The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The beginning of this book was like traveling to Australia and living on a sheep ranch. The descriptions were vivid, and the people lived and breathed. The first generations in this grand saga–Fee and Paddie, Meggie and Father Ralph–were multidimensional and interesting. But the final generation–Justine and Dane–felt flat for me. Dane was too good to be true, and Justine was someone not even her mother could know (much less the reader). Still, I will probably read The Thorn Birds again sometime. It’s the kind of historical that allows you to live in another world for a while, and they are the best kind.
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Rebekah’s Journey: an historical novel by Ann Bell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really wanted to like this book. The main character is an honorable woman, a Quaker in the 18th century, who faces hardship and overcomes. She travels from England to Pennsylvania as a girl then makes a life for herself in the new world. It’s a good story. Somehow, though, the telling fell a bit flat. It was as though the author was merely reporting the events. I didn’t get to live within them, to breathe the air of another time. It’s that ability to transport you to another time and place that sets the best historical novels apart from the rest, and unfortunately Rebekah’s Journey just doesn’t have it. That being said, I’m still glad I spent some time with the book. It was well worth the Kindle purchase price. And Rebekah is good company, inspiring company. That’s almost enough. Almost.
Susan Lynn Peterson
author of Clare, a Novel
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Elizabeth Street: A novel based on true events by Laurie Fabiano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love historical novels that allow you to live in another time and place for a little while. Elizabeth Street is just such a novel. You can feel the hundreds, or more likely thousands, of hours that went in to researching the setting. But the novel is more than just a description of a time, it’s also a solidly told story containing strong, likable characters. When I heard that it included a subplot about extortion by the Black Hand, I was wondering whether I would like it. I normally don’t enjoy mob books or movies. But this book is not a glorification of the mob, but rather is the story of a woman who overcame obstacles in a new world, one of those obstacles the criminal element of her time. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys early-twentieth-century historical fiction.
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The Losing Role by Steve Anderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was looking for a historical novel on Smashwords and took a chance on The Losing Role. I didn’t expect much. Many of the self-published novels on Smashwords are barely readable. But after reading the sample of The Losing Role, I was hooked. I found that I really cared what happened to Max, the main character.
Max is German, spent some time in the U.S., returned to Germany just before WWII. He’s an actor, not terribly political. He just wants to act. When the war starts, his roles dry up. He’s drafted and sent to the Russian front. His only way out of miserable (and futile) duty in the infantry is a dangerous mission that involves disguising himself as an American soldier and sneaking behind enemy lines to do intelligence work. He decides to use the opportunity to try try to find his way back to the U.S. Max is a likable “every man.” He uses the one skill he’s confident of, his acting ability, to try to regain control of a life that’s gone way out of control.
The book is not fine literature, but it’s a good read.
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