Stephanie Jane recenzis The Helsingør Sewing Club de Ella Gyland
A sensitive portrayal
4 steloj
The Helsingør Sewing Club is an emotional dual-timeline novel which focuses on a less well-known aspect of the Second World War - less well-known to me as an English reader at least - which was the way in which the majority of the Danish population rallied round to help and protect Danish Jews when they received news that the occupying German forces planned a resettlement programme similar to that already inflicted on Jews elsewhere. Ella Gyland takes readers into the midst of one small, provincial community as its individual members wrestle with fear and their consciences as each strives to do the right thing under such difficult circumstances.
I was moved by the 1940s storylines and, actually, would have been happy had The Helsingør Sewing Club solely consisted of this historical narrative. Switching between that and the present day - where Cecilie is struggling in the aftermath of a hurtful …
The Helsingør Sewing Club is an emotional dual-timeline novel which focuses on a less well-known aspect of the Second World War - less well-known to me as an English reader at least - which was the way in which the majority of the Danish population rallied round to help and protect Danish Jews when they received news that the occupying German forces planned a resettlement programme similar to that already inflicted on Jews elsewhere. Ella Gyland takes readers into the midst of one small, provincial community as its individual members wrestle with fear and their consciences as each strives to do the right thing under such difficult circumstances.
I was moved by the 1940s storylines and, actually, would have been happy had The Helsingør Sewing Club solely consisted of this historical narrative. Switching between that and the present day - where Cecilie is struggling in the aftermath of a hurtful divorce - was distracting, although I can understand why Gyland might have wanted to illustrate the stark contrasts between the two time periods. I particularly appreciated seeing how each character determined where their lines would be drawn when faced with life-threatening choices. I felt the predicaments were sensitively portrayed with no one being wholly good or bad, and each of the main characters being fully realised. I'm glad to have had this opportunity to read The Helsingør Sewing Club and, based on the strength of this novel, will look out for more of Ella Gyland's work in the future.