Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Berkley Books
Pages
371
Description
In London covering the Blitz with Edward R. Murrow, Frankie Bard meets a Cape Cod doctor in a shelter and promises that she'll deliver a letter for him when she finally returns to the United States. Filled with stunning parallels to today's world, "The Postmistress" is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women--and of two countries torn apart by war.
Description
What would happen if someone did the unthinkable-and didn't deliver a letter? Filled with stunning parallels to today, The Postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010-02
Physical description
371 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
0425238695 / 9780425238691
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Media reviews
Sarah Blake has coaxed forth a book that hits hard and pushes buttons expertly. Not for nothing does its publisher emphasize the resemblance between “The Postmistress” and “The Help,” Kathryn Stockett’s socially conscious pulp best seller. Each of these novels appropriates galvanizing
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social issues in the service of a well-wrought tear-jerker. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
Set on both sides of the Atlantic during the early months of WWII, this is a compelling novel that pulls us right into the lives of Iris James, the Postmaster at Franklin Mass on Cape Cod, Emma Fitch, new bride of the town's doctor, Harry Vale, a WWI vet who is convinced that the Germans will land
Miss James is determined to maintain order and discipline in her life. The mail will be stamped and delivered on time without pause. Harry Vale wants her to lower the Post Office's flag pole by several feet, claiming it serves as a beacon to Germans off-shore. Iris balks at that suggestion, but agrees to petition the postal department for permission.
Emma, still recovering from a feeling of being abandoned by parents who have died, clings to her husband trying to establish an identity in this small town. After listening to Frankie Bard's emotional broadcasts about the hardships being endured by the British during the bombing of London, and after other events I'll leave to the readers (I DON'T DO SPOILERS), Dr. Fitch leaves behind his practice, his town, and his bride to go to London to help the many victims of the bombings. He writes to Emma every night, and she mails him a letter every day. He promises he will return after six months. When his letters suddenly stop, Emma becomes more detached, and Iris, as she watches her continue to mail her daily letter, becomes more concerned.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Frankie meets Dr Fitch in an air raid shelter one evening, and emerges to find her apartment destroyed and her roomate (who had been covering the Jewish story) dead. She convinces Murrow to let her go behind the war lines into Germany to find out what is really going on with the Jews. She goes through France and Germany, gathering stories but not sure how (or whether) she will be able to tell them.
It is difficult to write about this story without spoiling the ending. It's not necessarily a mystery, but this is a nuanced, evolving study of the impact of trauma, callousness, abandonment, death, and cruelty on the human beings who must live through war, and whose ability to survive, whose very humanity is constantly tested. Frankie's stories of horror and personal suffering are particularly poignant and her mental anguish as she struggles to find a frame in which to report them, are a cogent and mesmerizing thread pulling us along to an inevitable and powerful ending.
I encourage the reader NOT to read the cover blurb. The 'hint' there about what is going to happen is overplayed, and comes so late in the story, that it is better left behind. The forceful march to the inescapable ending,and her exquisite character development make this a compelling page-turner. It is a five star read, and the reader needs no road map to enjoy the journey.
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a Uboat on Cape Cod; and of Frankie Bard, the radio reporter working with Edward R. Murrow during the Blitz in London.Miss James is determined to maintain order and discipline in her life. The mail will be stamped and delivered on time without pause. Harry Vale wants her to lower the Post Office's flag pole by several feet, claiming it serves as a beacon to Germans off-shore. Iris balks at that suggestion, but agrees to petition the postal department for permission.
Emma, still recovering from a feeling of being abandoned by parents who have died, clings to her husband trying to establish an identity in this small town. After listening to Frankie Bard's emotional broadcasts about the hardships being endured by the British during the bombing of London, and after other events I'll leave to the readers (I DON'T DO SPOILERS), Dr. Fitch leaves behind his practice, his town, and his bride to go to London to help the many victims of the bombings. He writes to Emma every night, and she mails him a letter every day. He promises he will return after six months. When his letters suddenly stop, Emma becomes more detached, and Iris, as she watches her continue to mail her daily letter, becomes more concerned.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Frankie meets Dr Fitch in an air raid shelter one evening, and emerges to find her apartment destroyed and her roomate (who had been covering the Jewish story) dead. She convinces Murrow to let her go behind the war lines into Germany to find out what is really going on with the Jews. She goes through France and Germany, gathering stories but not sure how (or whether) she will be able to tell them.
It is difficult to write about this story without spoiling the ending. It's not necessarily a mystery, but this is a nuanced, evolving study of the impact of trauma, callousness, abandonment, death, and cruelty on the human beings who must live through war, and whose ability to survive, whose very humanity is constantly tested. Frankie's stories of horror and personal suffering are particularly poignant and her mental anguish as she struggles to find a frame in which to report them, are a cogent and mesmerizing thread pulling us along to an inevitable and powerful ending.
I encourage the reader NOT to read the cover blurb. The 'hint' there about what is going to happen is overplayed, and comes so late in the story, that it is better left behind. The forceful march to the inescapable ending,and her exquisite character development make this a compelling page-turner. It is a five star read, and the reader needs no road map to enjoy the journey.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mrstreme
What happens when a message is not delivered – when a postmistress doesn’t deliver a letter or a reporter doesn’t tell a story? What if this letter or story contains the last words of the dead? Does it make it easier for loved ones to not read or hear these words? Or does the dead have a
Sarah Blake explores the spoken and written word in her compelling book, The Postmistress. The story focuses on the lives of three American women: Emma, the pregnant wife of a doctor tending to patients in London during the Blitz; Iris, the postmistress of a rural town where Emma lives; and Frankie, an American reporter broadcasting stories from London about the atrocities of the Blitz. While the United States had not entered World War II officially, the war’s effects had already befallen these women.
