Review:
Nocturne by Diane Armstrong
Fourth Estate, 2008
ISBN 9780732284305
(Ages 14+) There is no doubt that Diane Armstrong has the ability to
capture and hold the reader engrossed, as she relates her story of
courage and cruelty set in one of the most horrendous periods of our
history. The overall quality and design of this paperback, with
good sized print, makes reading this 560 page book fairly easy.
Readable with a clear continuity of plot and setting, Armstrong brings
us a story which remains embedded in our memories.
Nocturne is based on historical events which took place during
and
immediately after the Second World War. Part 1 takes the reader
from the start of war in Poland to the end of the Warsaw Ghetto
uprising, with the heroine Elzunia emerging safely, after losing most
of her family and so many of her friends to the Nazi onslaught.
She has met Adam, a young Polish pilot, at the beginning of the war -
indeed he rescues her in an ambush - and it is this memory which drives
her ambition to make it through to the end of the war. In Part 2, Adam,
now a valuable member of the Resistance, goes to London to petition for
help, meeting words of acknowledgement and empathy, but not action on
the part of the Allies. In the final section of the novel the two
characters meet after months
of hardship and adversity.
Armstrong is the author of two powerfully written non-fiction works and
a novel,
Winter Journey, each based on Polish history and
heritage.
She brings to
Nocturne, a wealth of meticulous research, part
of her
family's background and stories of real players in this country's past.
There is a strong sense of political feeling running through the novel
- Armstrong believes that all nations denied the Jews in Poland their
freedom, closing their eyes to the unfolding disaster. She
explores this issue, revealing to her readers the courage and
independence of a people determined to fight for freedom. The world of
the Ghetto is real, and we become emotionally involved in the lives of
its inhabitants. The human qualities of loyalty, bravery,
sacrifice and endurance emerge as the people face insurmountable odds.
At times the language is clumsy and overly wordy - it may be that
Armstrong is better placed as a writer of memoir, for she frequently
includes historical details in the narrative which seems contrived;
however, the strong sense of place and authenticity of subject excuse
her from this weakness.
Here too is a valuable addition to the field of reads for 'connected
texts' work in Years 11 and 12.
Julie Wells
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