Sunday May 23rd, 2010 The War to End all Wars

Sometimes I find myself reading on a theme or a particular historical period. When I was a child I frequently turned to fiction set during World War II. It wasn’t the war setting that appealed so much as the strong characters. All were about children having great adventures and overcoming incredible odds. Intellectually I knew there must have been a previous war, but I knew nothing of it. I didn’t know anything World War I until high school history when we learned about Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Black Hand. Even then, it didn’t capture my imagination in the same way that the subsequent war had. But then there were no stories about plucky girls overcoming great odds.

This all changed when upon hearing Jacqueline Winspear speak about her Maisie Dobbs series, which is set between the wars and suddenly I was hooked. I immediately borrowed “Maisie Dobbs” , the first in the series, from the library and quickly finished it before turning to the next novel in the series. While these books are set after the War they give glimpses of the War and the damage it wrought on the English population. Sadly, I’m completely up-to-date with this series, but I’ve found more to read on this topic.

The only true “between the wars” book on my list is “A Month in the Country” by J.L. Carr. It’s a brief novel set in Yorkshire about a veteran whose task it is to restore a Medieval mural in the village of Oxgodby. The action is mostly day to day life in a small Yorkshire village but it is coloured by the narrator’s experience during the War. This then led me to the realization that I really wanted to get more of a sense of characters’ experiences during the War.

The other books I would like to share with you are all set during the Great War and are from the perspective of North Americans; “Crossing Stones” by Helen Frost, “Barometer Rising” by Hugh MacLennan, and “The Wars” by Timothy Findley.

“Crossing Stones” is a novel in verse, which can be found in the Young Adult section at Thunder Bay Public Library. Please don’t let the Young Adult classification prevent you from reading this fantastic novel. The narrative is centred on two families living in rural America. It is told in turn by three of the young people and much of the narrative concerns a fourth who has enlisted to fight in the First World War.

I must confess that I have not read “Barometer Rising” by Hugh MacLennan yet, but as I went on my hunt for books set after the War it immediately caught my eye. I remember thoroughly enjoying “The Watch that Ends the Night” and so this is at the top of my pile for weekend reading.

While working on this column I realized that it is time for me to reread “The Wars.” While reading it in high school, Mr. Findley came in to talk to us about the writing of the novel. He told us of using a ditch on his property as a stand-in for a trench to try and get a sense of what trench warfare was really like. Not surprisingly it was cold, wet, and miserable. I suspect I will get more out of the book now that I have more knowledge about the period “The Wars” is set in.

Whether this period is of particular interest to you or not I would like to suggest that you consider the themes, historical periods, or genres that are of attract you right now and enjoy them. Yes, people will recommend many other great books, but if you (like me) are currently fixated on another era or subject; make a note of the suggestion and return to it when you’re ready.

Ruth Hamlin-Douglas, Adult Services Librarian at the Brodie Resource Library – www.tbpl.ca.