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Gifts of War

Gifts of War
A Novel
by Mackenzie Ford
Published in USA Jun 2009,
464 pages.

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Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Nikki M. (Fort Wayne, IN)
Good book club book!
After a rather slow start, I found myself finding this book harder to put down as the story progressed! I think this would be a great book club pick - I think I'll suggest it for my own.

P.S. I do think this would best be read in one sitting or a couple of large "chunks". Enjoy!

Rated 2 of 5 of 5 by Iliana P. (Austin, TX)
Gifts of War
While I found this novel had a wonderful premise, I was never convinced this was set in the WWI time frame. The events were there and the action but there was a certain mood lacking.

I found the narrator's first person use took away from the narrative especially when he would break out and say something like "you have to remember that in 1914 in the British army we had no helmets." Interesting fact but I didn't see how he addresses the reader. This happened often enough and it's just something I don't particularly care for as it takes me away from the story.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Molly F. (Atlanta, GA)
The Truth Shall Set You Free
I found myself drawn into this story gently but surely. The story builds, layer upon layer and you want things to work out, but everyone keeps bumping into the truth.

It is at once a wonderful story about telling the truth and a candid view of the cost of first world war, about which I knew little.


Read it.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Ocia B. (Nevada, TX)
Touched
This book touched me on many levels. As a recent widow I was touched by the characters and how they draw you into their lives and their story. As an historian I found it vivid and accurate. I would gladly recommend it.

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Margaret H. (Springfield, VA)
Gifts of War
Starting with the Christmas Truce in 1914 and continuing through World War I until it's end in 1919, this book uses the life of Hal Montgomery to illustrate the effects of war on participants as well as those left behind. Hal meets a German soldier during the truce and, charged with giving his photograph to his fiancee in England, he instead falls in love with Sam and her son and hides his knowledge of her past. Hal and Sam and their families are examples of all the joys and sadness of war. The reader can come to his own conclusion about the ironic title, Gifts of War. This is a good addition to the recent books on World War, although the reader may become a bit bogged down in some of the information about intrigue.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Talya M. (Medical Lake, WA)
A beautiful story set in the turbulent times of WWI
During the Christmas Truce in WWII, a moment when enemies stopped fighting to celebrate life and Christmas, two men shared a moment that would change their lives forever. A British soldier made a promise to find the German soldier's girlfriend and tell her that he was thinking of her. After getting hurt on the battlefield the British soldier, Hal, went to keep his promise. He didn't expect to fall in love with the girl himself. The novel is not just a love story, but is a mix of espionage, adventure, families, and the "moral cost of war." This has been one of my best reads this year.
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