The Chilbury Ladies Choir
By Jennifer Ryan
Copyright 2017
In 1940, during World War II, the women in the English village of Chilbury, in Kent near Dover, form a ladies choir under the direction of a local music teacher after most of the men join the armed forces. The women’s music not only heals them but brings hope and comfort to those in Chilbury and neighboring villages that are bombed by the Germans. The story is told mostly through letters and diary entries by various women affected by the war during the spring and summer months.
Some parts of the plot could have been better resolved at the end. An epilog written from the point of view of one of the characters would have sufficed for that purpose.
Otherwise, I can appreciate the message this book delivers about the healing power of music during times of tragedy. In the recorded version I downloaded, each character is narrated by a different person, and snippets of songs referenced are interjected to add a nice touch.
After reading this book, I’m inspired to sing for you now this song. Since it wasn’t composed until 1941, The Chilbury Ladies Choir wouldn’t have sung it during the book’s time span. But the song offered hope to those in war-torn England and other locations.
New! The Red Dress: A Novel
When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.
Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.
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My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds
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That’s Life: New and Selected Poems
How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver
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Thank you, Patty, for the re-blog.
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