Resistance - Owen Sheers

As I have mentioned before, probably to the point of tedium, there are the odd magical occasions in a concert hall or opera house where a performance, for no reason whatsoever, suddenly takes wing and what would normally be a good evening turns into an exceptional one.  The same happens with reading.  Most of the time you will read a selection of books that appeal and which you will enjoy and then, out of the blue, along will come a story that grabs you hard and won't let you go until the final page is read and the book shut up. 

This Easter weekend I had promised myself four days of rest and idleness, with the exception of reading, naturallement and after hearing good things about Resistance over on Cornflower, had this to hand for my holiday treat.  As soon as I started it, I put it down which sounds totally contradictory, but I just knew that if I did not, the rest of the day would go to pot and as I had certain things to do, put away temptation. 

So next day which was clear, I sat down and was up late at night finishing this simply stunning book. Imagine the D-Day landings had failed, the Germans had invaded England and were in occupation.  Imagine a small Welsh valley, remote and desolate and cut off from the outside world.  Imagine one morning waking up and finding your husband has vanished, the indent of his body is still in the bed, but his work boots have gone, his coat and no sign of him anywhere.  Imagine finding that all the men in this valley have also gone and left their women behind to manage without them.  They have all been recruited prior to the invasion to join the local resistance where there are no rewards and death is certain.

Imagine after finding you are all alone, a German patrol arrives, a small, especially selected band of men, no more than five in number who have been sent to the valley for a special reason (which I will not give away) and you have to learn to live with their presence.

Heading up the patrol is Albrecht, he and his men are weary and battle hardened and, as the winter closes in and the valley is cut off by heavy snow, he takes the decision that they will remain there, not disobeying orders for none have been received, but not making any effort to make contact either. As the weeks pass by they slowly regain normalcy, a respite from the horrors they have seen and begin to help the women on the farms. Gradually a wary truce and, even friendship, emerges as both the invader and invaded realise they can help each other.  They begin to imagine what life would be like when the war is over, Albrecht begins to think they can stay in the valley, be happy.  As the reader is privy to Albrecht's thoughts we warm to him and begin to feel empathy with his sadness and fragile optimism, but we know, deep down that he is living in a fool's paradise and that sooner or later he will have to face reality with the coming of the spring and the thaw.

We are also privy to the thoughts of the women who have been left to cope on their own, their anger and frustration as well as their fear that they will never see their husbands again. Both sides of the story are there for us to see and understand and it makes for compelling reading and totally captured my attention.

By the time I reached the last few chapters of Resistance I so wanted a happy ending and all to be well, but knew that it was never going to happen.  However, I was not prepared for the denouement and the sadness of the last few pages and I ended up with a lump in my throat and a feeling of sorrow that I had come to the end of this wonderful story.

I gather that Owen Sheers is a poet and this is his first work of fiction.  Seamless writing, flows beautifully, easy to read and with great depth and understanding, I simply loved this book.  I cannot wait for his next.

One of my books of 2008 - definitely.

Comments

[Margaret Powling]

What a marvellous recommendation you have given for this book by Owen Sheers. I'm sorely tempted, but the TBR pile is growing apace without the literary equivalent of Miracle Grow, aka Owen Sheers' novel! But, being a nosy beggar, I've had a look at Owen's web page and what a handsome young man he looks; sufficient incentive, perhaps, to add his literary Miracle Grow to the pile!

[Cornflower]

So glad you loved it, Elaine - I thought it was superb!

[Elaine Simpson-Long]

Thankyou so much Karen for bringing it to my attention, I am not sure I would have picked it up otherwise. Terrific writing and a terrific story and if it is not made into a film I shall be very surprised indeed

[Danielle]

I've just started this today. I bought it when it first came out, but after hearing you and Lyn rave about it, I had to start reading even though I already have too many other books started...I'll read your post properly when I'm finished reading, but I did catch your last line about it being a best book of the year...I love those sorts of books!

[Sarah Cuthbertson]

Hello Elaine
I've been silently enjoying your blog for a while but I just had to pipe up at last and say how much I agree with you about this novel. I was going to do a review on my blog but wanted to read it again first. I shall do so now. It rings true in every particular, even though it's an "alternative" scenario. It's also a perfect example of the poet as novelist, in which both disciplines fuse to make a moving and vivid read. Whoops, I'm reviewing it already. Did you play the brilliant video thingy on his website www.owensheers.co.uk where he talks about the book and its setting?

[Elaine]

Sarah - I am so glad you have stopped being silent! I have just nipped over to your blog and it looks right up my street so have added it to my blogroll of places to visit. I look forward to reading your review of Resistance, I have not enjoyed a book so much for a long time