It’s Emma’s husband, Will, who brings these women together. Prior to his departure to London, he left a letter with Iris, asking her to deliver it to Emma should he die overseas. Then, while staying in a bomb shelter, Will meets Frankie and talks at length about his wife. After emerging from the bomb shelter, Will dies in the most ordinary of ways – a car accident – and Frankie is with him as he dies. In his pocket, Frankie find his last letter to Emma . Frankie keeps the letter but couldn’t mail it before embarking on her next assignment – to record the stories of Jewish refugees on trains en route to the Portuguese coast. As Frankie travels from train to train, Will’s letter stays in her pocket, a burning reminder of message she has not delivered.
The train stories were heart-breaking: Families trying to stay together; people avoiding slaughter; men and woman trying to remain hopeful despite the reality of their situation. This is where Blake shines, bringing every character to life, from Emma, Iris and Frankie, to the Jewish refugee who only occupies a page or two. Blake slights no one in her story. Though their time on the page might be short, these characters’ impact stays with you well beyond the last chapter.
The Postmistress is a bloodless war story that conjures powerful reactions to the characters who grace the book’s pages. Ultimately, it’s the story about hope, the effects of the war on civilians and the power of the written and spoken word. True to its theme, The Postmistress is as powerful as the messages entrusted to Iris and Frankie – a novel this reader won’t soon forget.
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right to the last word?Sarah Blake explores the spoken and written word in her compelling book, The Postmistress. The story focuses on the lives of three American women: Emma, the pregnant wife of a doctor tending to patients in London during the Blitz; Iris, the postmistress of a rural town where Emma lives; and Frankie, an American reporter broadcasting stories from London about the atrocities of the Blitz. While the United States had not entered World War II officially, the war’s effects had already befallen these women.
It’s Emma’s husband, Will, who brings these women together. Prior to his departure to London, he left a letter with Iris, asking her to deliver it to Emma should he die overseas. Then, while staying in a bomb shelter, Will meets Frankie and talks at length about his wife. After emerging from the bomb shelter, Will dies in the most ordinary of ways – a car accident – and Frankie is with him as he dies. In his pocket, Frankie find his last letter to Emma . Frankie keeps the letter but couldn’t mail it before embarking on her next assignment – to record the stories of Jewish refugees on trains en route to the Portuguese coast. As Frankie travels from train to train, Will’s letter stays in her pocket, a burning reminder of message she has not delivered.
The train stories were heart-breaking: Families trying to stay together; people avoiding slaughter; men and woman trying to remain hopeful despite the reality of their situation. This is where Blake shines, bringing every character to life, from Emma, Iris and Frankie, to the Jewish refugee who only occupies a page or two. Blake slights no one in her story. Though their time on the page might be short, these characters’ impact stays with you well beyond the last chapter.
The Postmistress is a bloodless war story that conjures powerful reactions to the characters who grace the book’s pages. Ultimately, it’s the story about hope, the effects of the war on civilians and the power of the written and spoken word. True to its theme, The Postmistress is as powerful as the messages entrusted to Iris and Frankie – a novel this reader won’t soon forget.
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LibraryThing member lit_chick
“War happens to people, one by one. That is really all I have to say, and it seems to me I have been saying it forever." – Martha Gellhorn, The Face of War
It’s 1940, and Iris James is the postmistress in coastal Franklin, Massachusetts.
Frankie Bard, also American and an aspiring young
What I Liked/Didn’t: Having read other novels about the London Blitz, Humphries’ Coventry comes to mind, I was familiar with several of the historical markers in The Postmistress. I like the idea that war happens to people, one by one, and I think Blake did well to choose a small town to illustrate the theme. Unfortunately, outside of Frankie, I did not find any of the characters particularly interesting. And the notion of tampering with the mail – even with good intention – is simply not one I find very credible.
It’s 1940, and Iris James is the postmistress in coastal Franklin, Massachusetts.
Frankie Bard, also American and an aspiring young
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journalist, leaves the comforts of home and travels to Europe where there is nothing between her and the war. Almost immediately, she finds herself employed in radio. Broadcasting from overseas, Frankie begs listeners to pay heed: to the London Blitz, to the unthinkable persecution of Jews right across Europe. But her story falls on the deaf ears of naiveté. Back home, the people of Franklin do not believe the war can touch them. Iris James, like Frankie, also has a story to tell about the war – stories which arrive daily and have yet to be imagined by the townspeople of Franklin. There will come a time for both women, when, in spite of their jobs, they find themselves unable to deliver the news.What I Liked/Didn’t: Having read other novels about the London Blitz, Humphries’ Coventry comes to mind, I was familiar with several of the historical markers in The Postmistress. I like the idea that war happens to people, one by one, and I think Blake did well to choose a small town to illustrate the theme. Unfortunately, outside of Frankie, I did not find any of the characters particularly interesting. And the notion of tampering with the mail – even with good intention – is simply not one I find very credible.
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LibraryThing member Limelite
The possibility of an original plot making this a strong novel is ruined by the overwriting, the too often purple prose, and the awkward structure. No reader's interest can be held by an endless birth scene broken up into more than one chapter, interrupted by an interlude spent with other
Hit the FF button and move on to the only really interesting bits about the American woman who joins Edward R. Murrow's staff, broadcasting domestic "frontline" war stories from London. She is the impetus to the novel's action more than the eponymous character.
And that is a fatal error in any novel -- to create a "secondary" character who far outweighs and demands more attention than the indicated protagonist. What Blake does best is create an authentic period feel. But that is not enough to save this novel from "forgettable." Even Cassidy's excellent narration can not inject originality and vividness to lift the novel out of the doldrums.
I've persevered through half the discs, but doubt I'll insert any more into my player.
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characters in a different location, all in an effort to generate mounting tension and suspense over a plot point that had been well telegraphed and can surprise no one.Hit the FF button and move on to the only really interesting bits about the American woman who joins Edward R. Murrow's staff, broadcasting domestic "frontline" war stories from London. She is the impetus to the novel's action more than the eponymous character.
And that is a fatal error in any novel -- to create a "secondary" character who far outweighs and demands more attention than the indicated protagonist. What Blake does best is create an authentic period feel. But that is not enough to save this novel from "forgettable." Even Cassidy's excellent narration can not inject originality and vividness to lift the novel out of the doldrums.
I've persevered through half the discs, but doubt I'll insert any more into my player.
