Tying Down The Lion edition by Joanna Campbell Literature Fiction eBooks
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It is 1967 and the Bishop family are departing their UK home for a somewhat unusual road trip. Their destination Berlin, a gritty city recovering from the bombs of World War Two and now sliced in half by the Cold War. Will the journey unite the Anglo-German family, or rip them apart?
Grandma Nell loathes foreigners, especially German daughter-in-law Bridget. She’s none too pleased about son Roy jamming the whole family into an aging Morris Traveller car for the duration. Granddaughter Jacqueline observes the trip – and the resultant spillage of family secrets – with a keen eye and a notepad in which to pen it all.
This is a story of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation, and the discovery of how something divided can be more revealing than a perfect whole. It is a quest for a family who build walls in their minds as they try to discover who they are and where they belong, in a city where nothing is quite as it seems.
Tying Down The Lion is a remarkable story that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. It is suitable for readers of all ages.
Tying Down The Lion edition by Joanna Campbell Literature Fiction eBooks
I've been reading some well-crafted novels of late. One of the best was released in June by UK-based Brick Lane Publishing.The author, Joanna Campbell, is a prize-winning short story writer. "Tying Down the Lion" is her debut novel. I am so grateful for having stumbled upon it.
The first scene pulled me in and then before I knew it, I was in the old Morris Traveller together with the Bishop family headed for 1967 Berlin to visit Bridget's sisters. No cup holders, movies, or electronic entertainment, mind you. Grandma Nell is a hoot. In chapter 4, we reach Checkpoint Alpha, where engine trouble causes quite a scene. "This is worse than Daleks," Victor whines in absolute misery. Jacqueline's interactions with her little brother ring true. At times, "a rush of sisterly love surges," and at others she tells her crying brother that "they arrest people for being a cry-baby." Jacqueline's observations and the emotional outbursts of the Bishops are a superb foil to the demeanour of the East German guards.
Humour sparkles throughout the book, and I laughed out loud at its sudden appearance in the family's banter. The conversation between the characters flows naturally, which adds to the feel of the journey for the reader. One of my favourite interactions, with its blend of seriousness and spirited humour, is in chapter 4:
"I'm not turning back, Bridge. They might start firing."
This is too much for Victor. His arms bristle with goose-pimples.
"Now you know why they call it the Cold War, duckie," Grandma says, offering him a nip of her brandy.
And it's in chapter 4 that we are given our first clue as to why the book is entitled, "Tying Down the Lion." More clues are threaded throughout the rest of the book. I was captivated over and over by these finely spun details and by the mention of those little things that hold people together. Roy's puns are brilliant and Bridget's struggles with English (and her mother-in-law) are poignant.
Upon meeting the two sisters, one in West Berlin and the other in East Berlin, the reader is taken even deeper into the complex nature of how ordinary people live day by day when they are caught up in times of madness and still entangled in the past. I don't want to say much more, for the descriptions of divided Berlin are breathtaking and the experiences of Jacqueline and her mother on the east side of the Wall are moving and thought-provoking.
Ms. Campbell takes the reader on a road trip from the UK to East Germany, yes, but we're really on a journey with a remarkable family whose story is exquisitely rendered. I am eager to read more novels in the near future from this perceptive writer.
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Tying Down The Lion edition by Joanna Campbell Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Tying Down The Lion is a historical fiction book set in the late 1960's in Berlin during the Cold War. It is also the story of life in Berlin for Eleora a young Jewish girl who spent years being hidden from the Nazi's. Plus there is a third storyline, one of Jacqueline Bishop and her family surviving together, learning secrets and growing up.
Jacqueline and her family are about to set off for a holiday to Berlin in a dilapidated car. It's 1967 and fourteen year old Jacqueline will document the visit as part of a school project about contrasts. Bridget wants to return to Berlin, her homeland to visit her two sisters. Sisters who have been torn apart by the Berlin Wall which separates East from West.
