Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book. It's a well-written slice-of-life story and it's easy to feel right away that you know these people and care about what happens to them. Though they come from quite different middle-class backgrounds, the women made and kept their commitments to learn to work the land, and didn't waste time or energy in petty squabbles; they just did what needed to be done. The main story runs for about a year, beginning in mid-1941, when life in this Dorset (southern England) area isn't yet too badly impacted by the bombings. While rationing is in force, in this farming area it's less difficult to manage.
It's interesting, touching, bitter-sweet, funny and bawdy, well worth your time to read.
It's interesting, touching, bitter-sweet, funny and bawdy, well worth your time to read.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed the book. It is a quick read, good for vacation.
A light historical read.
I enjoyed the Land Girls primarily due to its glimpse of girls/women during WWII.
This is the story of three women - Prue, Ag and Stella - who served in England during WWII as land girls. Land girls volunteered to serve their country by working at rural farms since so many men were serving in the military who had previously helped farmers. These three women from disparate backgrounds lived and worked at the farm owned by the Lawrences and their son, Joe. Joe's asthma prevented him from enlisting in the military to his great disappointment. Despite their differences, these women bonded with each other and the Lawrences and shared a work ethic that impressed the family. The work was demanding and included caring for cows, pigs and chickens, all of which were foreign to city girls.
This was an interesting glimpse into WWII in the farming communities, and the toll it took. The women's love interests were a significant part of the novel, and the epilogue answered every question. I liked all the characters, and felt a particular compassion for the elderly farm hand, Ratty Tyler, at the Lawrence farm as his wife descended from ill-tempered harridan into madness.
This was an interesting glimpse into WWII in the farming communities, and the toll it took. The women's love interests were a significant part of the novel, and the epilogue answered every question. I liked all the characters, and felt a particular compassion for the elderly farm hand, Ratty Tyler, at the Lawrence farm as his wife descended from ill-tempered harridan into madness.
A spirited novel of love and friendship. In rural WWI England, three very different young women from very different backgrounds find themselves thrown together, sharing an attic bedroom and laying the foundations for a friendship that would last a lifetime. They become 'land girls' working on a farm for the war effort. An intelligent and often heartbreaking account of their first summer together. With wit and charm, Angela Huth has created a novel of delicate passions, richly observed.
