Martin Campbell (2)

Set in WWII Britain, we follow 3 young men from different backgrounds serving in the Navy. Their lives ultimately intersect, and all the better for it. I was rooting for these 3 characters, and appreciated how they unfailingly supported one another.
A common theme is mental illness, and the author provides an interesting (and shameful) historical perspective of psychiatric medicine, which is horrifying.
The book is well-written with a lot of detail, making it somewhat of a long, slow read.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.… (more)

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would! I usually read fantasy and crime fiction apart from the books I win on LibraryThing and I am so glad that I signed up because I wouldn't have found this otherwise. The characters are extremely well drawn and were easy to picture and hear in my mind. I run a mental health peer support group and there were huge similarities with the way such a disparate collection of people come together for enjoyment. Our group has people of every age, background and diagnosis just like the group in the book. The book remains intriguing all the way through as to what on earth is going on with plumbing! It is also a good and enjoyable way to learn about all the different sorts of poker! with a short summary at the beginning of every chapter This can be useful even if you don't play for understanding what is going on in films etc.! The line spacing makes it an easy read although there are some minor errors in the text which could be improved with a bit more attention by a human being rather than a computer.… (more)

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Structured around a weekly poker night at a local dive nightclub, this tells the story of a group of men and their lives. All of the group have their own reasons for playing poker, all of them come from different backgrounds, some learning how to play in psychiatric hospitals, others in prison.

I enjoyed this, the humour is warm and the characters entertaining. The end of the book felt redemptive. The only issue was the occasional need for a proof reader.… (more)

I received this book as part of the member giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of three men serving in the navy during WWII. They are from very different backgrounds and have to face the horror of the Arctic Convoys. This results in all of them suffering from what would now call PTSD and being treated in a naval station for sailer's with psychiatric issues.

I found this book fascinating. The descriptions of how the war really was for those fighting in it makes it very real. The navy often gets forgotten about in books about this period. As someone who has PTSD, although not related to military service, the descriptions of the psychiatric treatment horrified me. I ended up feeling very grateful for those men who not only fought in such dangerous conditions but were the guinea pigs for treatment which, although clearly cruel, was part of the development of modern psychiatric and psychological treatment.

The book is well written. I liked the characters although I found Marco a bit of a stretch to believe in.… (more)