KATE'S WAR

Henley’s third novel depicts the trials of a young aspiring singer at the outset of World War II.

Twenty-year-old Englishwoman Kate Murphy has always dreamt of performing songs in front of an audience. The problem lies not in any lack of talent, but in her hiccupping, which began following the dissolution of her relationship with teen heartthrob Tony Trent and announces itself whenever she gets nervous. In September 1939, she decides to leave her parents’ home in Carshalton for an apartment closer to London, from which she intends to pursue her dream with the help of her Oxford University–educated best friend, Sybil Thorndyke. Kate’s announcement to her parents on the morning of September 3, however, is interrupted by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s televised declaration of war with Germany. Everything changes as Kate’s mother, Mary Grace, descends into a seemingly interminable well of worry. Kate puts off her departure, resuming her post teaching singing at St. Bridget’s School for Girls. Her youngest brother, Ryan, is sent to the country, where he’ll hopefully be safe from the threat of bombings. Sybil leaves, too—for where, she’s unable to say. Kate also begins to see Barry, a young mechanic who’s soon drafted to fight in Belgium. One somewhat peripheral subplot involves one of Kate’s students—a Jewish German refugee named Hannah Bell, whose parents beg Kate to look after her; Kate’s potential rekindling of a past relationship and her ongoing efforts to banish her hiccups are also addressed. Taken altogether, English author Henley amasses ample and often compelling subject matter that keeps the narrative moving forward. However, readers may be divided as to whether all the narratives bear themselves out effectively. Indeed, some may feel that the resolutions of some narrative threads feel halfhearted or rushed. Still, the book’s sturdy, sustained prose, as when Kate’s family listens to a speech by the king (“She scrutinised the long faces of her family. Everyone sat transfixed, unblinking. There was no way she could leave home just now”), will briskly propel readers through this generally thoughtful wartime bildungsroman.

A somewhat crowded but engagingly written historical drama.