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LibraryThing member tculkin
The book had great potential, with the intent to link the lives of three very different women just before America's entrance into WW II.
There is the proper postmistress for whom routine is all, the adventurous war correspondent with the Upper east side pedigree, and the young innocent orphan who
The book also had great locales -- a small Cape Code Village (a thinly-disguised Provincetown), London during the blitz, and a train-ride through German-occupied towns in Eastern Europe. Great locales always keep you guessing, and therefore reading on.
Sadly, the book hardly delivers on the character links, and the character development for each stalls out early on. It's as if the author had a too-thin template for story and character, and not enough familiarity with those times or imagination to recreate them.
It recycles the same boring ruminations of each for way too many chapters, and still never really closes in on the connections.
This book is genuine disappointment, and like some other books, such as Courtenay Sullivan's "The Commencement", is overly-praised by early reviewers and pundits alike.
There is the proper postmistress for whom routine is all, the adventurous war correspondent with the Upper east side pedigree, and the young innocent orphan who
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recently became the local doctor's wife -- the potential for intersecting the lives of these three in these simpler times is very high. The book also had great locales -- a small Cape Code Village (a thinly-disguised Provincetown), London during the blitz, and a train-ride through German-occupied towns in Eastern Europe. Great locales always keep you guessing, and therefore reading on.
Sadly, the book hardly delivers on the character links, and the character development for each stalls out early on. It's as if the author had a too-thin template for story and character, and not enough familiarity with those times or imagination to recreate them.
It recycles the same boring ruminations of each for way too many chapters, and still never really closes in on the connections.
This book is genuine disappointment, and like some other books, such as Courtenay Sullivan's "The Commencement", is overly-praised by early reviewers and pundits alike.
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LibraryThing member schwager
What a beautifully written book! The author’s storytelling vividly brought to life the sleepy little town of Franklin, Massachusetts and World War II Europe. The characters were rich and multidimensional, and Sarah Blake took the time to develop each thoroughly. The language is perfectly
As other reviewers have noted, however, there appears to be a discrepancy between the undelivered letter noted in the book flap, the introductory chapter, and the main events of the book. This is more like a hiccup in the story than a speed bump, however, and did not distract from the otherwise magnificent storytelling.
Highly recommended!
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descriptive, delivering the reader to a historically accurate 1940s. As other reviewers have noted, however, there appears to be a discrepancy between the undelivered letter noted in the book flap, the introductory chapter, and the main events of the book. This is more like a hiccup in the story than a speed bump, however, and did not distract from the otherwise magnificent storytelling.
Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
The book is set in Europe and Massachusetts at the beginning of WWII. The plot follows three women, the local postmaster, Iris, a young doctor's wife, Emma and Frankie, a radio reporter stationed in London.
The sections revolving around Frankie were by far my favorite. Blake has her travel, by
I never felt very connected to Iris or Emma (especially Emma). Their experiences seemed so distant from the passionate experiences of Frankie. Emma seemed to float along, never making any actual decisions in her life. She let things happen to her and then felt victimized afterwards. I did like Iris' interaction with Henry, a man in the small Massachusetts town, but was frustrated by, what seemed to me, like a really unnecessary ending.
I felt like the plot, which supposedly revolved around a postmistress deciding whether or not to deliver a letter, wasn't the true plot at all. It was one tiny part, that shouldn't have been the center of the book. That whole premise felt like a distraction rather than the central moving force of the story. To me, the point was Frankie's experiences, her struggle to understand what she had seen and decide what she should share about it. The book had some wonderful parts, but over all I didn't love it.
The sections revolving around Frankie were by far my favorite. Blake has her travel, by
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train, back and forth throughout Europe trying to talk to Jews who are being forced to flee their homes. Frankie also experiences a disconnect with regular society, similar to a soldier returning home. I also loved the minor character of Otto, an Austrian Jew living in the US. His character reminded me of Joe Fenchel, the German-American in East of Eden. I never felt very connected to Iris or Emma (especially Emma). Their experiences seemed so distant from the passionate experiences of Frankie. Emma seemed to float along, never making any actual decisions in her life. She let things happen to her and then felt victimized afterwards. I did like Iris' interaction with Henry, a man in the small Massachusetts town, but was frustrated by, what seemed to me, like a really unnecessary ending.
I felt like the plot, which supposedly revolved around a postmistress deciding whether or not to deliver a letter, wasn't the true plot at all. It was one tiny part, that shouldn't have been the center of the book. That whole premise felt like a distraction rather than the central moving force of the story. To me, the point was Frankie's experiences, her struggle to understand what she had seen and decide what she should share about it. The book had some wonderful parts, but over all I didn't love it.
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LibraryThing member Carmenere
"It gets you thinking about all the parts in a story we never see...the parts around the edges." Sarah Blakes new novel The Postmistress is sure to get many a reader thinking about the parts around the edges of this engrossing story.
Ms. Blake expertly captures a period in time back when mail was
Iris, the Postmaster of Franklin on the other hand, delivers the mail. She is the source the residents of this town go to and depend upon to have their personal information passed on to the intended receiver with efficiency and aplomb
Both are very skilled at their job, most of the time......
Ms. Blakes characters are well formed, believable and stong. She has an uncanny knack for creating atmosphere in two locals which are an ocean apart.
I, at first. found the transition between scenes at times abrupt but I took it to indicate how lives suddenly change, how random and horrible things happen at the drop of a dime. As the story progressed I found the transitions to be less obtrusive.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel to those who like historical fiction or to anyone who enjoys a well written and thought provoking story. Sarah Blake delivers!
Ms. Blake expertly captures a period in time back when mail was
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sorted by hand and radio waves carried the news of the day. It is 1940 pre-war in Franklin, Massachussets but the Blitz is on in London, England and Frankie Bard is there to professionally deliver the latest news to those at home. She wants to inform people in the U.S as to what atrocities are happening in London and across Europe. The reaction to those on the receiving end of her radio signal in Franklin react with either indifference or as a call to action. Iris, the Postmaster of Franklin on the other hand, delivers the mail. She is the source the residents of this town go to and depend upon to have their personal information passed on to the intended receiver with efficiency and aplomb
Both are very skilled at their job, most of the time......
