A 2016 World Book Night selection.
April 2015 Book of the Month.
A major departure for Elizabeth Buchan for this is an espionage tale set mostly in Denmark in the Second World War. If you are wanting a happy ending don’t touch this. English-born Kay, married to a Dane, gets involved with the resistance movement and in particular with the wireless operators. We learn a lot about the training of SOE operators and wireless communication forms a large part of the tale, and we learn a lot about male dominance too. The work of the resistance operators is deglamourised and made out to be of Heath Robinson standard, very chaotic until late in the war. This illustrates the sacrifice, compromise and heroism of ordinary people.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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Elizabeth Buchan brings us a beautifully told story of courage, love and lies in wartime Europe in her heart-breaking new novel I Can't Begin to Tell You. Denmark, 1940. War has come and everyone must choose a side.
For British-born Kay Eberstern, living on her husband Bror's country estate, the Nazi invasion and occupation of her adopted country is a time of terrible uncertainty and inner conflict. With Bror desperate to preserve the legacy of his family home, even if it means co-existing with the enemy, Kay knows she cannot do the same. Lured by British Intelligence into a covert world of resistance and sabotage, her betrayal of Bror is complete as she puts her family in danger. Tasked with protecting an enigmatic SOE agent, a man who cannot even tell her his name, Kay learns the art of subterfuge. From this moment on, she must risk everything for the sake of this stranger - a stranger who becomes entangled in her world in ways she never expected. Caught on opposing sides of a war that has ripped apart a continent, will Kay and Bror ever find their way back to one another? Elizabeth Buchan's stunning new novel, I Can't Begin to Tell You, is a story of bravery, broken loyalties, lies and how the power of love can bring redemption even to the darkest of places. Praise for Elizabeth Buchan: Gorgeously well-written . (Independent). An irresistible story of love, loss and renewal . (Woman's Own). Elizabeth Buchan's previous novels include Light of the Moon, the prizewinning Consider the Lily, the New York Times bestseller Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, and her most recent book Daughters. As well as her novels Elizabeth's short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in a range of magazines. Alongside her own fiction writing Elizabeth reviews for the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail, and as a patron of the Guildford Book Festival and of the National Academy of Writing she is a distinctly influential figure in the literary world independent of her fiction. Elizabeth has chaired the Betty Trask and Desmond Elliot literary prizes, has been a judge for the Whitbread (now Costa) awards, and she now sits on a committee for the Reading Agency. She lives in London.
I Can't Begin to Tell You features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Books of the Month, Books with reviews by our Reader Review Panel, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, Recommendations, General Fiction
I Can't Begin to Tell You is available in Paperback
I Can't Begin to Tell You was written by Elizabeth Buchan and published by Michael Joseph Ltd an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
I Can't Begin to Tell You has 497 pages
£9.89
