When people think of the second world war today, they immediately picture bombs dropping and ships sinking. However war affected people’s lives far more. A Little Love Song tells the story of how one seventeen-year-old girl struggles through her first love and her first heartbreak against a backdrop of war and conflict.
Rose Jolliffe and her twenty-one-year-old sister Diana have been evacuated to Salmouth in the North of England, whilst their mother goes away to perform in theatre with the army. Once they arrive in Salmouth, they discover that the woman who was supposed to be taking care of them had backed out. Diana realises that this means they are now on their own and she panics and insists on going back to their town house in London. However Rose convinces her that it would be an adventure for them, and it would help them grow closer to one another. And this decision suddenly reveals a bigger truth: war has tossed them into a new world where they are suddenly forced to be far more independent than they ever imagined before. It is changing them - even though they are far from the front line.
The weeks pass quickly, and soon Rose is facing a whole range of new challenges that not only help her explore a new range of experiences but also force her to confront her prejudices. After only a few months, Rose helps an unmarried mother through childbirth. Then she is deceived into entering a sexual relationship, causing her great heartbreak. But amidst that she then has the joy of seeing her first story published.
A Little Love Song was a remarkable read. I really felt the characters’ heartbreak, sadness but mostly love. I am very fond of this book, and would gladly read it again.
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