The Bishop family squash into the car, Mum, Dad, Grandma, Jacqueline and her seven year old brother Victor. Dad is a prison warder with his own night terrors caused by memories from the war. During the story Jacqueline gets to hear shocking secrets of her mother's past. In 1938 Bridget was known as Eleora, she lived with her parents, her father was a musician, their world was full of parties and dancing, but danger lurked, they were Jews in Berlin. Eleora was secretly sent to live with her Aunt and her two cousins, she was given a new identity, Birgit and she was to become their sister. The oldest cousin Beate was full of Hitler's National Youth teachings and resented hiding her cousin. Ilse was gentle and kind. When hiding Birgit became too much she was taken to a factory and hidden in severely harsh circumstances for years, to keep her safe and it almost killed her.
Returning to Belin opens up old wounds, they stay in West berlin with Beate, but have organised a day trip to East Berlin for Bridget and Jacqueline to see Isle, the contrasts and hardships for all who live in Berlin in both the war years and the Cold War are very eye-opening.
This book is written in a very intense writing style. I was very interested in the divided Berlin during the Cold War and I wanted to read much more about the war years and Eleora's life during that time. For me the Bishop family dramas took up too much of the book. Grandma's endless supply of sweets became rather unbelievable as did the money the hard up family managed to keep spending. There was good use of detail from the 1960's but at times it felt too much. A number of occasions time seemed to be endless for the family; day one of their trip, the amount of sight-seeing they fitted in during a day trip in West Berlin, the day with Ilse, I think too much was fitted in and I was as exhausted as much as the characters.
An interesting read, just too many strong storylines all fighting for the readers attention.
This review is based on a free copy of the book given to me by the author.
I've been reading some well-crafted novels of late. One of the best was released in June by UK-based Brick Lane Publishing.
The author, Joanna Campbell, is a prize-winning short story writer. "Tying Down the Lion" is her debut novel. I am so grateful for having stumbled upon it.
The first scene pulled me in and then before I knew it, I was in the old Morris Traveller together with the Bishop family headed for 1967 Berlin to visit Bridget's sisters. No cup holders, movies, or electronic entertainment, mind you. Grandma Nell is a hoot. In chapter 4, we reach Checkpoint Alpha, where engine trouble causes quite a scene. "This is worse than Daleks," Victor whines in absolute misery. Jacqueline's interactions with her little brother ring true. At times, "a rush of sisterly love surges," and at others she tells her crying brother that "they arrest people for being a cry-baby." Jacqueline's observations and the emotional outbursts of the Bishops are a superb foil to the demeanour of the East German guards.
Humour sparkles throughout the book, and I laughed out loud at its sudden appearance in the family's banter. The conversation between the characters flows naturally, which adds to the feel of the journey for the reader. One of my favourite interactions, with its blend of seriousness and spirited humour, is in chapter 4
"I'm not turning back, Bridge. They might start firing."
This is too much for Victor. His arms bristle with goose-pimples.
"Now you know why they call it the Cold War, duckie," Grandma says, offering him a nip of her brandy.
And it's in chapter 4 that we are given our first clue as to why the book is entitled, "Tying Down the Lion." More clues are threaded throughout the rest of the book. I was captivated over and over by these finely spun details and by the mention of those little things that hold people together. Roy's puns are brilliant and Bridget's struggles with English (and her mother-in-law) are poignant.
Upon meeting the two sisters, one in West Berlin and the other in East Berlin, the reader is taken even deeper into the complex nature of how ordinary people live day by day when they are caught up in times of madness and still entangled in the past. I don't want to say much more, for the descriptions of divided Berlin are breathtaking and the experiences of Jacqueline and her mother on the east side of the Wall are moving and thought-provoking.
Ms. Campbell takes the reader on a road trip from the UK to East Germany, yes, but we're really on a journey with a remarkable family whose story is exquisitely rendered. I am eager to read more novels in the near future from this perceptive writer.
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