Ms. Blakes characters are well formed, believable and stong. She has an uncanny knack for creating atmosphere in two locals which are an ocean apart.
I, at first. found the transition between scenes at times abrupt but I took it to indicate how lives suddenly change, how random and horrible things happen at the drop of a dime. As the story progressed I found the transitions to be less obtrusive.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel to those who like historical fiction or to anyone who enjoys a well written and thought provoking story. Sarah Blake delivers!
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LibraryThing member jcwlib
I rate this book in my top 10 of books I read this year. I could not put the book down and the writing just drew me in. I've always had a fascination with World War II even since I did a report on Schindler's List in high school. I think also my fascination comes from trying to understand what that
The Postmistress follows the lives of three woman - Iris, Frankie & Emma - as they cope with the war and telling the truth. Frankie Bard is an American who broadcasts on Edward Murrow's radio show the conditions in London during the Fall of 1940. She learns to capture the scene through her vivid storytelling and calm voice. Back in the states, Emma and her new husband Will, the local doctor, listen to Frankie's stories every night. One night after losing a patient, Will decides he wants to join up with the war effort and help out in London. Emma cannot understand why he wants to go to the war and leave her all alone in Franklin, Massachusetts.
Iris, the local postmistress in Franklin, keeps tabs of the residents via their mail. She has a crush on Henry Vale the owner of the local gas station. Their courtship starts slowly and grows into an urgency of love and caring that only wartime "fears" can create. Henry is sure that the Germans will send their U-boats to attach the US. He anxiously scans the coast line every day looking for the first sign of their coming.
After Frankie loses a journalist friend - Hannah - to the bombings, she is determined to take up Hannah's cause of showing the world what is happening to the Jews in Europe. She persuades Murrow to let her go into the field in France and Spain and capture the voices of the travelers as they try to escape the war.
Sarah Blake intertwines these lives together both in Franklin and in London. She allows the reader to feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. Many times I felt I could picture Frankie in the bomb shelter or Emma sitting on the porch waiting for Will to come home. Although the title suggests the main character is Iris - it is Frankie that ends up connecting everyone together. I definitely recommend this book.
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time period was like here in the US and what my grandparents lived through. The Postmistress follows the lives of three woman - Iris, Frankie & Emma - as they cope with the war and telling the truth. Frankie Bard is an American who broadcasts on Edward Murrow's radio show the conditions in London during the Fall of 1940. She learns to capture the scene through her vivid storytelling and calm voice. Back in the states, Emma and her new husband Will, the local doctor, listen to Frankie's stories every night. One night after losing a patient, Will decides he wants to join up with the war effort and help out in London. Emma cannot understand why he wants to go to the war and leave her all alone in Franklin, Massachusetts.
Iris, the local postmistress in Franklin, keeps tabs of the residents via their mail. She has a crush on Henry Vale the owner of the local gas station. Their courtship starts slowly and grows into an urgency of love and caring that only wartime "fears" can create. Henry is sure that the Germans will send their U-boats to attach the US. He anxiously scans the coast line every day looking for the first sign of their coming.
After Frankie loses a journalist friend - Hannah - to the bombings, she is determined to take up Hannah's cause of showing the world what is happening to the Jews in Europe. She persuades Murrow to let her go into the field in France and Spain and capture the voices of the travelers as they try to escape the war.
Sarah Blake intertwines these lives together both in Franklin and in London. She allows the reader to feel the emotions that the characters are feeling. Many times I felt I could picture Frankie in the bomb shelter or Emma sitting on the porch waiting for Will to come home. Although the title suggests the main character is Iris - it is Frankie that ends up connecting everyone together. I definitely recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member ccayne
Quiet story about the impact of war on those who experienced it from the outside. Iris, the postmistress, Emma, the Will's wife, and Frankie, a journalist. Frankie's radio broadcasts draw each of these women and Will a doctor into the lives of people affected by the battles in Europe. They all see
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through the war through individuals, not the military and government. Will and Frankie believe in doing what must be done to help the people in places being ravaged by bombs and prejudice. Their beliefs are questioned to the core the more they become involved. Iris and Emma experience the war through letters and Frankies' continued broadcasts. It is a quiet powerful book. Show Less
LibraryThing member tshrope
Romance trying to be literature.
LibraryThing member writestuff
Frankie Bard is a young journalist at the height of her career when she finds herself in London during the Blitz, walking the streets and finding the stories which she is tasked with reporting objectively. An ocean away, in the small (fictional) town of Franklin on the tip of Cape Cod, Iris James
The Postmistress seesaws back and forth from Europe to America. When a routine child birthing goes horribly wrong, Will decides to go to London, hoping to make a difference. He leaves behind Emma who walks each day to the post office to pick up Will’s letters and leave her own to find their way back to him. Meanwhile Frankie reports the news from London – news which touches the people of Franklin, and which, for many, is too much for them to hear. As the Blitz continues with bombs falling nightly on London, Frankie begs her boss to send her into France where it is rumored that Jewish people are being rounded up. When her wish is granted, the war suddenly becomes very personal to Frankie.
Surely God ought to look down and see that one part of the story had been separated from the other, and find a way, somehow, to put them side by side. How could He stand these gaps, these enormous valleys of silence? And Europe was full of people vanishing into this quiet. – from The Postmistress, page 218 -
For Iris, a woman who has always prided herself on delivering the mail faithfully, there comes a moment when a letter arrives which she chooses to keep undelivered. She decides instead, to keep watch, to take care, to safeguard another from harm.
The Postmistress is historical fiction, but it is so much more. This is not your typical war story – instead it tells the individual stories which slide around the edges of the war.
