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A Talented Author With A Historian’s Eye

Revisado: 09-23-19

One of the most difficult things to write is a historically accurate novel set in the recent past and Ellie Midwood does it exceptionally well. What makes the task all the more daunting is that the author sets the story in one of the most historically well documented times and places, France at the beginning of the German occupation. To appreciate what the author has accomplished it helps if you remember that we are three to four generations removed from World War II. Author’s who were contemporary with events – Hemingway, Dos Passos, Styron, Stein, and Vonnegut to name a few – have transferred to the blue ethers. The authors of the “Greatest Generation” are also all but gone, having written about these events either from the perspective of being present in their early 20s at the time or from their own historical research. Midwood, like internationally recognized historical author Ben Pastor (AKA Maria Verbena Volpi) is intimately familiar with her topic and time period. Where other authors achieve verisimilitude through cribbing from reports, essays, and the works of first generation authors, Midwood is at ease with her surroundings and owns this time period in a way that allows her characters to live in them seamlessly. The reader soon stops doing a mental inventory of events that are pending based on history and is quickly lost in the story. Without sharing any spoilers, the author has given us narrative that reminds us that life continues under all circumstances, that war more than any other area of human activity defines our times. What makes this more jolting is that once you realize you’ve settled into the immediate, personal narratives of the characters then you realize that these characters, like yourself, are not living their lives relative to what we deem a defining event in history. The characters are living with the immediate realities of a world overthrown, events that were far from predestined and are articles of faith in our world are still developing in theirs. It is a story that is most satisfying, will have you looking forward to the next installment. But most importantly it will give you a moment to pause and ask yourself if you really understand the historical import of the events of your own times and what, if anything, such awareness has done to guide your actions.

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