Stephanie Jane recenzis Stars in the Night de Clare Rhoden
Emotional and beautifully written
4 steloj
The Great War was said at the time to be 'the war to end all wars' yet warfare has raged in one form or another, in one nation or another, across the globe ever since. The Great War still holds a unique place in history though and I felt that Rhoden does a wonderful job in this novel of bringing the Australian soldiers' experiences to life. She has obviously thoroughly researched her subject and I appreciated the authenticity reflected in The Stars In The Night. The novel begins whn Harry is an elderly man, just after his wife has died, and his granddaughter, Kate, wants him to talk about an old notebook she has found amongst her grandmother's possessions. For Kate the notebook is a historical artefact, but its contents are still very real and vivid to Harry. Rhoden then takes us back in time to witness Harry signing up …
The Great War was said at the time to be 'the war to end all wars' yet warfare has raged in one form or another, in one nation or another, across the globe ever since. The Great War still holds a unique place in history though and I felt that Rhoden does a wonderful job in this novel of bringing the Australian soldiers' experiences to life. She has obviously thoroughly researched her subject and I appreciated the authenticity reflected in The Stars In The Night. The novel begins whn Harry is an elderly man, just after his wife has died, and his granddaughter, Kate, wants him to talk about an old notebook she has found amongst her grandmother's possessions. For Kate the notebook is a historical artefact, but its contents are still very real and vivid to Harry. Rhoden then takes us back in time to witness Harry signing up to fight so we can understand why he chose to do so, and see how the war he experienced was so horrifically different to what the young soldiers expected.
I loved Rhoden's character creations. Everyone felt genuine and I could appreciate less well known ideas such as Irish mother Ellen's being so against her Australian son signing up to fight an English war. Even though this family lived thousands of miles away, European ideas were still important to them and the men were keen to fight for Britain in a war that otherwise would not have reached Australian shores. A lot of the war scenes are understandably difficult to read because Rhoden doesn't shy away from the grim realities of trench life. This harshness is countered though by the heart warming bonds formed between most of the soldiers. We also see how the war remained with them for decades after the conflict itself had ended. Australia was a very different place when they returned and lots of their traditional job roles were either no longer there or had been taken by women. Expectations altered drastically in the 1920s and trying to cope with this while also suffering from physical and mental war damage must have been such a struggle for many families including Harry's as we see here. The Stars In The Night is an emotional and beautifully written reminder of a war that should never be forgotten.