Author: R.L. Bartram
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Author Online
Publish Date: November 4, 2011
Source: I received a copy from the author; however, this did not affect my review.
Why You're Reading This Book:
- You're a historical fiction fan
From Goodreads.com: "In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumours held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father's decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriends the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighbouring university that sets the seal on her future. After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteers but within months has gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria's initial attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous assault on Lord Kitchener resulting in her being interrogated as a spy, and later tempted to adultery. Now virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced to finding work as a common labourer on a run down farm, where she discovers a world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that Gerald will some day return that sustains her through the dark days of hardship and privation as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity."
My Two Cents:
"Dance the Moon Down" is a historical fiction story about Victoria, who lives in England during the beginning stages of World War I. It's a story of love and never giving up. I love reading accounts, both fictional and non-fiction by every day people living during extraordinary events so I was really interested to read this book. I enjoyed the story but parts of the telling fell flat for me.
The story itself was interesting and kept me reading. I really liked Victoria's character. It was really interesting to see how she changes throughout this book. She goes from not really understanding why England could possibly go to war to understanding and supporting all of the efforts of those around her as well as taking on some of them herself. It was definitely a fascinating transformation!
My main issue with this book is that the book told a lot rather than showed. We know exactly what the characters are thinking because we are told. Much of the narrative was explaining what was going on with the various characters instead of using action to show these things. There wasn't a lot of room at all to draw your own conclusions. I definitely thought there were some places where the book could have been edited and refocused on the showing rather than the telling.
Hmmmm... too bad - looks like it had potential.
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