The Postmistress

I had high hopes for this book, The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.  My favorite time historical time period is the World War II years, so naturally this novel seemed to be a perfect fit.  Unfortunately, I feel the story falls short of the author's attempt at weaving two worlds together. 

The story begins at a dinner party where a guest recalls a time when a postal worker withholds the mail and the chain reaction that this causes.  However, the exposition before this event occurs is nearly the entire book!  While the exposition and rising action of the novel kept me somewhat involved, I wasn't truly invested in the story.  I kept waiting for the postal worker's huge indiscretion to occur.  While the story was over developed,characters didn't seem to be developed enough for me to be truly invested in them.  When happiness or tragedy occurred within the novel I really didn't feel much of anything for them. 

I did enjoy Frankie Bard's story and believe that this would lead to a much stronger and more intriguing plot.  Her story, and the stories of other reporters during wartime in London, would have been a much better use of the author's time and energy.  I found myself counting the pages until the end of the book.