“We are the lucky ones and must make the most of every day.”
In The Poppy Wife, Edie believes her husband is dead, but the only official document she has says he is missing, presumed dead. She has no gravesite, just the stories from his brother, Harry, who served with Francis in WW1. Their other brother, Will, died early in the war. Edie has made her peace but then she receives a package that contains a photo of Francis with no note four years after the telegram. The picture makes her wonder if he could be alive – one of the many shell-shocked soldiers “lost” in hospitals in Europe. She has to go try and track down more information and Harry joins her.
The Poppy Wife was my local book club’s book for January. I really enjoy historical fiction and when I saw The Poppy Wife in stores, I added it to my to-read list. It’s not often I come across WW1 fiction. I thought it would be a great book to get together with some friends to discuss.
Edie and Harry gather very few clues about Francis, but then they find a St. Christopher medal in a thrift shop that Edie had given to Harry. It leads to her finding Harry’s knapsack and uncovering how Harry feels about her. It may have also been uncovered by Francis and led to his maybe living a different life in Europe. However, Harry continues to track Francis’ trail and finally uncovers his whereabouts.
The Poppy Wife has an interesting plot – is a soldier alive or dead if there is no marked grave? Unfortunately, there were thousands and thousands of these cases during WW1. However, the book starts very slow and I had a hard time placing characters in the first few chapters. Lovers of historical fiction would enjoy the story, but be prepared for a story that is not fast-paced.
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