Signed Firsts From Off-Site Events

Signed by John "Where's My Bacon?" Scalzi

This is the story of three women who ultimately come together in unanticipated ways. We are introduced to the Postmistress by Frankie Bard, a war correspondent who was way ahead of her time as a radio newswoman in pre-WWII Europe. The Postmistress, Iris James, is a spinster who comes to live and work in a small Massachusetts town where she becomes the center of many of its inhabitants’ stories simply by processing the mail for them. The story is also about the town’s doctor’s wife, whose husband has gone off to England to care for the victims of the Blitz, hoping to atone for a self-perceived wrong he is trying to make right.
Three things struck me right away about this engrossing debut. First, although the history lesson is not new, the way we experience WWII Europe and the Blitz is unique. Second, the writing is seamless and poetic, drawn from multiple points of view, often about the same events on the same day. And finally, The Postmistress is a comment on the lessons we learn from war and from life, where nothing is certain and we have no control over the outcome, particularly when we are at war.
We all know what the historical outcome of many of the events will be, but the futures of these three women are as uncertain as our own. From Amy Einhorn Books (whose first book, The Help, has gone on to appear on best seller lists everywhere).
-- tlg