Historical Fiction has always been my favorite book genre. Over the years I have lived vicariously through many periods in history thanks to some wonderful authors.
Some of the best books are those which are not just set in a certain era, but whose characters are woven into specific events of that time. A good example of this is the novel Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, which I reviewed in an earlier entry. I know a book is living up to my expectations when I periodically set it aside to research a person or place in order to know more.
I first learned of Anita Diamant from her novel The Red Tent. It’s a stunning novel of life during the biblical time of Jacob, told from the viewpoint of his only daughter, Dinah. I think Diamant’s newest novel, Day After Night, is even better. From the inside cover:
Day After Night deals with a time and place that I knew very little about and I’m glad for the education it gave me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and highly recommend it to others.
(Thanks, Quid!)
Some of the best books are those which are not just set in a certain era, but whose characters are woven into specific events of that time. A good example of this is the novel Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, which I reviewed in an earlier entry. I know a book is living up to my expectations when I periodically set it aside to research a person or place in order to know more.
I first learned of Anita Diamant from her novel The Red Tent. It’s a stunning novel of life during the biblical time of Jacob, told from the viewpoint of his only daughter, Dinah. I think Diamant’s newest novel, Day After Night, is even better. From the inside cover:
Just as she gave voice to the silent women of the Old Testament in The Red Tent, Anita Diamant creates a cast of breathtakingly vivid characters- young women who escaped to Israel from Nazi Europe- in this intensely dramatic novel.
Day After Night is based on the extraordinary true story of the October 1945 rescue of more than two hundred prisoners from the Atlit internment camp, a prison for “illegal” immigrants run by the British military near the Mediterranean coast north of Haifa. The story is told through the eyes of four young women at the camp with profoundly different stories. All of them survived the Holocaust: Shayndel, a Polish Zionist; Leonie, a Parisian beauty; Tedi, a hidden Dutch Jew; and Zorah, a concentration camp survivor. Haunted by unspeakable memories and losses, afraid to begin to hope, Shayndel, Leonie, Tedi, and Zorah find salvation in the bonds of friendship and shared experience even as they confront the challenge of re-creating themselves in a strange new country.
This is an unforgettable story of tragedy and redemption, a novel that reimagines a moment in history with such stunning eloquence that we are haunted and moved by every devastating detail. Day After Night is a triumphant work of fiction.
Day After Night deals with a time and place that I knew very little about and I’m glad for the education it gave me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and highly recommend it to others.
(Thanks, Quid!)
5 comments:
Historical fiction is also one of my favourite types of read. I've never heard of these books or indeed these authors so thanks for bringing them to my attention Kelly. The Red Tent sounds especially good - another to be added to my want to read list, I fear.
Sounds great, Kelly. I loved "The Red Tent". I'll look the book you mentioned up at the library today. If you like historical fiction you'll love the novelist Sarah Waters. Her book, "Fingersmith" is amazing and I don't usually read historical fiction. Check her out! Blessings!!
Tracy, I have a feeling you and I have been a bad (or good, depending on how you look at it!) influence on each other with all the books added to our "to read" piles! Btw...I'm into Sovereign right now and his books just get better with each one. I'll wait until the 4th is in softcover here.
Marion, I'm not familiar with Sarah Waters, but I can assure you I will look her up right away!
Thanks!
Sounds interesting, Sis. My piles of "to-read books" is getting higher and higher!
Too many books, zero time to read!!
Can't wait to read my copy... better than the Red Tent? Wow.
quid
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