Those tiny red lights in the dark going forward and moving away, those single Lucky Strikes, that’s what it was to be human. We lived and died, all of us – lucky strikes. Single lights and voices in the dark. – from The Postmistress, page 165 -
I found myself mesmerized by this novel which examines the very human need to shield ourselves and those we love from horror. While America sat isolated across an ocean, tens of thousands of people were being rounded up, murdered, and imprisoned – and yet that story was one which went largely unreported in the early years of WWII. When Frankie Bard decides to capture the voices of the Jews riding the trains through Europe, she is stunned by their stories. She is overwhelmed that for many of these people, she will never know what happens. The weight of this knowledge silences her – and she becomes a journalist who can no longer tell the story and deliver the news.
Some stories don’t get told. Some stories you hold on to. To stand and watch and hold it in your arms was not cowardice. To look straight at the beast and feel its breath on your flanks and not to turn – one could carry the world that way. – from The Postmistress, page 342 -
What I found most memorable about this book – apart from the poignant, beautifully crafted writing – was how the message it delivers is as current today as it was in the early 1940s. The character of Frankie keeps telling everyone “Pay attention.” Life itself depends on this for one of the characters, but in the larger picture what Frankie is saying is to take notice, learn from our mistakes, sit up and be aware, don’t look the other way. Who among us does not wish to shut off the nightly news when it gets a little too raw or violent? Don’t we sometimes want to deny others’ suffering lest it make us feel that we must do something instead of nothing? Throughout history wars have been fought, human rights have been disregarded, and the suffering of others has been buried beneath political messages. What Blake so aptly does in her novel is put a human face to the horror of war and to remind us that looking away has consequences.
The Postmistress has been getting rave reviews everywhere – and they are well deserved. Blake’s writing is sensitive, observant, and filled with the simple truths of what makes us human. I loved this book. I loved its tempo, its characters, and its message. I found nothing between its pages to criticize. Readers of historical fiction as well as literary fiction will be swept away by The Postmistress.
Highly recommended.
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works as the postmistress. Dedicated to her job, she believes that order and rules will keep everyone safe. Iris’s only risk in life is in love as she begins to envision a future with Harry Vale who spends hours high in the tower of the town hall, searching the waters for German U-boats. Also living in Franklin is Emma, newly wedded to the town’s doctor, Will. America has yet to enter the war raging in Europe and no one can imagine that they could possibly be in danger. But for each character, the war will touch their lives.The Postmistress seesaws back and forth from Europe to America. When a routine child birthing goes horribly wrong, Will decides to go to London, hoping to make a difference. He leaves behind Emma who walks each day to the post office to pick up Will’s letters and leave her own to find their way back to him. Meanwhile Frankie reports the news from London – news which touches the people of Franklin, and which, for many, is too much for them to hear. As the Blitz continues with bombs falling nightly on London, Frankie begs her boss to send her into France where it is rumored that Jewish people are being rounded up. When her wish is granted, the war suddenly becomes very personal to Frankie.
Surely God ought to look down and see that one part of the story had been separated from the other, and find a way, somehow, to put them side by side. How could He stand these gaps, these enormous valleys of silence? And Europe was full of people vanishing into this quiet. – from The Postmistress, page 218 -
For Iris, a woman who has always prided herself on delivering the mail faithfully, there comes a moment when a letter arrives which she chooses to keep undelivered. She decides instead, to keep watch, to take care, to safeguard another from harm.
The Postmistress is historical fiction, but it is so much more. This is not your typical war story – instead it tells the individual stories which slide around the edges of the war.
Those tiny red lights in the dark going forward and moving away, those single Lucky Strikes, that’s what it was to be human. We lived and died, all of us – lucky strikes. Single lights and voices in the dark. – from The Postmistress, page 165 -
I found myself mesmerized by this novel which examines the very human need to shield ourselves and those we love from horror. While America sat isolated across an ocean, tens of thousands of people were being rounded up, murdered, and imprisoned – and yet that story was one which went largely unreported in the early years of WWII. When Frankie Bard decides to capture the voices of the Jews riding the trains through Europe, she is stunned by their stories. She is overwhelmed that for many of these people, she will never know what happens. The weight of this knowledge silences her – and she becomes a journalist who can no longer tell the story and deliver the news.
Some stories don’t get told. Some stories you hold on to. To stand and watch and hold it in your arms was not cowardice. To look straight at the beast and feel its breath on your flanks and not to turn – one could carry the world that way. – from The Postmistress, page 342 -
What I found most memorable about this book – apart from the poignant, beautifully crafted writing – was how the message it delivers is as current today as it was in the early 1940s. The character of Frankie keeps telling everyone “Pay attention.” Life itself depends on this for one of the characters, but in the larger picture what Frankie is saying is to take notice, learn from our mistakes, sit up and be aware, don’t look the other way. Who among us does not wish to shut off the nightly news when it gets a little too raw or violent? Don’t we sometimes want to deny others’ suffering lest it make us feel that we must do something instead of nothing? Throughout history wars have been fought, human rights have been disregarded, and the suffering of others has been buried beneath political messages. What Blake so aptly does in her novel is put a human face to the horror of war and to remind us that looking away has consequences.
The Postmistress has been getting rave reviews everywhere – and they are well deserved. Blake’s writing is sensitive, observant, and filled with the simple truths of what makes us human. I loved this book. I loved its tempo, its characters, and its message. I found nothing between its pages to criticize. Readers of historical fiction as well as literary fiction will be swept away by The Postmistress.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member JackieBlem
I've read a lot of books that have examined life in the early days of WWII, but never one like this. Blake's novel concentrates on 3 American women during 1940-41. One is an ambitious reporter fighting the glass ceiling of war reporting over in Europe who finally gets the opportunity of a lifetime
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that ends up completely changing her life. Another is a somewhat OCD postmaster (it's actually incorrect, according to her, to call her postmistress) working in a small town near Cape Cod who struggles with her need for rules and order and her need to love and connect with people. The third woman is a timid young doctor's wife who must find strength she doesn't think she has in circumstances she never planned for. Each of them personify attitudes that were taken about the war in those days before Pearl Harbor, each of them bring to light an aspect of 1940s womanhood, each of them is a complex character that is hard to forget. The opening quote, from Martha Gelhorn, is perfect: "War happens to people, one by one." This is what comes alive in this book and makes it resonate long after the last page is turned. Show Less
LibraryThing member bibliophileofalls
I thought this book was quite intriguing. The characters were believable and interesting. The picture of London during the WWII bombing was very real. The three women highlighted were so very different and yet so indispensible to the story. I bit too descriptive at times, it almost could have
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dragged, but for me, it didn't. I few surprises. Would recommend. Show Less
LibraryThing member jo2son
"What if a letter with important, life changing news never reaches the recipient?" Undelivered news plays a part in this skillfully woven story of multiple characters in different places during the early days of World War 2. The United States has not yet joined the war. An American radio reporter
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goes to London and then to Europe to report first hand what she sees and tell about the people she meets. This is a well written story about ordinary people in extraordinary times. Show Less
LibraryThing member bermudaonion
While war is raging in Europe, Postmaster Iris James is on a train returning to her hometown of Franklin, Massachusetts, and she notices an unfamiliar woman on the train. She quickly realizes that she’s Emma Fitch, the town doctor’s new wife. The two women’s lives become entangled when Dr.
