Life: An Exploded Diagram
By Mal Peet
Mal Peet has been an author
on my radar for a long time, but this is the first book I’ve read by him. He is a British author who has received
awards for previous works including Tamar and Exposure. Life is an historical fiction that cleverly
surges through multiple generations within a family spanning from early WWI
England through Sept 11, 2001 in New York City.
In the
first generation, Win’s husband Percy dies in WWI. While Ruth’s husband George is fighting in WWII, a German
fighter plane crashes just over their garden hitting the roof of the house as
the war is ending and she gives birth to their son Clem. Clem grows up in England with the
backdrop of the cold war in a growing and changing English landscape as he
experiences the conflict of the Kennedy administration and the crisis in Cuba as portrayed through the
media on a daily basis.
Mal Peet
delivers a wonderful story filled with multi-generational interpretations of
the changing times around them, progressive views of war and peace, and a wonderful
coming of age story as Clem comes to learn who he is among a cast of friends,
family and young love. It is a
thought-provoking read that will leave you pondering long after you turn the
last page -- a perfect book for discussion in book groups or clubs.
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