Rusty Allen

Rusty Allen's debut novel, ELLA'S WAR (2023), puts it all together in fine fashion with this close look at a small farm family on the Delmarva Peninsula during the difficult days of World War II, when German submarines were actively working off the Delaware coast, sinking freighters and other vessels. Ella Hay, something of an outsider, because she never married Lee Tingle, the father of her nine year-old son, Reese, although Lee has been there off and on since then, becoming her de facto show more common-law husband. Ella has inherited her late parents' farm near the village of Lewes, which Lee is working with a farmer's deferment, but his heart isn't in it, and he enlists in the Army, leaving Ella with no farm help. But help soon arrives in the form of German prisoners from POW camps that have sprung up nearby. In fact the novel's opening scene has the boy, Reese, witnessing the surprise surfacing of a U-Boat which had experienced electrical problems and was forced to surrender.

The story is told from alternating points of view, beginning with the boy. The other principals get their turns: Ella, Lee, and, finally, Dieter Schneider, the second-in-command from the disabled sub, who comes to work for Ella at the farm as prisoner labor. The handsome German, already disenchanted with Hitler and the Nazis, speaks English well, becomes indispensable to the farm's success. And, in the process, becomes close to both Ella and her son. Ella, in spite of herself, lonely and susceptible, falls in love with Dieter, even knowing she is breaking all the rules. And in alternating sections we also follow Lee, as he fights his way through the mountains of Italy with the 5th Army. His letters home are rare and brief, and seldom with any forms of affection. And sprinkled throughout the narrative are real historical events regarding both the war and the presence of POW camps in Delaware and the labor they provided. Allen's meticulous research of the region and the times blends seamlessly into this three-way love affair. Because this IS a love story, and it's a damn good one, with some highly erotic scenes which may take the reader by surprise.

While reading this, I was reminded of a now classic novel, Bette Greene's THE SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER, which I read nearly fifty years ago. And also a more recent novel, John Smolens' WOLF'S MOUTH, about an Italian officer's escape from an Upper Peninsula POW camp in Michigan.

Excellent, believable, well-defined characters, a compelling story, history, romance, coming of age (Reece) - it's all in here. ELLA'S WAR is a master class in what makes a great novel. I loved it! My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less