In the meantime, Frankie Bard is an American reporter, living and working in Europe. Her stories have captivated the people of Franklin, so they feel like they know her. After a harrowing and heartbreaking tour through parts of Europe, she feels the need to return to the US and make a visit Franklin.
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is the story of three women on the eve of America’s involvement in World War II. The story is told in the third person, but it alternates between the perspectives of the three women. I thought this worked very well, because their perspectives were so different – one was witnessing the horrors of war, one was fearing for the safety of her husband and the third didn’t feel an immediate threat at all.
The beginning of The Postmistress was a little slow for me, since there are a lot of characters to keep track of and the shifts in the storyline were abrupt at times. It didn’t take long for the writing and the story to suck me in, though. Sarah Blake’s writing is gorgeous and I think she did a great job with the characters in the book because I felt an affinity for each one of them. I also think she did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the times – from the use of cigarettes, to the attitudes of the people. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction or women’s fiction.
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Fitch feels the need to go to Europe to see how he can help the war efforts.In the meantime, Frankie Bard is an American reporter, living and working in Europe. Her stories have captivated the people of Franklin, so they feel like they know her. After a harrowing and heartbreaking tour through parts of Europe, she feels the need to return to the US and make a visit Franklin.
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is the story of three women on the eve of America’s involvement in World War II. The story is told in the third person, but it alternates between the perspectives of the three women. I thought this worked very well, because their perspectives were so different – one was witnessing the horrors of war, one was fearing for the safety of her husband and the third didn’t feel an immediate threat at all.
The beginning of The Postmistress was a little slow for me, since there are a lot of characters to keep track of and the shifts in the storyline were abrupt at times. It didn’t take long for the writing and the story to suck me in, though. Sarah Blake’s writing is gorgeous and I think she did a great job with the characters in the book because I felt an affinity for each one of them. I also think she did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the times – from the use of cigarettes, to the attitudes of the people. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction or women’s fiction.
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LibraryThing member tahoegirl
This was the worst WWII fiction book I have read. I wasn't expecting much, but I was disappointed. Nothing happens and one of the main characters is a coward! Don't waste your time on this one, read The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society instead.
LibraryThing member kiwifortyniner
This story is set in both England, America and Europe during World War 2 and it tells the story of three women. There is Iris, the postmistress in a small town in Massachussets, Emma the doctor's wife newly arrived in the same town, and Frankie a radio reporter stationed in London. After the death
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of a woman Emma's husband feels compelled to leave his wife behind and travel to London to help in the war effort there. Back home Iris and Emma listen to Frankie's reports on the radio while in London Frankie has a brief encounter with the Doctor, which leaves a strong impression on her. She feels compelled to travel to Massachussets to deliver the letter that he has given her for his wife. It is not an easy letter to deliver. It is because of this that I think that she is the postmistress of the story not Iris the actual postmistress in the town. But this to me is not the main part of the story. It is Frankie's experiences in London and travelling around Europe talking to people that made the greatest impression on me. I did not feel the other characters were so well developed although I did feel empathy for Emma new to the town being left behind while her husband took off to London. I had heard a lot about this book before I read it but I did not like it as much as I expected too. Show Less
LibraryThing member bkladyatl
Set in America and London in 1940 & 1941 the Postmistress chronicles the life of three very different women whose lives become intertwined.From Franklin, Cape Cod (really Provinetown) to London during the horror of the Blitz to the desperate Jewish refugess trying to escape the Nazis, this
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beautifully written novel will be a favorite for a long time to come. I really connected with the characters and did not want the book to end. Highly reccommended Show Less
LibraryThing member NWADEL
..She kept speaking into the microphone, her eyes on the man across from her, whose fingers had closed on the button. And she started to hum-Da da da Dum....
A line from one of my favorite parts of the book. When I first started reading this book, I had a hard time understanding the writing but
My favorite character is Frankie - she a tough-bold reporter, willing to face anything for "the story". My least favorite is Iris - she seems like a snobbish prude. The other players in the story are Harry, the towns "watchman", he believes the Germans are coming and he keeps watch for them. Otto is a quiet man in the town and everyone thinks he's a "Kraut" and the town people are leary of him, thinking he's a spy.
I highly recommend this book!
A line from one of my favorite parts of the book. When I first started reading this book, I had a hard time understanding the writing but
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after reading Ms. Blakes explanation of why she wrote it the way she did, it all came into perspective. The author intertwines the reporter and the war with the families at home, doing their normal daily routine, not affected by it. The title The Postmistress leaves the question, Who IS the Postmistress? The story set in 1940-41, early World War II, main characters are Emma, newly married to Dr Will Fitch. Iris, the postmaster of the little Cape Cod town. Frankie, a radio news reporter for Edward R Murrow, reporting in London. Dr Will Fitch, the small Cape town doctor, gets the news that Maggie is in labor and goes to her. In the meantime- Frankie Bard finds herself in the middle of the bombing, running for cover, lands in a bomb shelter. What happens to Dr Fitch and to Frankie, changes their lives forever and Iris, the postmaster, does the unthinkable, holding onto a letter, keeping it a secret. This book isn't a shooting, bloody war story its about emotion. About how the people that are not in the war don't want to hear about it, don't want it to affect their life but in the end, if affects everything. It doesn't add up.My favorite character is Frankie - she a tough-bold reporter, willing to face anything for "the story". My least favorite is Iris - she seems like a snobbish prude. The other players in the story are Harry, the towns "watchman", he believes the Germans are coming and he keeps watch for them. Otto is a quiet man in the town and everyone thinks he's a "Kraut" and the town people are leary of him, thinking he's a spy.
