“The sun on my cheek became the touch of a warm hand, the gentle breeze in my hair, his breath as he whispered that he loved me.” 

A family silk mill near London stays in business during World War II by managing to get a contract to make parachute silk. It’s business to the family, but to the soldiers using the parachutes, the quality of the silk is life and death.

I bought this e-book when it was on sale because the teaser said people who liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer would like this book. I have read Shaffer’s book and it is on my top ten list of fiction reads. The Last Telegram was placed in the same setting and told an interesting story focusing on a small section of people surviving during the war.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it doesn’t quite compare to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I enjoyed the historical aspects, as I had never thought about the parachute silk production during the war. It also addressed the plight of Jewish children who were refugees in England at the beginning of the conflicts. As the war progressed, though, anyone of German descent was scrutinized.

Lily tells her story to her granddaughter as she looks back on her life after her husband dies, although her memories are mostly triggered by her granddaughter’s decision to skydive.
Lily wants to learn to work in an office, but the war derails her plans and she must start work at the family mill by starting at the bottom rung – weaving. While her beauty and charm help win the family the parachute silk contract, the man soon loses her charm and she falls in love with a German refugee working at the mill. Tragedy visits the family more than once during the war and Lily works hard to keep her family and the mill intact.

This book could be a good book club book. There are questions at the end of the book for that purpose. It’s a decent and interesting book, but not one of my favorites.