War Crimes for the Home

Although I wanted to dislike Gloria for her courseness and low morals I couldn't. She was rather a sad character, yet at times made me laugh by her bluntness and the way she described others. Although I'm sure that this is not how the majority of girls behaved during the war, I'm equally sure that some did. It was a poignant and honest description of how people must have felt in times of war when you never knew if you'd see someone again whether it be your boyfriend/father/brother on a bombing mission or your neighbour in a bombing raid. Some of the descriptions reminded me of stories my parents and grandparents have spoken of; dying your legs with tea and trying to draw a straight seam up the back of your leg, food rationing, the Americans being 'over paid, over sexed and over here' and even the term "mind your own beeswax" rang a bell. I think Jenson managed really well to capture what it must be like to be old and living in a nursing home, feeling old one minute but still caught up in your memories that make you always remain young.

Although I wanted to dislike Gloria for her courseness and low morals I couldn't. She was rather a sad character, yet at times made me laugh by her bluntness and the way she described others. Although I'm sure that this is not how the majority of girls behaved during the war, I'm equally sure that some did. It was a poignant and honest description of how people must have felt in times of war when you never knew if you'd see someone again whether it be your boyfriend/father/brother on a bombing mission or your neighbour in a bombing raid. Some of the descriptions reminded me of stories my parents and grandparents have spoken of; dying your legs with tea and trying to draw a straight seam up the back of your leg, food rationing, the Americans being 'over paid, over sexed and over here' and even the term "mind your own beeswax" rang a bell. I think Jenson managed really well to capture what it must be like to be old and living in a nursing home, feeling old one minute but still caught up in your memories that make you always remain young.

Liz Jensen's highly unusual novel, "War Crimes for the Home," is filled with dark humor, grim realities, haunting glimpses of a bygone age, and canny insights into the pathos which reigned over English lives during WWII. The author's somewhat surrealistic narrative depicts and explores one woman's wartime experiences, the repercussions of her actions, and the impact these incidents will have on her and those she loves throughout their lifetimes. The blitz has begun and Gloria Winstanley is fighting and trying to survive the women's war, along with her sister Marje. Pure Cockneys, both of them, (although their folks moved down to Bristol when they were young), their battles are far different, less dramatic, from those of the men - the soldiers. The two young women, like millions of others, do not risk getting shot out of the sky nightly, or wait for days to be rescued from life boats after their ships sink under them, nor do they directly participate in crucial battles. "We queued for potatoes, and we went to the flicks and we heard bombs fall so often it was background noise, you didn't even bother to stop what you were doing when the Moaning Minnies started up, you just go on with your business, even if you was bombed out again and again and again like Mrs. Blathershite O'Malley. My war is a tiny little war compared to some. But mine stayed with me, and the things it made me do, they stayed with me too, but hidden." Gloria, as narrator, makes life in early 1940's England come alive - with its influx of gorgeous Yank soldiers and fly-boys, the pubs and clubs, jitterbugging, jazz and bebop, the cool slang of the period and the much looser mores that prevailed during wartime, when one had to grab what one could of life and hold-on tight. One lived for the moment because all too frequently, that was all there was. Of course there are and were consequences to living life on the edge. And sometimes when the consequences of one's deeds are too difficult to bear, they are repressed, forgotten, out of the need to maintain sanity. Way before anything worth forgetting occurs here, however, life is happening (!!), often bringing as much fun as danger. Both Gloria and Marje work in a munitions factory. Their mother died from cancer, their father is a prisoner of war in Japan. So, they're on their own - two beautiful blondes with no supervision or chaperone...and the times are wild and wooly! So are they! So are the Yanks! Marje's fiance Bobby, a fighter pilot, is frequently absent, leaving her bored but relatively faithful. Gloria has herself a hunky Yank boyfriend, Ron, from Chicago, a glamorous city, at least according to the movies. Ron seduces Gloria with the usual sweet talk and promises of marriage. He woos her with gifts - cans of syrupy peaches - the epitome of luxury for sugar-starved Brits. The food shortages are terrible. One special evening Ron invites Gloria to the theater to see the Great Zedorro, a hypnotist whose specialty is Mind C

I "discovered" Liz Jensen with her recent novel, "The Ninth Life of Louis Drax", and have been devouring her earlier novels as fast as I can. I couldn't put down "War Crimes for the Home". It's laugh-out-loud funny, but also a compelling mystery, and a touching story of love and loss. I dare anyone to get to know protagonist, Gloria, without in turns loving her and wanting to strangle her. Jensen's wonderful satiric skill rivals Fay Weldon. Those Brits sure can twist in the irony knife, too. Brava!

This was a book I could just not put down. I initially thought I could `read' the plot but every page had a twist or turn. Jumping back and forward in time from the war years to the present day, the author was able to reproduce the atmosphere I both settings. I felt empathy with all characters at some stage, the humour and sensitivity in which the whole story was unfolded makes it a wonderful masterpiece. I could read this book time and again.