Debbie Harpham
She never stops discovering and declaring her passion for books. We relish book reviews from Dorothy Caldwell Minor, aka The Book Whisperer.
A little about Dorothy:
“I am an avid reader and also enjoy Indie and foreign movies. I retired from teaching English at Tulsa Community College after teaching as an adjunct first and then twenty-four years as a full-time faculty member. I was also involved in faculty development, planning and facilitating workshops for colleagues. I like technology and using technology to enhance learning. As an adjunct, I started a book club on campus, and it is still going strong thirty-one years later! I also belong to two other book clubs.I’ve included a picture from a Chautauqua Tea at TCC, complete with hat and brooch! I enjoy collecting vintage rhinestone brooches.”
Dorothy’s book club, Circle of Readers:
“We meet twice monthly. The first of the month, we all read a book and discuss it; the second time we meet, we discuss other books we’ve read. We enjoy inviting authors to join us! We have 20 members, and we are located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. We are currently reading When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann and enjoy reading fiction, historical fiction, memoir, nonfiction, YA.”
A perfect title for the holidays, Dorothy recommends Last Christmas in Paris by Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor.
Dorothy’s review follows:
After reading a number of books set during WWII, my book club chose a WWI novel. Since the book was for our December meeting, we settled on Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb.
The story moves from 1968 back to the past and connects the characters through letters exchanged during WWI. Will Elliott and Thomas Harding, best friends, join the war effort in August 1914. Evie, Will’s sister, becomes a pivotal character in the story as she writes to both of the young men.
Other letters include Tom’s letters to his father and men who help run his family newspaper, Evie’s letters to and from her good friend Alice, and letters from Will to Evie. Through all of these characters, readers develop a strong sense of the relationships connecting the people in the story.
Tom and Will march off to war imbued with notions of bravery and expecting, along with the rest of England, to be home for Christmas. Of course, readers know the war lasts much longer than first expected and the atrocities of the war only grow uglier as the war drags on.
Watching the relationship develop between Tom and Evie from long-time friends to a romantic one is exciting to watch even as we know of the dangers Tom faces. The two find it difficult to express their true feelings, yet readers can see their childhood affection is growing into something far stronger as the letters continue to fly back and forth.
Naturally, the two encounter setbacks and difficulties that include loss, deprivation, and heartache. These troubles, in the long run, bring the two closer together.
The overriding theme is that the friends will all meet in Paris once the war is over. It is now Christmas 1968 and Tom, elderly and frail, is on his way to Paris with his caretaker where he will read Evie’s last letter to him. He has promised her he will save the letter to read in Paris on his last visit there.
Without spoiling the story, I will say that Tom and Evie learn a great deal about one another and themselves as they exchange letters while they are separated because of the war. The two always look forward to being back together and to spending Christmas in Paris.
The story brought tears to my eyes many times, but it also brought laughter to my lips as well. Last Christmas in Paris is well worth reading. For book clubs, the story will engender a spirited discussion. My book club members had plenty to say about the characters, the epistolary format of the story, and the period of time in which the majority of the story takes place.
Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb have books they have written separately and together. They are definitely authors readers and book clubs should know.
Heather Webb is available to visit with book clubs via NovelNetwork.com.
Be sure to visit Dorothy’s website, Parkdalear’s Blog, and watch for her reviews of our NovelNetwork authors featured there, and shared right here at NovelNetwork.com.