Code Name Verity - LinksUpdate 2

[estara]

A shout-out to all the people I'd been trying (by leaving mysterious hints about female friendship, female pilot in WWII and lots of tissues needed) to convince to eventually read Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity - on a thread of Rachel Manija's, I remember, and wherever else...



And may I just give you a further impulse to buy it - especially if you want to know my real life name ^^ - Elizabeth Wein was kind enough to mention my checking her German in the Afterword of the book (and very graciously overlooked the ages it took me to nerve myself up to read a book where Nazi Gestapo tortures one of the heroines: I'm very grateful that they weren't turned into caricature monsters, but remained humans - having made/making some very bad choices and perpetrating horrors onto others).

Comments

[janicu.livejournal.com]

Never fear! I have this on the TBR pile. ;) It will be read.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Yay ^^ - I'll be stopping my general nagging with the big climax of the book tour tomorrow - when Ana reads the book at the Booksmugglers ( really hope she liked it...)

You might like the By Singing Light review I added to my link list - it highlights what I felt about the book, too, only ever so much more eloquently.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Oh, good for you. My hat is off.

(It might take me a while to read this, actually. I don't usually break my rule about reading no fiction about Nazy atrocities, but I think I will break it for Elizabeth Wein. But it might take time to nerve up to it.)

[estara.livejournal.com]

Understandable, but there is more implied than actually shown (and the holocaust is not focus of this novel) - for people who know their history the problem is most likely too much knowledge to fill in the blanks, heh.

It's a novel that is very worthwhile, but surely not an easy read with regards to the situation of one of the heroines.

Hey, you already made me famous anyway, so no need for hat offing! I was really extremely chuffed about the shout-out in Blood Spirits.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Oh, my hat is off to you for reading that book! I had to read way too much of that stuff during my grad years . . . and yes, what you said about too much knowledge.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Hah, I misunderstood. The book does have its firm focus on the frienship first and foremost, even if we find out about it in the beginning while "Verity" is in captivity - and that was the saving grace for me overall.

That's why I think even people who are wary about historical fiction set in WW2 may be able to enjoy it, albeit with good tears (as the GoodReads reviews show).

Now the second book set in WW2-times that E. Wein is writing is (I believe) largely set in Ravensbrück, the Konzentration camp for women. THIS will be a much harder sell for people who are aware of the horrors.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Phew. Yes!

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Whoah, it's like you're famous now :-). I'll be looking out for your name in the afterword (and it's a pretty name, too. Names that start with K are the best! Not that I'm biased or anything...)

[estara.livejournal.com]

I've been famous since last year ^^ - just not with my real life name!

Sartorias was kind enough to give a shout-out to Estara Swanberg in her Acknowledgements for the second Dobrenica novel Blood Spirits (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11949708-blood-spirits) - also a very good book!! ^^

I should make a career out of giving feedback on German for genre writers ^^ - it gives me a lot of satisfaction that is sometimes difficult to get as a teacher (yes, today was one of THOSE days...).

K names are good names, indeed!

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

That's so very cool! You're providing an invaluable service to writers, and giving yourself a bit of excitement to tide you over the lower points in everyday life (commiserations for one of THOSE days :-).
BTW, my "K name" in real life is Kylie - I don't think I've mentioned that on LJ very often. (A very popular name in NZ and Australia!)

[estara.livejournal.com]

No, you're right I don't think I knew that. Having lived in the UK in 1988/89 I associate Kylie with Kylie Minogue from Neighbours (and just starting out with Stock/Aitken & Waterman doing the "Locomotion" and "I should be so lucky") *grins*

She certainly managed to become a cult idol though. Do you get lots of Kylie Minogue associations or is it a very everyday name over in NZ?

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, good old Kylie Minogue - I think the name was most popular in the Antipodes in the 60s and 70s, so there are lots and lots of us out there (she's the most famous, of course). There are four other Kylies in the place where I work!