The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow
Aug. 17th, 2014 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The war brought them together and then tore them apart.
As the Nazis storm Europe, Lily Verner becomes an apprentice at her family’s silk weaving factory. When they begin to weave parachute silk, there is no margin for error; one tiny fault could result in certain death for Allied soldiers.
The war also brings Stefan to Lily: a German Jewish refugee who works on the looms. As their love grows there are suspicions someone is tampering with the silk.
Can their love survive the hardships of war?
And will the Verner’s silk stand the ultimate test?
Recently widowed Lily Verner is forced to confront her memories of World War II when her granddaughter announces plans to do a charity parachute jump. As an 18-year-old in 1938, Lily’s plans to attend a Swiss finishing school were stopped by Europe’s growing slide into war and she instead becomes a reluctant apprentice at the family’s silk weaving factory.
When she and her elder brother, John, meet the dashing Robbie Cameron, they secure the factory’s future by winning a valuable contract to weave parachute silk for the government. But it’s not easy to make parachute silk - the slightest mistake can cost an airman his life – and the pressure to deliver is immense. Help arrives in the form of Jewish émigrés, Stefan, Kurt and Walter who have fled Germany for a better life. Lily finds herself torn between Stefan and Robbie just as anti-German feeling rises and when suspicions grow that someone is tampering with the silk, the German boys are the prime suspects …
Liz Trenow’s historical romance novel draws on her family’s history in the silk industry in a solidly written debut that examines Britain’s more disreputable actions in World War II. The best scenes are those in the silk factory with Trenow conveying the atmosphere and production complexities but I also enjoyed the aftermath of an air raid on London as Lily and her father go to check on the company’s head office. What makes this book stand out from other World War II dramas is the exploration of the treatment meted out to German Jewish refugees – I’d been unaware that some were sent to internment camps in Australia after war broke out. Unfortunately, while there’s some good writing here the dialogue has an overly earnest gosh golly quality to it at times and contained modern idioms. I also couldn’t take to Lily, who’s extraordinarily passive character, which I could have accepted given the confines of the time but supporting characters keep telling her how strong and competent she is without any evidence to support that. I was particularly disappointed that she never confronts the bullying Robbie about his treatment of her. I also wish that more had been made of Gwen Collins, a lesbian who works in the factory and who forms a friendship with Lily. Despite these flaws though, this was a solid enough read and I would check out Trenow’s other work.
The Verdict:
Liz Trenow’s historical romance novel draws on her family’s history in the silk industry in a solidly written debut that examines Britain’s more disreputable actions in World War II. The best scenes are those in the silk factory with Trenow conveying the atmosphere and production complexities but I also enjoyed the aftermath of an air raid on London as Lily and her father go to check on the company’s head office. What makes this book stand out from other World War II dramas is the exploration of the treatment meted out to German Jewish refugees – I’d been unaware that some were sent to internment camps in Australia after war broke out. Unfortunately, while there’s some good writing here the dialogue has an overly earnest gosh golly quality to it at times and contained modern idioms. I also couldn’t take to Lily, who’s extraordinarily passive character, which I could have accepted given the confines of the time but supporting characters keep telling her how strong and competent she is without any evidence to support that. I was particularly disappointed that she never confronts the bullying Robbie about his treatment of her. I also wish that more had been made of Gwen Collins, a lesbian who works in the factory and who forms a friendship with Lily. Despite these flaws though, this was a solid enough read and I would check out Trenow’s other work.
As the Nazis storm Europe, Lily Verner becomes an apprentice at her family’s silk weaving factory. When they begin to weave parachute silk, there is no margin for error; one tiny fault could result in certain death for Allied soldiers.
The war also brings Stefan to Lily: a German Jewish refugee who works on the looms. As their love grows there are suspicions someone is tampering with the silk.
And will the Verner’s silk stand the ultimate test?
Recently widowed Lily Verner is forced to confront her memories of World War II when her granddaughter announces plans to do a charity parachute jump. As an 18-year-old in 1938, Lily’s plans to attend a Swiss finishing school were stopped by Europe’s growing slide into war and she instead becomes a reluctant apprentice at the family’s silk weaving factory.
When she and her elder brother, John, meet the dashing Robbie Cameron, they secure the factory’s future by winning a valuable contract to weave parachute silk for the government. But it’s not easy to make parachute silk - the slightest mistake can cost an airman his life – and the pressure to deliver is immense. Help arrives in the form of Jewish émigrés, Stefan, Kurt and Walter who have fled Germany for a better life. Lily finds herself torn between Stefan and Robbie just as anti-German feeling rises and when suspicions grow that someone is tampering with the silk, the German boys are the prime suspects …
Liz Trenow’s historical romance novel draws on her family’s history in the silk industry in a solidly written debut that examines Britain’s more disreputable actions in World War II. The best scenes are those in the silk factory with Trenow conveying the atmosphere and production complexities but I also enjoyed the aftermath of an air raid on London as Lily and her father go to check on the company’s head office. What makes this book stand out from other World War II dramas is the exploration of the treatment meted out to German Jewish refugees – I’d been unaware that some were sent to internment camps in Australia after war broke out. Unfortunately, while there’s some good writing here the dialogue has an overly earnest gosh golly quality to it at times and contained modern idioms. I also couldn’t take to Lily, who’s extraordinarily passive character, which I could have accepted given the confines of the time but supporting characters keep telling her how strong and competent she is without any evidence to support that. I was particularly disappointed that she never confronts the bullying Robbie about his treatment of her. I also wish that more had been made of Gwen Collins, a lesbian who works in the factory and who forms a friendship with Lily. Despite these flaws though, this was a solid enough read and I would check out Trenow’s other work.
The Verdict:
Liz Trenow’s historical romance novel draws on her family’s history in the silk industry in a solidly written debut that examines Britain’s more disreputable actions in World War II. The best scenes are those in the silk factory with Trenow conveying the atmosphere and production complexities but I also enjoyed the aftermath of an air raid on London as Lily and her father go to check on the company’s head office. What makes this book stand out from other World War II dramas is the exploration of the treatment meted out to German Jewish refugees – I’d been unaware that some were sent to internment camps in Australia after war broke out. Unfortunately, while there’s some good writing here the dialogue has an overly earnest gosh golly quality to it at times and contained modern idioms. I also couldn’t take to Lily, who’s extraordinarily passive character, which I could have accepted given the confines of the time but supporting characters keep telling her how strong and competent she is without any evidence to support that. I was particularly disappointed that she never confronts the bullying Robbie about his treatment of her. I also wish that more had been made of Gwen Collins, a lesbian who works in the factory and who forms a friendship with Lily. Despite these flaws though, this was a solid enough read and I would check out Trenow’s other work.
