"A tale of family and the impact that war can have, in its many manifestations. Engaging throughout and well-written."
Description
The Farm is a gripping historical thriller that intertwines a Nazi POW’s assassination plot with a woman’s harrowing choice in post-war America. Set against the backdrop of 1940s Tennessee, it explores themes of women's rights, societal expectations, and the enduring impact of war.
The Farm is a provocative historical thriller set in post-WWII America.
When wounded Nazi prisoner of war Olaf "Ollie" Weber escapes from a POW camp in Tennessee, he embarks on a chilling mission: assassinating President Truman. Ginger "Snaps" Wright, a struggling actress, inadvertently helps Ollie escape. After Ollie attacks Snaps, leaving her pregnant and him dead, she faces the difficult realities of an unexpected pregnancy in the mid-1940s. Due to Army regulations, Snaps must decide whether to carry the fetus to term or terminate it, making her confront a heartbreaking choice.
This timely exploration of women's rights and abortion is set against the backdrop of post-war Southern America, offering a poignant glimpse into the era’s social and economic hardships. The Wright family, dealing with grief and loss, searches for new purpose in the changing landscape. The massacre at Malmedy, a Nazi war crime that claimed the life of Snaps' brother-in-law, adds historical weight to the story.
From the author of the acclaimed novel Gettysburg by Morning, The Farm is a captivating tale of love, loss, and the enduring resilience of the human spirit.
Reviews
Randy O’Brien cements his reputation as one of our finest historical novelists. The Farm is an epic story that takes a family from the brutal battlegrounds of World War II Europe to the rural fields of Tennessee, where thousands of German POWs worked on farms. But not all POWs were so patient. When one SS prisoner goes rogue, it nearly destroys a family and sets one young woman on an unexpected journey. Once you start Randy O’Brien’s The Farm, you won’t be able to put it down.
The Farm brings together careful historical research and an innovative plot in the story of a would-be starlet and a Nazi prisoner, set in a rural Tennessee POW camp. Randy O’Brien once again shines a light on a little-known page of history in this World War II novel, following his well-received Civil War book, Gettysburg by Morning.
A kindhearted young woman’s good intentions go horribly awry. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, The Farm weaves a tale of post-World War II upheaval, personal aspirations, and family bonds. Randy O’Brien’s spellbinding, bittersweet read is a clear winner.
