History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Kaleidoscope Author: Diane Eklund-Abolins Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Aoe Publishing Release Date: 2021 Pages: 374 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: It is 1917, and a war in Europe is also being felt in Australia as young men sign up in their thousands. Some of them anticipate adventure; others believe that fighting for England is the right thing to do. Bridget O'Connor, a young woman from the Central West of New South Wales with a husband and a brother caught up in the war, does not believe that killing can ever be the 'right thing to do'. At the same time, she is fleeing to Sydney, expecting to be hanged for a dreadful crime she herself has committed. Past injustices, domestic violence and society's perspective on women twist around the central themes of war and Bridget's crime.       My Review: Bridget has committed a dreadful crime that would result in her being hanged. To save herself from...

The Space In Between: A Story About Nina Author: Diane Eklund-Abolins Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: AoE Publishing Release Date: 2012 Pages: 392 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Between the beginning and the end, there is the space in between.      “...People had forgotten how to laugh; they did not even smile. When they had to go out, they always chose the shortest path, and they hurried along the streets , keeping their heads down. They did not talk, and they did not ask questions. They were all trying to disappear behind empty expressions. At home they learnt to keep the windows covered and the doors locked…”      War, revolution and war again. This is the background against which Nina grows up, fleeing her homeland, Latvia, on three separate occasions. With family members tragically caught up in one or other of the terrible conflicts, Nina is thrown between helplessness and a need for normality, or, at least, some kind of control....