World War I, the Great War, The War to End All Wars- you may have studied it in school or learned about it on the media during the recent 100 year Remembrance. But let’s see the war through the eyes of one regular man from Australia. Learn more about this well-researched and moving story. I am sharing my review and there is a Giveaway!
“Harry Fletcher is a confident young man, sure that he will marry Nora, no matter what their families say. He will always protect Eddie, the boy his father saved from the gutters of Port Adelaide.
Only the War to End All Wars might get in the way of Harry’s plans…
From the beaches of Semaphore to the shores of Gallipoli, the mud of Flanders to the red dust of inland South Australia, this is a story of love, brotherhood, and resilience.”
Purchase Links:
http://odysseybooks.com.au/titles/the-stars-in-the-night-new/
JENA’S REVIEW
The Stars in the Night by Clare Rhoden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The War to End All Wars ended on November 11, 1918. Our feelings of the Australian character and nation that exist today have their origins in the War and Anzac Day is commemorated as a national holiday in Australia. From a vantage of 100 years, author and historian Clare Rhoden shows us the experience of The Great War through the eyes of one Australian man.
The main character in this haunting historical fiction is Australian Harry Fletcher, and what a hero he is. “He didn’t notice other men looking to him for what to do next, because others had watched him for the lead all his life.”
Harry wasn’t wealthy, and he wasn’t educated. He worked in his family’s bakery and helped take care of his large family after his father died. He had a strong bond with his foster brother Eddie, a foundling that his father took in.
Harry was born to be a leader. He decided that the right thing to do was to enlist and fight for the British Empire. Of course, Eddie came, too.
“They’d been apprenticed to war as to a pernicious master, one who demanded heart and soul as well as body.” Harry and Eddie’s war started in Gallipoli in 1916, and then they served in France and Flanders. Conditions were horrible, but Harry was solid and realistic and did his best. By the end of the war, life had been harsh with Harry.
“He was Harry Fletcher and he was not finished yet.” He went back to Australia and once again, he did his best.
The blurb for this book explains the story well. “From the beaches of Semaphore to the shores of Gallipoli, the mud of Flanders to the red dust of inland South Australia, this is a story of love, brotherhood, and resilience.”
The author writes in a haunting and emotional style that will transfix you. The bond between Harry and Eddie was of a type that many people have probably not experienced. The cover of the book evokes the mood of the story. It looks similar to photos I have seen of the war zone near Chateau Wood.
This book truly moved me and I am thankful I read it. As I know mainly about the involvement of the U.S. in the War, which didn’t occur until the last year of the war, it would have helped me if there had been more details about the actual battles. But, I can see, that the author was not writing about World War 1 so much as she was writing about one man’s soul.
I will also note for readers, that the first part of the book shifts frequently between 1970 and 1915- 1917 and this confused me at first. But, once the story cast its spell, I found this to be a haunting read.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for a review copy. This is my honest review.
Jena C. Henry, April, 2019
Author Bio –
Clare Rhoden writes historical fiction, sci-fi and fantasy (check her titles at Odyssey Books http://odysseybooks.com.au/). Clare lives in Melbourne Australia with her husband Bill, their super-intelligent poodle-cross Aeryn, a huge and charming parliament of visiting magpies, and a very demanding/addictive garden space.
Clare completed her PhD in Australian WWI literature at the University of Melbourne in 2011, and a Masters of Creative Writing in 2008, in which she investigated the history of her grandparents who emigrated for Europe to Port Adelaide in January 1914. The Stars in the Nightis the result of her research.
Social Media Links –
Website: https://clarerhoden.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clareelizabethrhoden/
Instagram: @clarerhodenauthor
Twitter: @ClareER
Giveaway to Win a signed copy of The Stars in the Night, a metal poppy brooch made by a Melbourne craftswoman, and a cross-stitch poppy card. (Open Internationally)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494214/?
About the Author
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