I would not describe myself as a voracious reader but when I discover a new author of whom I approve I do tend to become somewhat of a temporary bookworm. Such has been the case, in triplicate no less, these past two months.
It all started when persistent urging from friends and family introduced me to 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini, probably the best novel that I have ever read. Sadly , in my humble opinion, the film is not as good as the book but nonetheless worth watching provided the printed word is consumed first. To date Hosseini has only written two novels and his second, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', is, and again in my humble opinion, a must read although perhaps slightly more appealing to the fairer sex than us males. If I had any doubts about the commitment of both the United States and the United Kingdom to bringing about the downfall of the Taliban, and to allow the Afghans a chance to experience democracy, these have been totally dispelled as a result of my exposure to these two masterpieces. As I mentioned Hosseini has only written two books thus far and so it was that I was experiencing literary withdrawal until, and thanks to my ever caring daughter, I was introduced to author Charles Martin by way of his excellent novel 'Where the River Ends'. Martin is obviously a very devout young man. I confess that this might normally result in my tending to seek other reading material but his style and content is so good that I was hooked and have now read all his books of which 'When Crickets Cry' was perhaps my favorite. Luck was obviously on my side as having discovered two new authors I was fearful that my daily reading would cease. A book with the unlikely title 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society' magically appeared in my suitcase as I was about to depart for my annual golfing pilgrimage to Scotland. My wife knows me like a book (how’s that for an awful pun?) after nigh fifty years of wedded bliss! This charming first novel by Mary Ann Shaffer, in conjunction with her niece Annie Barrows, is unusual in as much as the narrative is in the form of letters exchanged by the main characters. The Channel Islands, of which Guernsey is the second largest, lie just off the coast of France in the English Channel. They were the only part of the British Commonwealth to be occupied by the Germans in WW2. As I read this book and learned of the suffering of the residents I was reminded of my own childhood in the suburbs of London at that time. I could relate to the sight and sound of enemy bombers flying overhead. More especially, toward the end of the war, to the terrifying 'doodlebugs', as the V1 rockets were called, and subsequently the V2 rockets. The 'doodlebugs' will always be my most vivid memory. They were small, sinister looking, liquid fueled, pulse jet propelled, pilot-less aircraft. They were the most evil of weapons as they had no navigation system and were launched without any specific target in mind. When the fuel ran out the engine quit and the 'flying bomb' dropped on whom or what ever happened to be underneath. I can still visualize 'doodlebugs' flying over my house and waiting for their dreadful noise to stop. Occassionally a Spitfire or Hurricane would appear and the brave RAF pilot would attempt to engage the wing of his plane under the small wing of the V1 and flip it off course so that when the inevitable time came it would not drop onto a built up area. I was lucky to live to tell this tale but not so my older cousin and her small child who lived nearby. They were killed by a direct hit from a 'doodlebug'. As I read about the plight of the people of Guernsey I was reminded of the debt of gratitude that all of my generation, and those that have followed, owe the men and women who fought against Nazi tyranny. Had it not been for them we would have grown up and lived our lives under the oppression the likes of which was suffered in Guernsey for five long years. It is perhaps prophetic that as I was finishing this book I learned of two events which will take place shortly and which should remind us that time is indeed flying by and that the veterans of WW2 are getting fewer and fewer. I have long been a supporter of Beaufort Performing Arts, we are so lucky to have such an organization in our fair community. In October they are holding a series of events to salute the “greatest generation”, our WW2 veterans. The series concludes on Oct. 11 with 'War Bonds: The Songs and Letters of World War II'. Details of this family show and the other events can be obtained by visiting their website at www.beaufortscperformingarts.com or by calling 843 521-4145. It came as a surprise to me to learn that until 2004 there was not a WW2 memorial in the nations capital, Washington DC. Now there is and it is most fitting that in 2005 Honor Flight Network was formed. It was the brainchild of retired Air Force Captain Earl Morse who realised that WWII veterans were passing away at an ever increasing rate and without ever seeing the memorial to them. The objective of Honor Flight is to take to Washington, free of charge, our WWII heroes and for them to see the memorial as a way of saying a belated thank you for their sacrifices for our country many decades ago. More recently a dedicated small group of volunteers here in our area have formed Honor Flight Low Country. They will be taking the first group of veterans to DC on November 7th, 2009. They are asking for the generous support of area residents not only to help raise approximately $50,000 but also to act as guides on the trip and provide assistance in numerous other ways. For more information please visit their website www.honorflightlowcountry.com or call 843 906-0399. War is a terrible thing but let us not forget that without the bravery of our troops in days of yore and today none of us would have the chance of reading books such as those which have given me so much pleasure in recent months.
Margaret Evans is the Editor of Lowcountry Weekly. She has been writing her regular column "Rants & Raves" for the better part of a decade, which is a lot of bloviating for someone who's not an expert. On anything.Read More >>
Speakers Corner 
