Stef Penney

Picked this up at random in the library but was not disappointed. Set in Paris at the time of the Franco Prussian War (knew nothing about this), the story follows several character whose lives overlap. One man works as a vet in the zoon, a young woman who is living in a hospital for the insane, a young American Civil War veteran who worked as a surgeon but wants to write poetry, and a young man from rural Canada who is looking to escape this his narrow life. Paris is the "City of Lights" with so much excitement, everyone is optimistic and life is good. However, when France invades Germany, life begins to change even though people think it could never happen.

The story follows the two young men who eventually become lovers, Anne, the young woman who manages to leave the hospital and gain some independence, and the man who does all he can to protect the animals.

The story was interesting, I liked the characters who were all believable, and I learned a bit of European history.… (plus d'informations)

Don't let the length of UNDER A POLE STAR put you off. I put off reading it for years, and now I wish it hadn't taken me so long. Even though it's a hefty book, when I got to the end I wanted it to be longer.

This is historical fiction, not a mystery, no matter how your library may classify it.

I would never have thought that a book about Arctic exploration during the late 19th century would interest me. But this is the setting, mostly. On a personal level, you'll learn about living in these extreme circumstances. You'll understand what the characters loved.

I dislike romance novels, and this is not that. Yet this story revolves around Flora, who heads a British expedition to Northern Greenland, and Jakob, a geologist with an American expedition. Their love works best there, and you'll wish they never left.

It's important that you understand: this is not a romance novel. There, I repeated it. It can be a tearjerker, though.

UNDER A POLE STAR is splendid historical fiction, and I don't know how anyone could rate it anything less than five stars. But, because the library, mine, anyhow, calls it a mystery, anyone who picks it up and expects that genre will be disappointed.… (plus d'informations)