Library of Lost and Found: The History of the Global Conflict from 1939 to 1945 Paperback – 27 June 2019

Order this book and 18 hours later I was in my favorite chair reading itFirst time ordering a used book. EXCELLENT condition. No wear at all. GREAT seller and excellent product.

Great read, loved the character of Martha she is a girl after my own heart. It's a great feel good book and easy to read

The beginning of this book is a bit rocky, but it did not take long until it captured my heart. I read the “Look inside” preview several different times before I bought the book on a Kindle deal, and it was a great purchase. Martha is middle-aged and single, but her story is not over. Sometimes the tone is sad, sometimes it is funny, and sometimes it is quirky. Martha lives in a small town on the coast in Yorkshire. She has lived her life trying to please other people. She takes on any task whether it was caring for her aging parents until they died, doing someone’s laundry, hemming her nephew’s trousers, or fixing a Chinese dragon head. She is underemployed as a volunteer assistant librarian and hoping to be hired by the library as a full staff member. I won’t’ describe much of the plot because this is a story that should unfold exactly as intended by the author. It is a kind, gentle, story of awakening and survival. It is never sappy. There are some serious themes as Martha and her sister were raised in a household where her father was emotionally abusive and controlling. That kind of abuse leaves its mark. But this is a hopeful book as Martha finds friends, family, and opportunity. Bottom line: I loved it. I read and enjoyed the author’s Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, but I read and loved this book.

This is a story about a girl who is creative and loves her family and especially her grandma. She is aware of the tensions swirling around, caused by her very controlling father. Circumstances change and the girl changes with them. Much is lost. In the end she rediscovers her creative self and is able to understand and forgive those who have hurt her.

イギリスの海辺の小さな町で図書館の非常勤司書を務める主人公のMartha．両親の介護，看取りで婚期を逸して独身．近隣の人たちの細々した世話を焼くのが生き甲斐の毎日．実はそんな自分に嫌気がさしているが，幼い頃から厳しい父に受けた教育の殻を破れないでいる．常勤職への昇格にも何度も応募するが叶わない．幼いころ，優しくしてくれた思い出深い母方の祖母は，父と何かと折合いが悪く，母はその板挟みになって困っていた．その祖母が自費出版した本をふとしたことから手に入れたが，両親から聞かされていた没年と本の出版年が矛盾している．祖母はどこかでまだ生きているらしい．自分と違って奔放に生きる妹は，どうやらそのことをどうやら知っているらしい．今は亡き両親は，なぜ自分にだけ嘘をついていたのか，祖母とその著書をめぐる謎を解き明かして行く主人公が，その過程で自らのアイデンティティを，複雑な家族関係の中で見いだしてゆく，タイトルにはそのような意味が込められている．決して派手なアクションがあるわけではなく，小さなコミュニティでの人々の普通の生活，ほのぼのとした人間関係が淡々と描かれる中に，ミステリー仕立ての進行で，意外な事実が次々と明らかにされてゆく．向田邦子，梨木香歩の小説に通ずるところもある，良質で読後感の良い小説．この著者の本は初めてだったが，他にも数々の作品があるようなので読んでみようと思う．