BritMums Book Club: The Silent Hours

It’s been a while since I was offered a book through the BritMums Book Club but the latest book was Cesca Major’s debut novel, The Silent Hours.

I love historical novels and I found myself easily transported back to France during the Second World War. The Silent Hours follows three people and how their lives are sadly entwined.

It’s written from the view point of a mute woman in 1952 in France. A woman sits with no past and no future. She is being watched over by the nuns at Saint Cecilia in South West France. Mute ever since she turned up at their door in the weeks following the defeat of Germany. Her name is Adeline and she has a secret.

The story also features Sebastian, a young Jewish businessman living in Limoges who has fallen in love with a local girl, and nine-year-old Tristin who, with his family, left Paris for the safety of the French countryside.

All three live in a quiet village in the unoccupied zone of France, largely untouched by war. However something happens which affects them all.

The book is based on a real event that happened as the Nazis passed through France in Summer 1944. I found the last couple of chapters a pretty shocking read and admit to shedding a few tears at the injustice of war. Despite the ending I enjoyed reading the book and look forward to reading more by Cesca Major.