7 members of our group enjoyed a convivial evening at The Hundred of Ashendon, discussing ‘Their Finest’ by Lissa Evans.
The book was originally titled ‘Their Finest Hour and a Half’ but was shortened when the story was made into a film and the opening line of our discussion was “have you seen the film?” Some had and some hadn’t but everyone agreed it is a film to watch (or watch again).
The next question was: “was this a good book?” the response was mixed. Four immediately said ‘Yes’ but two said they had nearly given up at the start and one liked the start but didn’t enjoy much more. Our ‘virtual’ eighth member stated she had ‘slogged through the book’ and felt there was a lack of sense of direction. So we were squarely on the fence on this one and the debate was open!
The debate didn’t really materialise however as, despite initial reactions, we all felt similarly ambivalent. Overall we felt the story is hard to get to grips with, especially at the start but it all comes together in the end. So it is no surprise that the majority of the group felt it was hard to get going, and into, the story.
The story is about Second World War London with several characters, and their circumstances, introduced chapter by chapter. They all have London, and the war in common and it is possible to gain some understanding of wartime for Londoners, and what it was like for civilians living through the Blitz. That was interesting and thought-provoking to read but didn’t really give the reader any sense of an underlying story.
One key theme throughout the story is working women and it illustrates how some were able to move into jobs that would have been considered ‘men’s work’ before the war. Those who were given the opportunity to break into the men’s world did, of course, do very well in their roles!
We gradually realised that there are wonderful characters, and storylines in the book that really did not achieve their potential to add a lot more value and vibrancy to the story. Here, the penny dropped: this was one of the rare occasions where the book has been made into a far better film. That is to say, the film is better than the book! In fact, one of our group remembered her copy had arrived free with a Sunday paper and was a promotional copy released for the film. Oh, and the book title was changed for the film.
So, would we recommend this book? well, it was not our finest but yes if it's a plane or beach read you are looking for. We would, however, most certainly recommend the film (even those of us who have not seen it!).
Our next read is Pieces Of Light by Adam Thorpe and we will meet at 8pm on Thursday 15th November 2018 at The Hundred to discuss this.
