Coventry

Canadian writer Helen Humphreys creates a spellbinding historical novel about the German bombing of the English city of Coventry. Most of the novel occurs over one night: Nov. 14, 1940 when the city and its five hundred year old cathedral were nearly destroyed. The story is told through two women's eyes, Maeve, an artist and single parent, and Harriet, a war widow from World War I. In fact, the two women were not strangers. They first met during WWI when Harriet was returning home from seeing her husband off to war. Maeve, a visitor to Coventry that day had been sketching outside the cathedral; she asked Harriet for directions and Harriet led her to her friend's home. They shared a double-deck bus ride and become instantly friends, but circumstances caused Maeve not to connect with Harriet again. Most of the novel is about people leading others to safety, or in the final case, back into the war zone. On that fateful night, Harriet is taking a male friend's place as a firewatcher on the roof of the cathedral. Just before bombs start falling, she strikes up an acquaintance with Jeremy, who is in fact Maeve's son. Harriet and Jeremy escape the burning cathedral together and Harriet leads Jeremy to safety. They experience many horrible events: an unexploded bomb rolls into their shelter, buildings fall around them, Jeremy cradles a young girl as she dies in a field, they help bandage the wounded. Finally, Harriet leads Jeremy to the safety of his house which unlike Harriet's is left standing. But by this time, Maeve has chosen to evacuate the city, all the while worrying about her son. Humphreys' prose is crystalline, clarified, and beautiful, but more importantly, she imparts through her characters a real understanding of life, how it is composed of moments not hours or days, how we must seize them all, share some with others, and follow our passions.