I highly recommend this book!
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LibraryThing member bookaholicmom
The book jacket description led me to believe that book would be about what happens when a letter is not delivered. That may have happened in the story but I'm not sure if that was the main idea in the story. There was a lot going on in this book. I did find the first chapters tough to get through.
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The story and transitions did not flow well for me at all. Then about chapter 6 it all came together for me. I did enjoy the story then. The 3 main female characters all seem to have their own story going on. Iris is the quirky postmaster in Franklin Massachusetts, who I found to be very odd. Emma is the new wife of the town's doctor and seems like a duck out of water. She has a tough time fitting in. Frankie is reporting on the war over in London. She is probably my favorite character in the book. She changes and grows as a result of what she witnesses in Europe. In the end, the 3 characters and their stories intertwine and then the story makes sense. Sarah Blake did a fine job describing what was going on over in Europe as well as what the feeling was over here in the United States at the time. If you like historical fiction and you can get through the first 6 chapters the story is worth reading. I can't help but wonder if the description of the book had been different if I would have liked the book more. Show Less
LibraryThing member taramatchi
I liked that the perspective was the American front before entering the war, it was a fresh perspective. The characters were well developed and each were strong in their own ways, three very different women all connected in one way. My only critique is that the ending felt unfinished, it may be
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different when it actually is published, I felt that similar to Frankie's news stories there was no follow up. No way to know what happened to the characters. Did they become friends and keep contact? Hmmm. Show Less
LibraryThing member nfmgirl2
I had a really hard time getting into this book, and in the beginning I almost gave it up. But I told myself to give it 100 pages. If I didn't "feel it" by then, I would abandon it. The writing style in beginning of the book was so manic and clipped that I had a hard time following it. It didn't
But around chapter four things shifted, and became more enjoyable for me. I got a handle on who I was dealing with in the story, and the dialogue flowed.
The time is 1940, and on the other side of the world a war is engaged. When the book starts out, America is relatively unaffected by the war. We see the idyllic life of a young girl Emma, freshly married and moving to be with her new husband Will in a quiet northeastern coastal town. Will is the town doctor, and he and Emma are young, naive and in love, but Will has his own ghosts to deal with.
At the same time we are introduced to the Postmistress Iris. Actually we are introduced to Iris in the opening chapters of the book before anyone else in a very odd way, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone by disclosing how we are introduced to her.
But I will say that Iris seemed symbolic to me of the US at this time-- intact and untouched. Likewise Will and Emma sort of start out this way, young and in love and warm and cozy in their little cocoon. But then the cruelties of life begin to creep in and the cocoon begins to unravel.
We are also introduced to Frankie Bard- a reporter covering the story in Europe. Tough and somewhat "untouchable" in the beginning, she softens as the story goes on, becoming much more vulnerable.
It's funny. The first 50 pages were my least favorite of the book, and the last 50 were my most enjoyable.
This book was "okay". It just wasn't consistent for me. I'd like it, then it would drag, then I'd like it, and then it'd drag. I'd connect with moments, but for the most part I felt somewhat detached from the story. It just never really did "grab" me.
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"flow" for me. I have to assume that this was intentional, displaying the mania of the war and the brevity of life. I felt no connection to the characters. I couldn't even keep the characters straight, and didn't know who was who. But around chapter four things shifted, and became more enjoyable for me. I got a handle on who I was dealing with in the story, and the dialogue flowed.
The time is 1940, and on the other side of the world a war is engaged. When the book starts out, America is relatively unaffected by the war. We see the idyllic life of a young girl Emma, freshly married and moving to be with her new husband Will in a quiet northeastern coastal town. Will is the town doctor, and he and Emma are young, naive and in love, but Will has his own ghosts to deal with.
At the same time we are introduced to the Postmistress Iris. Actually we are introduced to Iris in the opening chapters of the book before anyone else in a very odd way, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone by disclosing how we are introduced to her.
But I will say that Iris seemed symbolic to me of the US at this time-- intact and untouched. Likewise Will and Emma sort of start out this way, young and in love and warm and cozy in their little cocoon. But then the cruelties of life begin to creep in and the cocoon begins to unravel.
We are also introduced to Frankie Bard- a reporter covering the story in Europe. Tough and somewhat "untouchable" in the beginning, she softens as the story goes on, becoming much more vulnerable.
It's funny. The first 50 pages were my least favorite of the book, and the last 50 were my most enjoyable.
This book was "okay". It just wasn't consistent for me. I'd like it, then it would drag, then I'd like it, and then it'd drag. I'd connect with moments, but for the most part I felt somewhat detached from the story. It just never really did "grab" me.
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LibraryThing member CatholicKittie
I didn't like the Postmistress by the awesome Sarah Blake right away and if not for my book club giving me the ARC with the promise I would read it, I wouldn't have finished. Blake is so talented that it oozes from every page so it was easy to fight through the stuggling to get past the boredom.
