A gripping and densely packed thriller dramatizing the Allied Italian campaign.
A sprawling historical novel examines the occupation and liberation of Rome during World War II.
This second book in Marquis’ (Bodyguard of Deception, 2016, etc.) trilogy focusing on some of the major events of World War II concentrates on the Nazi occupation of Rome from 1943 to 1944 and the liberation of the Eternal City by the Allies in June 1944. Like its predecessor, the work creates a broad-canvas narrative by weaving together a handful of separate storylines, in this case chiefly those of an American soldier, an Italian freedom fighter, a German colonel, and the pope himself. The pontiff in question is that controversial, so-called “Hitler’s pope” Pius XII, here portrayed with refreshing complexity as a man of fluid principles caught between an array of much stronger forces (“the thought of taking Hitler” publicly to task “in a high-stakes manner made him feel older than his sixty-six years”). U.S. Special Services operative John Bridger is a fairly standard-issue action hero whom Marquis nonetheless manages to imbue with some nuance, and the author is likewise successful in giving Italian Resistance fighter Teresa Di Domenico more personality than her central-casting role necessarily warrants. But the book’s standout character is SS Col. Wilhelm Hollmann, “the furthest thing from a rabid Nazi.” The shrewdly drawn portrait depicts a complicated German whose patriotism clashes frequently with his duties. Hollmann, who feels “no animosity whatsoever towards the Jews,” lambastes a Gestapo chief for extorting gold from Rome’s Jewish community (“Despite the fact that they paid your fiendish ransom, the Jews are still going to be sent off to their deaths”). Marquis brings these main characters and a host of minor ones together in a propulsive, fast-paced story that ranges from the battlefields in the struggle to wrest Rome from Nazi forces to the delicate, behind-the-scenes maneuverings conducted by the pope to placate the Germans long enough to give Vatican-sponsored efforts to unseat Hitler a chance to come to fruition. Marquis has a deft ear for dialogue and a very skillful hand at pacing, particularly when narrating military action sequences. The panoramic impression of his multiple character arcs is reminiscent of Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War in the way they put human faces on the era’s history.
A gripping and densely packed thriller dramatizing the Allied Italian campaign.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943593-03-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Mount Sopris Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A love letter to the power of books and friendship.
Women become horseback librarians in 1930s Kentucky and face challenges from the landscape, the weather, and the men around them.
Alice thought marrying attractive American Bennett Van Cleve would be her ticket out of her stifling life in England. But when she and Bennett settle in Baileyville, Kentucky, she realizes that her life consists of nothing more than staying in their giant house all day and getting yelled at by his unpleasant father, who owns a coal mine. She’s just about to resign herself to a life of boredom when an opportunity presents itself in the form of a traveling horseback library—an initiative from Eleanor Roosevelt meant to counteract the devastating effects of the Depression by focusing on literacy and learning. Much to the dismay of her husband and father-in-law, Alice signs up and soon learns the ropes from the library’s leader, Margery. Margery doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her, rejects marriage, and would rather be on horseback than in a kitchen. And even though all this makes Margery a town pariah, Alice quickly grows to like her. Along with several other women (including one black woman, Sophia, whose employment causes controversy in a town that doesn’t believe black and white people should be allowed to use the same library), Margery and Alice supply magazines, Bible stories, and copies of books like Little Women to the largely poor residents who live in remote areas. Alice spends long days in terrible weather on horseback, but she finally feels happy in her new life in Kentucky, even as her marriage to Bennett is failing. But her powerful father-in-law doesn’t care for Alice’s job or Margery’s lifestyle, and he’ll stop at nothing to shut their library down. Basing her novel on the true story of the Pack Horse Library Project established by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, Moyes (Still Me, 2018, etc.) brings an often forgotten slice of history to life. She writes about Kentucky with lush descriptions of the landscape and tender respect for the townspeople, most of whom are poor, uneducated, and grateful for the chance to learn. Although Alice and Margery both have their own romances, the true power of the story is in the bonds between the women of the library. They may have different backgrounds, but their commitment to helping the people of Baileyville brings them together.
A love letter to the power of books and friendship.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-56248-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A fat pancake of a novel, the author's second hardcover production tells the life story of one Ruby Blue—from an abused childhood and youth, to years as wife of a Marine, personal liberation, life in the world of industry, and her golden years in a rural retreat. Throughout the career of Ruby Blue, monster men abound. There's Papa George in their Pennsylvania home, a slasher, smacker, and wife beater, who requires that his daughters repay him, in bucks, for the cost of raising them. Then there's Ruby's husband, Andrew (met in those WW II glory days in D.C.), who is heavy on the verbal abuse and generally amoral. Ruby's lifelong friend Dixie is regularly slugged mercilessly by husband Hugo. Ruby's longtime true love, Calvin, is a gentle soul, but his wife, Eva, is as lethal as the men; fortunately for Calvin, she lacks the biceps. Ruby weathers life with Andrew at Marine bases and puts up with his callous treatment of their two children, but after Andrew admits to having gambled away their son's college money she finally decamps to New Jersey. Ruby soldiers on with Dixie, and their kitchen cookie business goes international in no time. As for the men, they'll get theirs: Papa George is Bobbittized with scalding grape jelly; the late Hugo's ashes get lost in traffic; and Ruby dumps Calvin. But Andrew sees the light. Glop. However, bear in mind the author's smashing success in paperback, including her Texas saga (5 million sold).
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-345-36774-X
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1994
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