My Lockdown Books: Thirty Five

My favourite of the late Mal Peet’s superlative novels without any shadow of a doubt is Tamar.  The review below has appeared elsewhere but I stand by it and encourage you to read the book.

Think of resistance fighters of the Second World War and you will almost certainly have France in mind. Mal Peet’s novel, however, focuses on the intertwined and inter-dependant lives of one cell of the Dutch resistance during the cold, hungry winter of 1944. Tamar tells two stories: that of the eponymous present-day heroine alongside her SOE agent grandfather’s. The shift between the two is skilful and unobtrusive, the one often coming as a relief from the other. For this book is not an easy or undemanding read. It is powerful and shocking but it is also memorable and compelling. I guarantee that, as Tamar uncovers her grandfather’s tragic and terrible story, you will be as surprised and horrified as she is.