Lots of first hand accounts of the glider pilots, paratroops and other personnel who took part in the operations the night before D-Day. It's admirablLots of first hand accounts of the glider pilots, paratroops and other personnel who took part in the operations the night before D-Day. It's admirable that these accounts have been preserved for posterity. As a book though it tends to be very repetitive as the experience inside every glider is almost identical. It's more compelling after the landings when the missions are varied. ...more
Evie and Jack is a love story set during WW2. Jack is a Spitfire pilot; Evie a WAAF radio operator who later in the war becomes a SOE agent who is parEvie and Jack is a love story set during WW2. Jack is a Spitfire pilot; Evie a WAAF radio operator who later in the war becomes a SOE agent who is parachuted into France. The novel adopts initially what is a slightly confusing chronology, beginning with Evie's parachute jump into France. The circuit she is to join has been infiltrated by the Germans and there's a traitor in her midst. We then flash back to the Battle of Britain and Jack's Spitfire squadron. This was my favourite part of the novel. The air combat is brilliantly described as is the camaraderie between the pilots. The Evie narrative for me was less compelling though the search for information about her plight, involving trips to prisons and concentration camps, at the end of the war was moving. I didn't enjoy this as much as his The Way Back to Florence which is more beautifully and lyrically written compared to the minimalist prose of this but on the whole an edifying read....more
A German fighter pilot tracks a lonely American heavy bomber trying to escape back to Britain after bombing a German city. The bomber is so shot to piA German fighter pilot tracks a lonely American heavy bomber trying to escape back to Britain after bombing a German city. The bomber is so shot to pieces that Lieutenant Franz Stigler is amazed it’s still able to fly. The rear gunner is dead. None of the plane’s other guns are working. The American pilot is a twenty one year old rookie.
This confrontation between an American pilot and a German pilot in December 1943 is the hinge that holds this riveting book together. We get a detailed account of both pilots, their backgrounds and wartime experiences. Especially interesting is the German. It isn’t often literature allows us to side with the Germans. But by giving us an intimate account of Stigler’s life and showing how decent many of the members of the Luftwaffe were you can’t help feeling protective towards them every time they go up into the air, which of course means you find yourself cheering them on against your own countrymen sometimes, a very strange feeling. Probably wisely the author shies away from describing in any detail the many times Stigler shot down American or British planes. It is a slightly sanitised war we see, selected highlights because the Luftwaffe was by no means as innocent as it’s perhaps portrayed here – the strafing of Polish and French civilians springs to mind. However the book does a great job of showing how there were three sides in the war, the Allies fighting the Nazis with decent Germans caught up somewhere in the middle. Stigler and his comrades are in as much danger from the Gestapo as Allied pilots, especially towards the end of the war when Goering publicly denounced all German fighter pilots as cowards for failing to prevent the bombing of German cities. ...more
Memoir of a Spitfire pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain and later in North Africa. I enjoyed his account of his working class background and haMemoir of a Spitfire pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain and later in North Africa. I enjoyed his account of his working class background and hat’s off to the man’s courage. Not as well written as the brilliant First Light though which I’d recommend if the subject matter is of interest to you.
As was the case with Jack Curry’s Lancaster Target this is a must read if the subject interests you. First Light is a fabulous account of the day to dAs was the case with Jack Curry’s Lancaster Target this is a must read if the subject interests you. First Light is a fabulous account of the day to day life of a spitfire pilot during The Battle of Britain. He selects a handful of his most memorable experiences and devotes a chapter to each. Wellum puts you up there in the cockpit with his masterful command of language and fantastic descriptive prowess. Absolutely riveting and deeply moving from start to finish. ...more
My interest in Bomber Command was piqued by two brilliant novels I read last year about WWII pilots – the well-known A God in Ruins and the relativelyMy interest in Bomber Command was piqued by two brilliant novels I read last year about WWII pilots – the well-known A God in Ruins and the relatively unknown but equally as good The Way Back to Florence.
Jack Currie was the pilot of a Lancaster Bomber and this is his memoir of his experiences during WWII. The first thing to be said in its favour is how brilliantly Currie writes – he has a lyrical, self-deprecating style brimming with wit and sensibility. The surreal nature of the life these men lived is poignantly captured – one night larking about in a village pub or tucking into eggs and bacon in the regimental mess; the next flying through searchlights, a torrent of anti-aircraft guns over the heartlands of Nazi Germany while also being attacked by German fighter planes. No surprise then that the casualty rate in Bomber Command was almost 50%. Every night they took off they only had a 50/50 chance of returning to their beds.
Currie’s descriptions of his experiences are fantastically visual and vivid.
If the subject interests you I can’t recommend this too highly. An absolutely engrossing and inspired read. ...more
I struggled with this one. The main character was like a chick lit heroine thrust into the horrors of a concentration camp.
Rose Justice is an AmericaI struggled with this one. The main character was like a chick lit heroine thrust into the horrors of a concentration camp.
Rose Justice is an American ATS pilot and a poet. In an almost surreal and highly implausible sequence of events her spitfire is intercepted by the Luftwaffe and escorted back to Germany where she ends up in Ravensbruck concentration camp, sharing a barracks with a group of mostly Polish and Russian women known as the rabbits because they have been used for horrific medical experiments. The Ravensbruck section is well researched and powerful but this is because we’re reading about horrific things that really happened rather than because of any skill displayed by the novelist. In fact, the research and the fictional elements of this novel were never unified for me. The story of the American pilot, who remained for me throughout the novel unbelievable, was like something glued onto the research. The novel is written in the style of chick lit too, very easy on the eye, lots of dialogue and that kind of very simple prose you find yourself skim reading which seemed inappropriate for a novel about the holocaust. The author says in an afterword that it’s a story which needs to be told and I agree with her, but probably in a non-fiction format and without the Hollywood implants. ...more
The scope of this novel is hugely impressive. We are taken on bombing raids to Berlin, into the world of art theft in Florence, to partisan battles inThe scope of this novel is hugely impressive. We are taken on bombing raids to Berlin, into the world of art theft in Florence, to partisan battles in the hills of Tuscany, to the offices of the secret police in Florence, to Italian internment camps and to the Nazi death camps. And yet for all the pervasive horror of war this is essentially an uplifting novel written with sustained imaginative vitality about how people touch each other and how humanity prevails.
We see WW2 through three perspectives – these are three friends who met at art college in Florence before the war. Freddie becomes the pilot of a Lancaster bomber, Isabella, his Italian wife, is a painter in Florence and Oskar, a German Jew, is trying to avoid the Gestapo in Italy. All three narratives are utterly compelling in their different ways. Isabella is dragged into the world of art forgery and the fascist/partisan conflict; Oskar and his young daughter are hunted by the Nazis and have to depend on the kindness of strangers and are constantly in fear of their treachery (huge rewards were offered for information leading to the arrest of Jews). And Freddie is just trying to stay alive - the account of life in Bomber Command is a brilliant feat of imagination – a succession of thrilling set pieces in which you feel you’re up there in the plane. The control of the suspense throughout is done with great skill. You genuinely worry for the safety of the characters. Oskar’s efforts to keep his daughter safe is a very moving account of the love of a father for his daughter, just as Freddie and Isabella’s story is a moving depiction of the love between a separated husband and wife. It’s also a brilliant portrait of Italy and in particular Florence itself. I didn’t want it to end. Fully recommended. Along with All the Light We Cannot See my favourite read of 2015....more
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