The Postmistress

This book is not for the faint at heart. Be prepared to dive into a world of heartbreak and hope, both aspects intertwined into a world of chaos.

The writing is excellent and the characters are in depth. A must-read for anyone who has any interest in history and the truth about the chaos and devestation of WWII.

This is the story of three women, each of whom is directly affected by the war overseas. Each women will need to be strong in order to survive the atrocities of war and each will face difficult decisions.
Iris is the town's postmistress, a job which she takes extremely serious. Emma is the young, quite and naive wife of Dr. Will Fitch who goes to England to help the wounded. Frankie is a war time reporter who is reporting literally from the front lines with bomb exploding overhead who is attempting to get the people back home to pay attention to what is going on overseas.

Great book, ending was a little disappointing.
For my full review please visit my blog: http://bookwormchronicles14.blogspot.com/

This book was picked for my bookclub and I thought it would be good as Heather's picks usually are. However, this book kind of plodded along, slow in areas. However, even though it wasn't my favorite read, there are some really beautiful passages and imagery that sits with you afterwards. And I was interested enough to finish the book. So if you enjoy wartime stories about the people it affects in different ways, then this book is for you.

It is rare for me to put a book down after I've started it, but this one just isn't going anywhere for me. As a book club selection, there is no way I could finish it on time, as I can only read about 20 pages before I'm up looking for something else to do - you know it's bad when you'd rather get the laundry caught up- I can't say with 100% certainty that I won't try and finish it, but it'll take some convincing from my fellow clubbers and a guarantee that the story starts to flow for it to happen.

unique perspectives! Easy to follow the characters

I found this book a little slow to get into at the beginning, I kept wondering when it was going to pick up. Before I knew it I didn't want to put it down because I was wondering what the next thing to happen was.

Great character development for some of the main characters, others you finish the book without really getting to know them at all and you wished you did.

I wished I had got this one from the library, it was a total waste of money, I found myself skipping lines and sometimes pages to find out what I was missing.
I don't think I missed anything it was totally boring. I wasted my money on this one.

When purchasing a new read with great reviews from Chapters I expect more than potential, which is what I feel is this book's only redeeeming quality. It just didn't do it for me. It lacked in character development and flow and nothing about it grabbed me or spoke to me in a way that made me want to continue reading. This one will get shelved unfinished, I don't have the dedication for it.

I received this book as a gift with great anticipation. So much had been written about it 'unlocking secrets' and 'un-put downable". I have to say I was very disappointed with it. Was it an ok read? yes, did it draw me in and not want me to put it down? NO.

I found that it didn't really go anywhere and where "The postmistress" in the book fits in is still a mystery--maybe it got lost in the post?

I would recommend that if you really want to read this, borrow it from the library first.

I too must say I never seem to go wrong with Heather's picks but this one and one other (Let the Great World Spin) really disappointed me. I so wanted to love this book since my favourite genre is historical fiction. Getting your money back seems silly to me, I wouldn't have the nerve to walk in and ask for it.

This book was not an easy read only because at times I found it boring. I found myself skipping a few lines and maybe even an entire page. Some parts were very well written and the idea for this book is a good one. I wouldn't say run or rush to read it but at some point when all the great books you really want to read are done, pick this one up.

Really, really enjoyed this book - the characters, the setting, the writing.

I loved the setting. I didn't know that females were reporting on the war in England. That the East Coast had a fear of being invaded. I found it a good read, you could kinda of see the ending coming.

As an author, how do you meaningfully add to the literary, social and academic discourse about WWII? With all that has been said and written in the last 70 odd years, Blake doesn't say anything that hasn't been said, better, before. Through out the book, I kept feeling like I had read this story already.

Even aside from the historical aspect of this novel, the plot was a little forced and the characters less than believable. Emma and Iris are flat, underdeveloped characters, and although Frankie is more rounded. The characters failed to grip me and I found it difficult to empathize with them.

Overall, this novel is just a little too sluggish. I felt I lacked in fluidity and artistry.

I found this book to be a wonderful read. I know it doesn't seem to make sense to write it but it was a "slow paced" book that was an exciting "page turner" at the same time. The book follows three women during WWII. Frankie Bard, a female war correspondent and one of "Murrow's Boys" (the character loosely based on real life correspondent Mary Marvin Breckenridge Patterson). Although the book title suggests otherwise I found Frankie to be the driving force in the book. She was in the thick of things as the story unfolded and held the key to how the story would end.
Iris James is the postmistress in small town Franklin, Mass. All of the mail and news in town goes through her and she is the pulse and backbone of the community and the epitome of propriety. Through her character the other characters all intertwine.
Emma Fitch is the innocent young doctor's wife, left behind when her husband is drawn by guilt into the war effort in London.
The book is described as being about "two women who are afraid to deliver the news and one women waiting desperately to hear it." But the book is about so much more. I fell in love with the characters immediately and couldn't wait to find out what happened to them with every turn of the page. Although difficult to read at times, the vivid descriptions Frankie gives of the people in bomb shelters and the flight of the "unwanted" trying to get to Spain or America was enthralling.

I often love Heather Picks, and so I trusted that I would enjoy this book. However, I found the character development to be rather shallow. There was so much potential for this book - but it was never realized. There is so much well written historical fiction from this time period - I'd give this a miss.

This book is very-well written,intersting& historically accurate..however I felt that it was too depressing,as every person in the book has a really bad experience that is not mitigated by any real sense of hope.
We should remember the saying"Without hope,the people perish."
In my opinion,even tho' the story is so well written,I had to really force myself to keep reading it--then--what do I get--more depressing items thrown-in..

I couldn't put this book down. I am passing it on to someone I care about. I definitely recommend it.

Sarah Blake writes a heart-wrenching story of love and war in America and Europe during WWII. Life was very different between these two continents and Ms. Blake shows us this with clarity and passion.

I really liked "The Postmistress". I liked the characters and the plot development. The opening pages are an interest grabber making the reader want to immerse themselves into the mystery. That is where the story falls short. There is no mystery. I was expecting bags of mail being "misplaced" but this was not the case. In the end, would those missing letters have really made a difference in the life of the intended recipient if she had received them? Those letters were more of an anchor than a main theme and I found them to be irrelevant and weak. However, there was an element of suspense and over all I really enjoyed "The Postmistress".

Set in the time of World War II, the story begins with Iris James, resident of a small town on Cape Cod, whose belief in order and in the system in her job as a postmistress encompasses everything she stands for in life. Iris is drawn to Harry Vale, the town's mechanic, who keeps watch of the ocean everyday searching for the German U boats he is certain will come. Also residents of the town, Will, the town's doctor, and Emma are newlyweds hoping to build a new life together. Meanwhile, radio gal Frankie Bard arrives in London. The two couples' lives, as well as Frankie's are entwined as she broadcasts a Europe ravaged by war: from London during the Blitz, to Occupied France as Frankie encounters thousands of refugees traveling on trains, and she desperately tries to get the right stories.

You may find the pace of the first 30 pages or so a bit slow, but after that you will not be able to put it down as it gains momentum and Frankie's perspective in the novel guides the heart of the story.

Written with vivid descriptions and poetic prose, Sarah Blake weaves a poignant and quietly remarkable story about the weight of truth, those who bear that weight, and, in the words of the author, a story "about the lies we tell ourselves in order not to acknowledge what we can't bear".

Is this a sad story? Perhaps. Sometimes people asked why anyone would read such "sad" stories, and although I don't always tell them, I believe it is because those stories have to be told, and they have to be read.