Another Novel of the Great War

The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
Published: July 1, 2014 by Harper
I've never read a book by Jacqueline Winspear, but I've heard great things about her Maisie Dobbs series. I even own the first one, I just haven't found the time to read it yet.

I'd probably say this book is a mix of Betsy's Wedding (of the Betsy-Tacy series) and Somewhere in France (also subtitled A Novel of the Great War) two books I'd list on my all-time favorites list. I wouldn't necessarily say this book would be on that list as well, but I still really enjoyed it.

There's basically three main characters in this, Kezia, her best friend Thea, and Thea's brother Tom, who Kezia marries on the eve of WWI. And while the story is told partly from the point of view each one of the three, it's really Tom and Kezia we get to know the best. In some ways I wish Thea's character had been a little more fleshed out, but then we would have had less time with Tom and Kezia who were my favorites.

The sustenance of novel is really the letters between Kezia and Tom who's fighting over in France. Kezia spends most of her letters describing elaborate meals she'd cook for Tom and while they all sound delicious it's really the love inside of each the speaks the loudest.

I have read a number of books about WWI, but this is the first I can remember where life in the trenches was so detailed. You feel awful for Tom and his fellow soldiers and can't wait till the war if over and their able to be reunited with their loved ones.

Then of course, there's the ending. I'm not going to give anything away (although I wish you all had already read this so we could yell about it together), but I couldn't belief that was it. I actually went onto the author's website immediately after finishing it to see if there was a final note or something that didn't make it into the ARC. But sadly I think the ending is exactly that, the end.

With this year being 100 years since WWI started, I know there's likely to be even more period books coming out soon. And knowing how much I've enjoyed the ones I've already read, I can't wait to read through them all!

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.