...Remember, the walls we build are not to keep people out but to keep our mind within. The greatest mistakes we make are the mistakes that eventually give meaning to others. It is only for us that the mistake is a true tragedy. Often we are our own wall...
The Walls We Build by Jules Hayes is a captivating and haunting story of love, loss, family secrets and heartbreak, set in a dual timeline.
It captures the spirit of the pre-war and war era perfectly, with the changing dynamics of the women's role in the male-dominated society.
Personal stories of the fictional and real life characters are convincingly interwoven to create an authentic, compelling tale.
Personal stories of the fictional and real life characters are convincingly interwoven to create an authentic, compelling tale.
The narrative moves from the past to the present with ease.
Three childhood friends - Frank, Hilda and Florence - grow around Churchill's estate. They are inseparable friends whose relationship is complex.
"Clever Hilda, who'd always protected Florence, since school, and in so doing, controlled her a little too... Florence envied Hilda's beauty and cleverness, and had always wanted to be more like her. It had never crossed her mind that Hilda might envy her".
They are both in love with Frank, who also seems to be undecided about who he wants to marry.
He feels more protective towards Hilda, who has become a recluse after having a baby out of wedlock. More out of self-imposed duty (it's not his child), Frank marries Hilda, while being attracted to vivacious Florence.
Florence and Frank love baby Anna, who's a fragile little girl, deprived of her mother's affection. Hilda is traumatised psychologically, and cannot love Anna, who's a constant reminder of her rape.
Her lack of kindness towards her only daughter will bring them both much misery and result in a tragedy.
Frank is a bricklayer with a love of books, rather unusual for a man of his environment.
"Frank has been a complicated man, a man of many layers", as his grandson Richard thinks of him many years later. He had been "working class, a staunch labour supporter, a big union man his entire life" but he also held Churchill in high esteem.
Before the war he once worked for Churchill, and despite them belonging to two opposite social classes, they found rapport and understanding, and held each other in respect.
Churchill makes several appearances through the book. We see him at Chartwell estate, building a wall, painting, being a cantankerous grumpy master of the house, but also showing his kindness and wisdom. We meet him in North Africa, where Frank serves during the war. We read his correspondence. Churchill is depicted as a charismatic and driven yet egocentric and rather flawed character.
It's Florence who has the most fulfilled life. She never stops loving Frank, but it doesn't prevent her from enjoying life to the full. "In many ways she was ahead of her time". She escapes the small-minded consciousness of her village by being recruited into the war effort.
We meet her first in 1928 as a young woman, much in love with Frank, resigned to the fact that he is going to marry her best friend. It is clear from the beginning she is not going to follow a path which is almost predetermined for a woman of her generation and standing. She's a rebel, who learns how to ride a motorbike. She also enjoys reading and follows the political news.
We later encounter her in 2002, "still bemused she'd made it to the twenty-first century". On seeing the photo of Frank's grandson Richard in the newspaper (he's a barrister), she wants to get in touch with him: "She had to tell someone about her and Frank's secrets before the end came.
Secrets and denial: if there'd been fewer of the former and more understanding of the latter, all of their destinies would have taken a different path, especially the woman whose existence had been affected the most".
Richard is a successful barrister, but he had wanted to be a pianist. "Richard had always recognised his grandad's disenchantment with life, covering him like a second skin. Richard identified with it, because despite his success in the field of law, he felt much the same. He was more like his grandad than his dad... Both wanting something different to what they had".
It's left to Richard to unravel the knots to find out the hidden secrets and truth that shaped the fates of his grandparents, Florence and the woman of whose existence he never knew.
The Walls We Build is a complex, thought-provoking and utterly absorbing story, which will linger in your mind. Hayes is a terrific storyteller.
Potential triggers: domestic violence, rape, incest, baby loss, war deaths and mental illness.
Many thanks to Jules Hayes, Jukebox Publishing and Rachel's Random Resources for an advance review copy of the book.
Three childhood friends - Frank, Hilda and Florence - grow around Churchill's estate. They are inseparable friends whose relationship is complex.
"Clever Hilda, who'd always protected Florence, since school, and in so doing, controlled her a little too... Florence envied Hilda's beauty and cleverness, and had always wanted to be more like her. It had never crossed her mind that Hilda might envy her".
They are both in love with Frank, who also seems to be undecided about who he wants to marry.
