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- South African authors - Fiction - |
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Clare's War |
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 Clare's War byAnita Burgh Orion Books 340 pages, 2000 ISBN 0 75282 560 7 Reviewed by our South African Editor, Merilyn Tomkins adams.west@saol.com - Adams Bookshop, Durban, SA Anita Burgh's bestselling new book is the epic story of one woman's journey though an occupied country at war with itself. The year is 1938. Clare is banished from home as her family hold her responsible for the death of her sister in a car accident. Just seventeen years old, Clare is sent to a small finishing school in Paris to complete her education. Relishing her newfound freedom and relieved to be away from arguments and accusations, she is having far too good a time to notice the gathering clouds of war. France is invaded and Clare is trapped, though happy to be so when her French lover Fabien is reported missing. Clare is determined to find him, and despite her wish not to become involved, she is drawn into the chaos and suffering around her. Clare promises to take four children to Spain, unaware that this is Resistance work and that the children come from Jewish families. Clare feels she has to do something to help France - the country and the people she has come to love. In the process, she pays a terrible price. The people she loves dearly either disappear or die terrible deaths. Clare is also arrested and tortured in order to obtain information which fortunately she does not have. As we share Clare's journey through a war-torn land, trusting no-one, she changes from a wilful, irresponsible girl to a loving woman. Through appalling suffering to eventual happiness, this book will move the reader to tears. There is also a delightful twist in the tale in the last chapter. A worthwhile read, and an interesting insight into the risks the Maquis were prepared to take to obtain arms and fight for liberation. Clare's War shows Anita Burgh at the top of her storytelling form. |
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