THE AIR RAID BOOK CLUB

By ANNIE LYONS

HEADLINE REVIEW

London, 1938: Gertie Bingham is struggling with the death of her husband, Harry. She wonders how she will continue to run their bookshop, as Harry was the one who had the ability to match customers to books. Gertie thinks about retiring to the seaside with her labrador, Hemingway, but fate has other plans for her.

A friend is helping to find temporary homes for German-Jewish children, whose parents have made the difficult decision to send them to England for safety, and Gertie agrees to take in a teen named Hedy.

Having never had kids, she finds it difficult to cope but Hemingway loves Hedy. Eventually they both realise that by combining forces they will survive the war. They keep the bookshop going as people need books more than ever.

When the German bombers come, Gertie and Hedy fill the air-raid shelter with books, both for reading and for insulation. They come up with the idea of a shelter book club. Together with neighbours and customers they have good discussions on everything from Winnie the Pooh to Wuthering Heights.

As the war progresses, the book club faces losses of friends and family, but continues to raise people’s spirits in those dark days. Even when the bookshop is badly damaged by a bomb, everyone joins in with the renovations. It was this amazing bond between Londoners and foreigners that kept the city going until better days arrived.

This book brought back all the stories my English grandparents and two aunts told me as a child. Everyone shared and helped where they could, whatever their age. regret reading it. to travel back in time and meet Nathaniel before he became a famous author.

I loved so many things about this novel – the writing style, how it shows that books can transport you to another world and the way in which it celebrates love in many different ways.

But it had flaws too. Some of the plot felt disjointed, especially the second half with Nathaniel. It needed a lot more to flesh it out and a stronger way to explain the magic.

Still, there were lots of lovely parts and if you’re a fan, you’ll likely not