⋙ PDF Gratis Gifts of War A Novel Mackenzie Ford 9780385528955 Books

Gifts of War A Novel Mackenzie Ford 9780385528955 Books

Download As PDF : Gifts of War A Novel Mackenzie Ford 9780385528955 Books

Gifts of War A Novel Mackenzie Ford 9780385528955 Books

After reading the reviews I wasn't so sure about this book, but after finishing it I have to say I really enjoyed it. I thought the storyline sounded a bit dramatic from the summary and kind of expected a more fluffy book. In fact I thought the story was very interesting and dynamic, which is partly due to the historical background as well as well-developed characters and good writing.


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Gifts of War A Novel Mackenzie Ford 9780385528955 Books Reviews

I literally stumbled on this novel in a 'all for one' (price) shoppe, the jacket instantly attracting my attention with its WW1 German 'Christmas celebration' in the trenches' photo! Stories of Allies and enemy meetings during a 1914 bleak Christmas eve throughout no man's land have always fascinated me, a haunting moment in a world gone crazy, never to be forgotten.
Mackenzie Ford (nom de plume for a well known British historian) captures his readers attention as he clearly explains his reasons for writing this bittersweet tale in an exclusive interview with (see notes and source below in 'About the Author').

Mackenzie Ford excels in this narrative with extensive historical knowledge, reflected in a myriad of details in 'Gifts of War', at its core, a multi faceted love story, or perhaps I should say stories, sure to grasp readers' romantic interest.
WW1 was a period like no other, with the beginning of new warfare, untried weapons and deadly ones, such as gas and zeppelins bombarding allied cities, following stupendous tactical errors leading to enormous casualties on both sides.

Descriptions of the British home front of 1914-1918 as few of us know of it, the losses and the hardships, the switches in gender's roles as women took on more responsibilities with men fighting in the trenches, the experiment of blood transfusions and its ultimate use on the battlefields, the new intelligence procedures, the resulting psychological aspects of warfare for those returning to civilian life afterwards and even their loved ones, all carefully explained.
Mackenzie Ford leaves no aspect of wartime unturned and as such his novel if fictional, represents for someone like me, the one single complete account of these years.

In the midst of the madness of Christmas 1914, British officer Hal Montgomery could not have foreseen the result of accepting a German officer's photograph and delivering it to Sam, his fiance, an English teacher. Wilhem hopes she will understand his sudden reason for leaving her as war erupted and will wait for him.

Grievously wounded, Hal is shipped home, the photograph in his belongings. Following his recovery, Hal's promise leads him to the Midlands and discovers the beautiful young woman has borne a child out of wedlock, her love for Wilhem stronger than ever.
Against the almost idyllic background of WW1 in the English countryside, Hal cannot help but fall in love with Sam, keeping the photograph and Wilhem's secret to himself.
When it appears Sam is soon to lose her teaching position owing to her unmarried state, Hal tells her he loves her and offers to take her and her son to London, as he has accepted a position in the intelligence department of the War Office.

Our story now moves to London, and through the author' eyes we discover a vivid home front as we find the three of them living now as a family, with Hal keeping his secret and Sam asking him to be patient with her as she cannot forget Wilhem.
As the conflicts continues in Europe, Hal's position rises up in the War department whilst Sam and her sisters who move in with them bring their shares of joy and grief in his life. His greatest happiness stems however of seeing Will, Sam and Wilhem's boy, grow and loving him as his own father.

Deftly woven through Hal and Sam's search for happiness, we meet Izzy, Hal's little sister, part of a specialized medical team experimenting with blood transfusions, a life saver on the battlefields. Her letters to Hal and her family allows us to experience from a woman's point of view the absurdity and horror of such a conflict.
In 'Gifts of War', we discover there are many sorts of love whilst we see the political and social upheavals brought on by the War which ultimately gives us a glimpse of the future for all sides. History after all has already dealt itself one more card.

Finally, there is a price to be paid for all lies yet this beautiful story offers us an unexpected twist. It all began you see with one act of faith betwixt enemy nations in the midst of a War which would end all wars or so they thought...

Obviously a keeper for me, and rating 5 stars!

As always, remember that unless stated otherwise, reviews reflect only my opinion!
Some information about our author here According to Random House, Mackenzie Ford is the nom de plume of a "well-known and respected writer of history whose books are published in seventeen languages. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the London Times, the Observer, the Spectator and the Sunday Times. He was for ten years a research associate at the Macdonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, during which time he wrote a book that was voted by Time magazine as one of the ten best books of 2006." Well out of that 2006 Time magazine top ten books - the only author that comes close to that description is Christopher Ricks. But he's a professor of poetry over at Cambridge. Hard to say - there's very little about Mackenzie Ford. In any case, Gifts of War is the first fictional work of this author and it will be interesting to watch how it does.

Gifts of War starts with the Christmas Siege of 1914 between Germany and Great Britain where on Christmas Day, the soldiers from both sides put down their weapons, met in the middle, swapped some gifts, cigarettes and stories. There was even a little Christmas tree that was decorated. They helped each other bury the dead that had fallen in between the two lines and after a few days, they resumed their war.

So Ford created a story based upon this occurrence, had two officers meet from the opposing sides and a pact is made between them. Apparently the German officer, Wilhelm Wetzler was schooled in Britain before the war and had a girlfriend there - he asks British Officer, Hal Montgomery to pass on to Samantha the girlfriend that he is well and is thinking of her. As it happens, Hal is shortly injured thereafter and is sent home. He travels to the town where Wetzler said his sweetheart lives and wouldn't you know it? That Montgomery fellow starts to fall for Wetzler's girl! Now he made a promise to Wetzler that he would pass on the message, but as he becomes more and more involved with Samantha, that promise begins to fade away.
Now close friends, Samantha asks Hal to keep a secret for her...and there we have a fairly complicated storyline that shows the effects that war has on people, as well as the bad behavior people exhibit whether a war is on or not - and the values of relationships in times of uncertainty. I thought this was a very intriguing book and it offered many depths. Aside from the enjoyment of reading about England during WWI - or rather ANYTHING on The Great War - as it is not as popular in literature as other wars & battles - the detail is rich with imagery and easy for the reader to immerse into the story.
Having said that, the only nick I have - is that there were many moments when the narrative ran dry - the structure lost its lyrical rhythm and was, well, choppy at times. Nonetheless, an enjoyable read and should be a very discussable one for groups regarding the ironies of war - while it takes away so much, it also offers opportunity and bounty to those who are willing to grab for it. However - the main discussion point is as it well should be - the value of one's word or a promise. For without your word, what have you then?
Enjoy the book!
Interesting story plot, beautifully written, with such real human traits and emotionions so that the characters became like family.
I found it easy and compelling to read and would highly recommend it.
Fascinating to read such intimacy about the war. Didn't like the end.
Kept me engaged like a good book should.
After reading the reviews I wasn't so sure about this book, but after finishing it I have to say I really enjoyed it. I thought the storyline sounded a bit dramatic from the summary and kind of expected a more fluffy book. In fact I thought the story was very interesting and dynamic, which is partly due to the historical background as well as well-developed characters and good writing.