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The book is beautifully written. And though a lot of people had a problem with the jumpy, choppy flow of the book as well as found it confusing. Even though it took me about 5 chapters to get into the book I understood what she was doing. She was demonstrating the feel of wartime the only way she possibly could in a book, that would do it more justice than just saying it blandly. War is unpredictable, its not straight forward and it has a way of effecting different people, different ways for one event a thousand different rays go in a billion directions. That gets choppy a little less than chaotic. The holocaust is a big dirty inhumane stain on humanity's history and how we ignored it for so long is a even bigger atrocity to our history. This book is a snap shot of how it effected different people, of different types. It was candid and honest as well as true to life. I just like my books wrapped up in a happy little bow and neatly handed to me at the end. Not the case with this book. No happy all is well bow. No neatly and no bow at all. This was complex. Realistically so. I started reading this book feeling like I was on the cuspate of a book so great the world was going to fall in love with it. I still believe it to be so. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is so real it almost doesn't feel like fiction. It plays out like a movie in my head. Or a story being told to me by a grandmother. People who like this type of stuff will eat this book up. They will laugh. They will cry. They will find themselves stuck with this book inside of them for times to come. It makes you feel, it makes you hurt. These people are closer to you than most anyone else it seems and their pain, joys and relationships are real. And your emotions will be raw when finished. So no, I did not like this book. I lived it. I recommend you live it with me. Show Less
LibraryThing member nbmars
This is the story of three women and three men whose lives all unexpectedly intersect in the early war years of 1940 and 1941.
Iris James is the new postmaster in Franklin, Massachusetts. Her devotion to order makes her well-suited for the job. Emma Trask is also new to town, having married the
The book moves back and forth among the women, their men, and their lives. What brings them all together is the mail, and the repercussions when a critical piece of mail is not delivered. The characters themselves wonder: what happens when someone stops a piece of mail from getting delivered? Does it do more harm than good? Is it ever justified?
This microcosmic conundrum is echoed in the macrocosm of the story: what happens when a whole subset of information is not conveyed? ...when those in America did not know what was really happening in Europe or Russia? ...when war news was transmogrified from the truth of horror and death to a more palatable series of vignettes? Does it do more harm than good? Is it ever justified?
Much of the story concerns the characters' reactions to deaths that occur both in sleepy Franklin and in war-torn England and Europe. Will can't accept the deaths in Franklin, but finds the aleatory nature of death in England to be exciting: a game of Russian roulette, in which the stakes are critical, and a positive outcome exhilarating. Each of the women has a different reaction to death - different from Will's, and different from each other. But all of the women have a much more empathetic involvement with the dead than Will, for whom death is mainly a reflection of his own state of mind.
The plotline is reasonably innovative, and the writing is spare, although sometimes the writer tries to be too literarily cute with a sacrifice in meaning. For example, one night when Emma and Will are talking:
"…what you’re doing won’t add up. It’s not right. Or good. …He shifted in the dark. Right. Good. The old words sounded in his ears like capes for kings.”
Wha?!!!
Will again, talking to Frankie:
"And one day, I got it. I lifted my head from the child’s chest I was listening to and realized, with a shock of relief: whatever is coming, comes.”
Wha?!!!
And in fact, many of Will’s pronouncements are of that sort.
Blake can be much better when she speaks through her women:
"Nearly asleep that night, Harry put his hand, heavy and warm, on the spot between Iris’s breasts, on the bone. And she smiled. The heaviness, the himness there right in the middle of her chest, on her chest, rested there, keeping her in the bed, keeping her here. It had never occurred to her that she was looking for a tether. She had thought she was the one who sped things along, the one who sent things on their way, but there she was for the first time, delivered.”
Evaluation: This wasn’t a fabulous book, but not a bad one either. I did my usual sobbing at the end. [Nota bene: it doesn't take much for me to start sobbing!] And there is a handy little afterwards that mentions what is true in the book and what was changed to help the storyline.
Iris James is the new postmaster in Franklin, Massachusetts. Her devotion to order makes her well-suited for the job. Emma Trask is also new to town, having married the
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young town doctor, Will Trask. And Frankie Bard is a woman radio reporter in Europe, whose war reports they all listen to, and who comes to Franklin with the stories she hasn’t told. The book moves back and forth among the women, their men, and their lives. What brings them all together is the mail, and the repercussions when a critical piece of mail is not delivered. The characters themselves wonder: what happens when someone stops a piece of mail from getting delivered? Does it do more harm than good? Is it ever justified?
This microcosmic conundrum is echoed in the macrocosm of the story: what happens when a whole subset of information is not conveyed? ...when those in America did not know what was really happening in Europe or Russia? ...when war news was transmogrified from the truth of horror and death to a more palatable series of vignettes? Does it do more harm than good? Is it ever justified?
Much of the story concerns the characters' reactions to deaths that occur both in sleepy Franklin and in war-torn England and Europe. Will can't accept the deaths in Franklin, but finds the aleatory nature of death in England to be exciting: a game of Russian roulette, in which the stakes are critical, and a positive outcome exhilarating. Each of the women has a different reaction to death - different from Will's, and different from each other. But all of the women have a much more empathetic involvement with the dead than Will, for whom death is mainly a reflection of his own state of mind.
The plotline is reasonably innovative, and the writing is spare, although sometimes the writer tries to be too literarily cute with a sacrifice in meaning. For example, one night when Emma and Will are talking:
"…what you’re doing won’t add up. It’s not right. Or good. …He shifted in the dark. Right. Good. The old words sounded in his ears like capes for kings.”
Wha?!!!
Will again, talking to Frankie:
"And one day, I got it. I lifted my head from the child’s chest I was listening to and realized, with a shock of relief: whatever is coming, comes.”
Wha?!!!
And in fact, many of Will’s pronouncements are of that sort.
Blake can be much better when she speaks through her women:
"Nearly asleep that night, Harry put his hand, heavy and warm, on the spot between Iris’s breasts, on the bone. And she smiled. The heaviness, the himness there right in the middle of her chest, on her chest, rested there, keeping her in the bed, keeping her here. It had never occurred to her that she was looking for a tether. She had thought she was the one who sped things along, the one who sent things on their way, but there she was for the first time, delivered.”
Evaluation: This wasn’t a fabulous book, but not a bad one either. I did my usual sobbing at the end. [Nota bene: it doesn't take much for me to start sobbing!] And there is a handy little afterwards that mentions what is true in the book and what was changed to help the storyline.
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Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2011)
British Book Award (Shortlist — 2011)
Exclusive Books Boeke Prize (Shortlist — 2010)
Massachusetts Book Award (Must-Read (Longlist) — Fiction — 2011)
Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice (Literary)
Call number
FIC J Bla