Tag: WW2

Blog Tour: Port of No Return by Michelle Saftich

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I’m delighted to be participating in the blog tour today for Port of No Return by Michelle Saftich.  Port of Return, published in 2015, is the first book in a two book series.   The sequel, Wanderers No More, was published in 2017 and continues the story of the Saforo family, although it can also be read as a standalone.

WinYou can check out the full tour schedule here where, if you scroll right down to the bottom of the page, you can also enter the giveaway (INTL) for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.  Don’t hang about as entries close at 1:59pm EST on 27th April 2018.

I had been hoping to read and review Port of No Return for the tour but that didn’t work out.  Instead, here’s a few highlights from other stops on the tour

‘Such a beautiful and authentic look at war, humanity and the strength of family.’  Pursuing Stacie’s review of Port of No Return  

‘It would seem the desire to write is in my genes. I know it is strong. When I write, I write for hours. It’s hard to stop. When I’m not writing, I’m longing to be back at it.’  Michelle on her inspiration for writing at Dressed to Read

‘In writing these books, it was important to stay true to my father’s family and his journey, while giving the reader a sense of the time and place and the true historic significance of what took place, impacting on the futures of hundreds of thousands of people. I needed to be sensitive to them and their experiences.’  Michelle on what she found challenging about writing Port of No Return and Wanderers No More at Maiden of the Pages

Port of No ReturnAbout the Book

What can you do when you have nowhere left to call home?

Contessa and Ettore Saforo awake to a normal day in war-stricken, occupied Italy. By the end of the day, their house is in ruins and they must seek shelter and protection wherever they can. But the turbulent politics of 1944 refuses to let them be.

As Tito and his Yugoslav Army threaten their German-held town of Fiume, Ettore finds himself running for his life, knowing that neither side is forgiving of those who have assisted the enemy. His wife and children must also flee the meagre life their town can offer, searching for a better life as displaced persons.

Ettore and Contessa’s battle to find each other, and the struggle of their family and friends to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a devastating war, provide a rich and varied account of Italian migration to Australia after World War II.

Format: ebook, paperback (244 pp.) Publisher: Odyssey Books
Published: 31st July 2015                     Genre:  Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk  ǀ  Amazon.com  ǀ Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops) *links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Port of No Return on Goodreads

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Michelle SaftichAbout the Author

Michelle Saftich is a first time author who resides in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and two children. She holds a Bachelor of Business/Communications Degree, majoring in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). For the past twenty years, she has worked in communications, including print journalism, sub-editing, communications management and media relations. In 1999, she was named National Winner for Best News Story in the ASNA (Australian Suburban Newspaper Awards). Born and raised in Brisbane, she spent ten years living in Sydney; and two years in Osaka, Japan, where she taught English.

Connect with Michelle

Website  ǀ  Facebook  ǀ  Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

 

Blog Tour/Review: The Black Earth by Philip Kazan

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I’m delighted and honoured to be kicking off the blog tour for The Black Earth by Philip Kazan ahead of its publication on Thursday 19th April.  You can read my review of this wonderful novel set in wartime Greece below.

Do check out the tour schedule at the bottom of this post to see the other great book bloggers taking part in the tour over the next ten days.

The Black Earth CoverAbout the Book

1922: When the Turkish Army occupies Smyrna, Zoë Haggitiris escapes with her family, only to lose everything. Alone in a sea of desperate strangers, her life is touched, for a moment, by a young English boy, Tom Collyer, also lost, before the compassion of a stranger leads her into a new life.

Years later when war breaks out, Tom finds himself in Greece and in the chaos of the British retreat, fate will lead him back to Zoë. But he will discover that the war will not end so easily for either of them.

Format: ebook, hardcover (350 pp.)       Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 19th April 2018                        Genre: Historical Fiction

Pre-order/Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ  Hive.co.uk (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Black Earth on Goodreads

My Review

The theme of chance encounters, connections and convergence has featured in quite a few books I’ve read recently.  Whether that’s the working of fate, such as in From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan, or the concept of quantum entanglement – the idea that entangled particles remain connected and that actions performed on one affect the other even when separated by great distances – as in Oliver Loving by Stefan Merrill Block and Entanglement by Katy Mahood.  (Three great books, by the way.)

Following their first brief, chance encounter as young children in the chaos of Piraeus harbour, the reader follows the lives of Zoë and Tom through childhood until fate or destiny throws them together again in another chance meeting.  They will each in turn act as rescuer of the other but face separation, loss and traumatic experiences.   The connection they feel will help them make sense of the chaos around them, finding in it something pure and true amongst the horrors of war.

The Black Earth convincingly portrays the chaos and breakdown of society in time of war.   Particularly memorable is the depiction of the terrible suffering of the people of Athens, including near starvation, during the occupation by the Nazis during World War 2, and in the aftermath when the area descends into civil war.  I know the author drew on his own family history as inspiration for many of the events and some of the characters in the book which no doubt accounts for its sense of authenticity.

Amongst all the horror, however, the book shows that there are still opportunities for random acts of kindness, even in time of war, including the one that will change the course of Zoë’s life.  I was particularly moved by part three of the book in which the story is told partly through Tom’s letters describing his experiences and hopes for the future.  Reflecting what must have been the experience of many in wartime, the letters are written and sent more in hope than expectation of being received by the intended recipient; the correspondent not knowing, even, if the recipient is still alive to read them.

I absolutely loved this book, even though it put me through the emotional wringer.  The author kept me hoping and fearing, fearing and hoping right up until the last page.  I’m not ashamed to admit I shed a little tear at the end.   The Black Earth is highly recommended for fans of historical fiction who love a strong story based around real life events with engaging and believable characters.   I’m so glad to have been introduced to the writing of Philip Kazan and I can safely say The Black Earth won’t be the last book of his I read.

My sincere thanks to publishers, Allison & Busby, Emma Finnigan and Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my uncorrected proof copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Powerful, emotional, heart-breaking

Try something similar…The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford (click here to read my review)

Philip KazanAbout the Author

Philip Kazan was born in London and grew-up on Dartmoor in south west England. He is the author of two previous novels set in fifteenth-century Florence: Appetite, about the adventures of an early celebrity chef and The Painter of Souls, an imagining of the early career of the artist Fra Filippo Lippi.  As Pip Vaughan-Hughes, he also wrote the Petroc series – Relics, Vault of Bones, Painted in Blood and The Fools’ Crusade – following a thirteenth-century adventurer.

After living in New York and Vermont, Philip is back on the edge of Dartmoor with his wife and three children.

Connect with Philip

Website  ǀ   Twitter  ǀ  Goodreads

The Black Earth FINAL BT Poster