Their Finest Hour and a Half

Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans

Someone recommended this to someone on Facebook and I went to have a look and liked what I saw. Very glad I did, because I really enjoyed this book. An unusual plot and structure, some memorable (if perhaps a little stereotyped) characters, and lots of humour throughout.

It's wartime and Catrin is working for the Ministry of Information making propaganda films, when she's asked to join a team of writers putting together a script for a film about the evacuation of Dunkirk. The book then follows the stories of other people caught up in the film -a vain aging actor, a spinster seamstress who gets a job in the wardrobe department - as well as Catrin's story as she breaks up with her partner and finds her boss falling in love with her.

It's a great depiction of the home front, from an unsual angle. Bombs are falling all around but the filming must go on, as the powers that be are hoping the film might help bring America into the war. I loved this book, and will search out more from this author.