In David Baldacci’s novel, Strangers in Time, in 1944 the Luftwaffe’s bombs are raining down on London. Charlie’s parents and grandfather have been killed and he is living with his Gran in a tiny flat in Bethnal Green; Molly’s parents had sent her away in 1939 to Leiston, a village in the country, hoping she would be safe there, but Molly aged fifteen has now made her way back to London after her father’s payments have stopped coming; Ignatius lives above The Book Keep, the bookshop he inherited from his wife.
This book recreates the horror and hopelessness the people of London experienced through World War 2. It also tells the story of an unlikely alliance that becomes a life long bond. David Baldacci’s mastery with words conjures up the indiscriminate destruction and also the every day search for enough to eat and even for shoes that fit. I hated to think of Charlie hobbling about in his too-small shoes.
I had a small problem with Charlie’s dialogue. East Enders don’t necessarily take the ‘g’ off every word that ends with ‘ing’, and ‘quid’ is not a collective term, such as ‘cash’. A quid is just a pound; and ‘ain’t’ can only mean ‘am not’, ‘is not’ or ‘are not’. Oh, and one more tiny thing: Australians don’t have ranches, they have cattle properties, sheep properties or farming properties.
That little niggle aside, it was a good, atmospheric story that didn’t shy away from the fact that people still commit crimes in wartime as well as acts of heroism and humble kindness. Ignatius appears to be a good, kind man although the children are not so sure, and Molly has to unravel the mysterious disappearance of her parents. I think I see a movie in the making.
Published by Pan Macmillan
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