Jennifer Rainsford

Katharine McMahon weaves private relationships through times of public turmoil like none else. The dexterity and subtly of her writing gives voice to the quiet but enormous female warriors of the times. All the settings are meticulously researched - I knew nothing about the Belgian resistance before I read this but do now. Also the book made me think so much about what happens when two generations go to war, the damage and the legacy. Parent to child, country to country. It's a great memory of Europe thinking and thrust together for better or worse as read in the context of Summer 2019. Brilliant.