He feels more protective towards Hilda, who has become a recluse after having a baby out of wedlock. More out of self-imposed duty (it's not his child), Frank marries Hilda, while being attracted to vivacious Florence.
Florence and Frank love baby Anna, who's a fragile little girl, deprived of her mother's affection. Hilda is traumatised psychologically, and cannot love Anna, who's a constant reminder of her rape.
Her lack of kindness towards her only daughter will bring them both much misery and result in a tragedy.
Frank is a bricklayer with a love of books, rather unusual for a man of his environment.
"Frank has been a complicated man, a man of many layers", as his grandson Richard thinks of him many years later. He had been "working class, a staunch labour supporter, a big union man his entire life" but he also held Churchill in high esteem.
Before the war he once worked for Churchill, and despite them belonging to two opposite social classes, they found rapport and understanding, and held each other in respect.
Churchill makes several appearances through the book. We see him at Chartwell estate, building a wall, painting, being a cantankerous grumpy master of the house, but also showing his kindness and wisdom. We meet him in North Africa, where Frank serves during the war. We read his correspondence. Churchill is depicted as a charismatic and driven yet egocentric and rather flawed character.
It's Florence who has the most fulfilled life. She never stops loving Frank, but it doesn't prevent her from enjoying life to the full. "In many ways she was ahead of her time". She escapes the small-minded consciousness of her village by being recruited into the war effort.
We meet her first in 1928 as a young woman, much in love with Frank, resigned to the fact that he is going to marry her best friend. It is clear from the beginning she is not going to follow a path which is almost predetermined for a woman of her generation and standing. She's a rebel, who learns how to ride a motorbike. She also enjoys reading and follows the political news.
We later encounter her in 2002, "still bemused she'd made it to the twenty-first century". On seeing the photo of Frank's grandson Richard in the newspaper (he's a barrister), she wants to get in touch with him: "She had to tell someone about her and Frank's secrets before the end came.
Secrets and denial: if there'd been fewer of the former and more understanding of the latter, all of their destinies would have taken a different path, especially the woman whose existence had been affected the most".
Richard is a successful barrister, but he had wanted to be a pianist. "Richard had always recognised his grandad's disenchantment with life, covering him like a second skin. Richard identified with it, because despite his success in the field of law, he felt much the same. He was more like his grandad than his dad... Both wanting something different to what they had".
It's left to Richard to unravel the knots to find out the hidden secrets and truth that shaped the fates of his grandparents, Florence and the woman of whose existence he never knew.
The Walls We Build is a complex, thought-provoking and utterly absorbing story, which will linger in your mind. Hayes is a terrific storyteller.
Potential triggers: domestic violence, rape, incest, baby loss, war deaths and mental illness.
Many thanks to Jules Hayes, Jukebox Publishing and Rachel's Random Resources for an advance review copy of the book.
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0855YZ3GG/
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0855YZ3GG/
This post is one of the blog tour stops for The Walls We Build.
Author Bio:
Jules Hayes lives in Berkshire with her husband, daughter and a dog. She has a degree in modern history and holds a particular interest in events and characters from the early 20th century. As a former physiotherapist and trainer - old habits die hard - when not writing Jules likes to run. She also loves to watch films, read good novels and is a voracious consumer of non-fiction, particularly biographies.
Jules is currently working on her second historical novel, another dual timeline story.
Jules also writes contemporary thriller and speculative fiction as JA Corrigan.
Social Media:
Website: https://www.jules-hayes.com
Twitter: @JulesHayes6
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JulesHayesAuthor
Instagram: @JulesHayes6
Writing as JA Corrigan, Jules can be found at
Website: http://www.jacorrigan.com
Twitter: @juliannwriter
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jacorrigan
Instagram: @corriganjulieann
GIVEAWAY
If you like the sound of this book, here is your chance to win a signed copy of The Walls We Build (open internationally).
T&Cs:
Worlwide entries welcome.
Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.
The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email.
If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel's Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purposes only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners' information.
This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel's Random Resources will delete the data.
I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Please keep in mind that the giveaway is being ran across several blogs, and not exclusively at Chez Maximka. Chez Maximka is hosting the Rafflecopter gadget gratis for the purposes of promoting the book, and has nothing to do with any collected data.
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sounds like a great read. I've entered :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a good book, Cheryl, if you haven't won it, I can send you my proof copy.
Delete