Historical reading challenge 2013 - The Road Between Us

Here is my second review for the Historical reading challenge. The Road Between Us by Nigel Farndale.

I’ve just finished reading this amazing book and then after a few minutes just began to sob, as the complexities of what I had just finished reading all sank in. I’m not going to outline the plot because the book blurb does that but just to say that two stories one set in 1940’s and one in 2012 seem so unconnected at first, then there are tenuous links and then they rush together at the end, with the full impact of them combining and hitting you.

To read the book is almost effortless, it’s like a story being told to you by an old friend. It has an almost autobiographical feel to it, like the author really lived and saw these scenes he describes. The writing is captivating, even though at times the storyline is gruesome and too vivid and gory to want to read, you do read it because it draws you in. I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn’t reading it.

I couldn’t put this book down and read it over 4 days whilst travelling to and from work – which is my usual reading time, but then in the evenings too as I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

I’ve never read anything by this author before, but I am now going to search out his other work, because if it is as good as this, it should not be missed.