A novel return to Berkshire Anita Frank

Submitted: 8th November 2021

Travel to Berkshire with Anita Frank

A visit to a Berkshire farm is your travel destination for today. Anita Frank writes about a man who leaves for war having made a promise to his sweetheart. War changes everything and lives will never be the same again.

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Boarding Pass Information : The Return

Destination : Berkshire. The farming community during wartime

Author guide: Anita Frank. Author of The Lost Ones

Genre: Historical fiction set during wartime. Emotional and vivid.

Food and drink to accompany: Something homemade and hearty.

#Bookreview

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First of all, everyone knows how much I loved The Lost Ones so I was a bit nervous reading this but VERY excited too. This author is good. Very good and I was excited to find out where she was going to go next.

As for this novel, it’s very different but what a story! You think it’s going to be calm and quiet straight forward but nope. It’s calm on the surface but just wait until you see what’s going on underneath!

Quite simply, I was hooked from the start. People, I had questions. What did Jack do? Why did he run off? Who was Gwen and what was her story? There’s a lot to love here and as its set on a farm in rural Berkshire, you get to see her life, what life on a farm was like then and how women had to work. She has a romantic interest in the form of the son of the local lord of the manor. H0wever, when a certain man from Newcastle wanders into her life…. Being a Newcastle girl myself originally, I was quite intrigued with this!

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The pacing and writing were top notch. Even in quiet moments, the tension and underlying nuances of trouble ahead were palpable. Anita creates a world that you want to know more about. As someone who thinks farms and farming are very confusing and tough places to be, there were many fascinating facts about this industry and life then back in wartime. These local farms kept the country running and it was quite the eye opener. Peppering facts with this story of Gwen and Jack was really well done and it created a compelling picture.

The story was realistic and there were many unexpected moments, carpets whipped out from under your feet and it felt like the pace and style was mirroring the nature of life and work on the farm.

Quite simply, this is very cinematic in many ways. Very English Patient I’m imagining. Recommended by me!