The Postmistress in Q&A with Sarah Blake

Aug 04, 2010 Erika Robuck rated it it was amazing

鈥淓very story鈥搇ove or war鈥搃s a story about looking left when we should have been looking right.鈥� (p.3)

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake was published in 2010, and is 318 pages. It鈥檚 the story of how the lives that populate a small, New England town are linked to American radio personality, Frankie Bard, as she reports from London during the blitz of 1940, just before America got involved in WWII.

In Cape Cod, Iris James, the town postmaster, listens to Ms. Bard with skepticism. The war in Europe see ...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Biblioblond rated it really liked it

I truly enjoyed this book although it took me awhile to get through it. I was interested in the characters and the plot, yet every few chapters I would need to take a break. I'm not sure if it was the constant change of perspective that bothered me. The stark contrast of the alternating story-line of Frankie in war-torn Europe and the comings and goings of the people in Franklin did not flow together perhaps as smoothly as it could have.
I found the author was successful in her attempt to create ...more

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Nov 14, 2009 Brenda rated it it was amazing

This book is a poignantly nostalgic look back at a time that was much simpler, but also incredibly complex. It was a time when images and sentiments were exchanged through words on a page, or a far away voice on the radio. It was a time just before the world changed forever. When I first read the synopsis for The Postmistress, I knew it would go to the top of my stack of 鈥渕ust read鈥� advance copies.
The story begins in the fall of 1940, before the United States has fully awakened to what was goin This book is a poignantly nostalgic look back at a time that was much simpler, but also incredibly complex. It was a time when images and sentiments were exchanged through words on a page, or a far away voice on the radio. It was a time just before the world changed forever. When I first read the synopsis for The Postmistress, I knew it would go to the top of my stack of 鈥渕ust read鈥� advance copies.
The story begins in the fall of 1940, before the United States has fully awakened to what was going on in the rest of the world. A time when Pearl Harbor was just some distant post in the Pacific few had ever heard of. The story takes place both in London, England (during the peak of the Blitz) and a small town in Cape Cod, from the perspective of three vastly different women. Of the three, the two main perspectives come from the title character; Iris James, the postmistress of the small Cape Cod town of Franklin, Massachusetts and Frankie Bard a 鈥渞adio gal鈥� reporting with Edward R. Murrow from London during the Blitz. The other view comes from Emma Fitch, a shy new bride in a new town. She has married Dr. Will Fitch, a returning native to Franklin. Dr. Fitch has a past to overcome- a past of which his new wife is unaware- and all the accompanying emotional baggage to go along with it.
Frankie Bard gives us an unvarnished view of London during the time of the Blitz. One that is daring and heartbreakingly poignant. Not only do we get a glimpse at what it was like for those living moment to moment, knowing that at any time a bomb could alter their world forever. We also see their unerring desire to try to wrench whatever normality possible from a horribly abnormal environment. In addition, we see how ignorant the rest of the world- especially the U.S- was to the plight of Jews in Europe at his time. When a colleague of Frankie鈥檚 (who was looking into this) dies in a bombing, Frankie takes on her friend鈥檚 mission and begins the daunting task of documenting the story of Jewish families trying to flee Europe. Little does she know the impact she has had on listeners across the ocean in America or the future impact she will have.
In the small town of Franklin, Iris does her best to carry out her duties as postmistress- a responsibility she takes quite seriously. With the world outside seeming to be coming apart at the seams, Iris tries her best to hold on to the order and discipline of her duties and how the execution of those duties affect the people in Franklin. There is one instance in particular when Iris becomes conflicted over her responsibilities, and that conflict adds yet another layer of texture to an already intriguing and complex tale.
The Postmistress is certainly a story of another, perhaps simpler, time, but it has an immediacy and relevance in our time as well. It is the story of the small moments that can affect us all in huge ways. The impact of a moment of inattention or a waylaid letter can have. It tells us that it is not the large moments that make up our lives, but very often the small, seemingly insignificant things that determine our path. It is a story that will hold you, move you, and stay with you long after you have turned the last page.
Amy Einhorn Books, a member of the Penguin Group, will release The Postmistress in February 2010.

Review by Brenda Seward
Owner, Simple Pleasures Books & Gifts
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May 18, 2010 Shanannon rated it really liked it

Upon finishing this book, I couldn't decide whether I really liked it or really did not. I felt a lot of the characters and plot points were disjointed, and just when you started to zero in on one major character, the point of view shifted. At the end, most of the pieces came together, but only in a half-satisfactory way. The title suggests that the postmaster, Iris James, is the true main character, and at many points it seems she is. However, war reporter Frankie Bard emerges as the true hero ...more

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Jan 17, 2010 Tami rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club-2011

April Book Club

Got a taste of this book via a library service that allows you to read a few pages of one or several books each week through 5 daily emails. Pretty fun actually - that's just enough of the story and the writer's style for me to decide if I want to read on - or not. Guess you can figure out what I decided here. :) I liked this book. A bit rough in spots - few too many F-bombs for my taste and sometimes they seemed just gratuitous - but the way the author wove the two story lines to ...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Megan Tiscareno rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011

I was conflicted what to rate this for a couple of reasons:
I was very interested in this story and wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what happened.
It was great and intriguing writing.

But the story sort of just fizzled out.

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Mar 23, 2011 Janebrownvi rated it really liked it

This is the story of three women during WWII and what happens to love when those who are most important to use are lost forever. The Postmistress made me want to live in the time when my mother was a young woman. Kathryn Stockett wrote, "When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it." So true! ...more

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