Helen Bryan

I wasn’t sure what to expect in Helen Bryan’s War Brides. I’ve always thought of war brides as those who married foreign soldiers during the war and maybe left England and moved away. But these brides come from varied walks of life and meet in an English village near the start of the war. Their lives are shadowed by planes flying overhead and the threat of bombs. And their secrets are many.

There’s an intriguing sense of life’s incompleteness and unexpected connections in this tale. show more Past memories can be twisted by circumstance. Future dreams can vanish in a moment’s fear. And the present is all we have. In the end, despite all their efforts to change it, the present will have its way with these brides too.

From Louisiana's genteel disgrace to London’s street-smart theft, from Nazi terror to child evacuees, and from society’s assumptions to a woman’s hopes and dreams, this story tells of the displaced finding place, and of past and future lurking in the wings.

Some depictions ring hauntingly true, especially that of a woman’s depression after childbirth, and the sense a village coping with its changing generations in a time of war. At other times readers may find it harder to suspend disbelief. But the story moves through twists and turns, bringing characters together then tearing them apart, and revealing how that quest for closure might be as false the desire to control future and past.

War Brides is a tale filled with mysteries, ending with mysteries of human lives, and it’s a good read, despite its occasional oddities.

Disclosure: A friend wasn’t enjoying it so she gave it to me to read. show less

A Circular and Heartfelt Story of Women's Strength

Ahh! That is the sound of satisfaction after reading a superb novel. The Sisterhood is very circuitous in its plot, weaving back and forth in time from the 16th century, to modern times, to as early as 37AD. All the text has to do with the Convent of the Swallows or las Gollondrinas. We switch back and forth between sixteenth century Spanish nuns, sixteenth century South American nuns in the same order, and a modern girl named Menina, who show more was found with the symbol of the Convent on a chain wrapped around her three year old neck in miracle save by sailors after a hurricane. She is later adopted by Americans and given not only the swallow, but a very old chronicle that the parents must promise to give to her on her sixteenth birthday. These stories interweave with that of a prominent but little-known Spanish portrait artist, who gets himself in the middle of things.

This is a big broad canvas that Helen Bryan uses to paint her masterpiece, with a fantastic amount of players. Each one that enters the picture is fully formed and quite human. Epic in scope, we cross three continents and three centuries to find that we've come full circle and are home again.

This book has adventure, humor, it has mystery, it has religious tolerance, it has romance, but primarily it's a story about being true to yourself and your sisters all through history. The Inquisition is involved, an alternate Gospel, a hidden sister, a missing royal heir, Inquisitors through the centuries hunting the girls, heretical paintings, Incan nobleman and a famous dancing sister. I highly recommend this novel to all women and girls who want to read something intelligent about women through history and not just the "Chick Lit" Lite reading. This is not hard to read, it is just wonderfully satisfying - like a hot bowl of stew on a cold winter's night versus sugar-water.

This book is a keeper, and I will definitely read this multiple times over the years to come. Bravo Helen! They should make all high school girls read this before they graduate. show less

When I started this one, I had no idea what it was about. A chapter or two in, I though, "Oh, joy, another re-fictionalization of Holy Blood, Holy Grail!" and almost put it down. Instead, I decided to give it another chapter or two, since I'd just gotten to the first of the medieval sections, and I'm really glad I did. Yes, yes, it is, broadly speaking, another re-fictionalization of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, or at least in that genre, but it quickly diverges from that track and goes in a show more somewhat different, and more interesting direction. For one thing, it's a women's story when, even though Mary Magdalene (who, thankfully, does not appear in this novel in any form) is central to their plots, most of the others in this vein (I'm looking at you, Dan Brown) are distinctly men's stories. Additionally, excepting a few scenes from the central gospel upon which the story hinges, there is very little of the supernatural on display -- it's quite believable, even if one discounts The Hand of God as an invisible character. Most of the story could simply have...just happened. There's a small, polite nod to the international intrigue trope that is the meat of most HB/HG progeny, but it's kept peripheral, letting the real story, the lives of the women (and men) doing good work in the world, shine! show less

Everybody in my reading circle knows I am drawn to books about the second world war. I REALLY like books that deal with the homefront

in Great Britain. These include The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher and Forbidden Places by Penny Vincennzi.

So when I saw the delightlful cover of War Brides I just had to read it immediately!

There was a bit of fanciful nonsense in the beginning of this book that made me wonder if it was going to turn out to be some kind of

Danielle Steele,True Blood,Twilight show more nonsense. I stuck witht the book and it just got better and better.

This is the story of Alice,Elsie,Tanni,Evengeline and Frances. Five young woman from very different backgrounds

who because of the catalyst of the war come together eventually

as friends and help mates.

Having read much about this era I found the historical research to be quite accurate. There are very interesting back

stories about each of these characters.

Many aspects of that war and it's effects on the civilian population are woven into their stories. There is also much sadness

in this book as characters have loved ones go missing and die.

There is an espionage story too that involves a local traitor whose actions cause more heartache.

The book ends with the ladies reunitng at the 50th Anniversary of the war's end in 1995.

They bring about a bit of a wacky close to the above story in my humble opinion and while very satisfying made me have to

"suspend reality" like in the beginning of the book.

All in all of very good read. A step up from cozy chick lit! show less