Coventry by Canadian novelist Helen Humphreys is a quick read, a small gem of a book that leaves a lasting impression. It was a Trillium Book Award finalist, NYTimes Editor's Choice and a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year.
A few short chapters taking place in 1914 and 1919 introduce us to Harriet, whose enlisted fiance is leaving for duty. Outside the train station, she befriends an optimistic young artist named Maeve and they spend the day together.
Forward to another war in 1940, where Harriet is on duty atop the roof of Coventry cathedral watching for fires, as German bombers begin an attack by dropping incendiaries onto the city. Soon the cathedral is aflame, and as the wave of bombing begins she wanders the streets with another fire warden, Jeremy. Coventry was reduced to rubble that night, with blocks burned out or completely destroyed. Thousands were hurt and 600 killed when the blitz of 500 bombers wiped out over 4000 buildings. Many times a scream or cry was heard from under the rubble, or an exposed hand reached out, but even as people begin digging, the cries became silent. With continual blasts of broken windows or crumbling walls around them, Harriet and Jeremy stick together as they visit Air Raid shelters, makeshift hospitals and wander out towards the surrounding fields searching for Jeremy's mother. They join a slow procession of hundreds of people leaving the city, carrying what they are able or have left - canned goods, pets, blankets.
Coventry cathedral was the only cathedral destroyed in the war. It has since been rebuilt around and incorporating the bombed out portions.
This was a surprise, a touching book about a historical event I didn't know about. Humphreys writes with a gentle hand, focusing on the human connections and moments of normalcy amidst the smoke and chaos. It gave me a real sense of what an event like this was like, scary and disorienting.
Really enjoyed reading it, so much I read another by Humphreys right after it.
My other reviews for Helen Humphreys:
2008 / Tradeback / 194 pages
Helen is one of my favorite authors, it's so clear she is a poet. Coventry is my favorite book of the last ten years.