Rating:
Synopsis:
Five books written about the five years of World War One. Each is written by a different New Zealand author and follows five different NZers as they fight and survive the horrors of World War One.
We start in 1914 at the beginning of the war, where Billy heads off to fight with the ANZACs in Gallipoli. In 1915 we follow Heather and Mel, who leave New Zealand to become nurses to help 'our boys'. In 1916 Leith becomes part of the Pioneers Battalion - a combination of Pakeha and Maori soldiers - whose job it was to build and repair the trenches and dugouts. In 1917 Bob joins the Flying Corps with the dream of becoming a pilot. And in 1918, Henry Hunt is on the Western front with a terrier that he found and named Poppy.
These are fictional stories based on actual events of New Zealanders during the Great War, written for the Centennial years of the war.
Review:
One of my favourite reads of 2021.
These are a fabulous telling of the reality of war, written in compassionate and informative ways that make you feel like you are standing in the trenches with the characters. The characters weave their way through each of the stories. You're in for a treat if you've never read a New Zealand accent; you will find it littering these pages. They are full of Kiwi lingo. They cover many of the ANZAC troop's critical battles during the war years, like that of Gallipoli in 1915 and Passchendaele - which still hails as the most significant loss of New Zealand life in action to this day.
If you are fascinated by World War One, these books are for you. If you want to know more about the war, these are also for you. There isn't that much media that focuses on World War One, and these will help you build your knowledge, especially if you aren't from New Zealand and perhaps don't know what they contributed.
My parents and I (who have also read these) concluded that these books would translate into a fantastic TV Series. That would span the years of war and the different elements that were part of it - the trench warfare, the nurses, the growth of fighter pilots and tanks and so on.
I would love to read the Australian version of these, but I can't seem to be able to get my hands on them. I would also love it if there were a British version, as all my family fought in the British forces. And perhaps even others from the others who fought during the war too.
This is a great way to cover war years, and I would love to see more of these written for other critical events in our histories.
If you have any recommendations that are similar or even just set during World War One, then I would love to read them!