundly.
I was engrossed in this book and read it very quickly - when the Kindle started saying '92%', and upwards, I was thinking, no, no, I want to read more! Better go and buy the next one, then....
Highly recommended, fascinating.