Reviewed by Vicki

TITLE: The Bells of Times Square

AUTHOR: Amy Lane

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

LENGTH: 236 pages

BLURB:

Every New Year’s Eve since 1946, Nate Meyer has ventured alone to Times Square to listen for the ghostly church bells he and his long-lost wartime lover vowed to hear together. This year, however, his grandson Blaine is pushing Nate through the Manhattan streets, revealing his secrets to his silent, stroke-stricken grandfather.

When Blaine introduces his boyfriend to his beloved grandfather, he has no idea that Nate holds a similar secret. As they endure the chilly death of the old year, Nate is drawn back in memory to a much earlier time . . . and to Walter.

Long before, in a peace carefully crafted in the heart of wartime tumult, Nate and Walter forged a loving home in the midst of violence and chaos. But nothing in war is permanent, and now all Nate has is memories of a man his family never knew existed. And a hope that he’ll finally hear the church bells that will unite everybody—including the lovers who hid the best and most sacred parts of their hearts.

REVIEW:

What can I say about this book… How can I adequately share the beauty and heartbreak of it? I don’t have the words. But I’ll try.

Nathan Meyer is the main character, it begins with him as an old man. He’s had a stroke and is about done with his life. His grandson is taking him on his annual trek to listen for bells from a church near Time Square. Blaine, his grandson, has a secret he wants to share with his beloved grandpa. Blaine has a boyfriend, and wants his grandpa’s approval. Nate wants desperately to give his approval…. Because Nate has a secret too, he once had a boy of his own.

Nate was once a young man, a photographer, flying over France taking photos of Nazi installations during WWII. We follow his story in a flashback that takes most of the book. I like this method of telling a story quite a bit. I’ve read two WWII stories told through flashbacks, just in the last week or so, and both are proof that this can work very well. So Nate is a photographer, he is flown out over the countryside, they have just a few moments to take a few photos and back they go. It’s a small group of men that do this, they form a tight bond, but Nate’s pilot is an asshole. Nate is Jewish, and his asshole pilot doesn’t approve of that. They go out one night, Nate sees something odd and suggests they take a photo or two. They are spotted, shot down, and the asshole pilot goes out cursing Jews in general, and Nate specifically.

Nate is rescued by a man, a boy really, who has been hiding in the woods in France. He’s a POW, lost and alone. He helps Nate recover and they form a very strong bond. Most of the story takes place in an abandoned summer home, that Walter has been living in for some months by the time Nate comes along. The two have a rare and precious bit of happiness in the midst of a horrible time. But Nate knows it can’t continue, partly due to the roll of film he has in his pocket. Not to mention the risk of living behind enemy lines. They have a short amount of time, the barest start of a potential life, but reality can’t be put off for long.

This is a history book. About a small bit of WWII I knew nothing about. I’m admittedly not much up on that time in history. So we learn a little about the photographers who found things, good and bad. It’s also a book about a Jewish man, living in a non Jewish world. We get Yiddish words, a bit of history, a look at a family affected by the war and by time. It’s also a romance. Nate and Walter do have a romance, as much as they can. They tell stories, share meals, bath together, play cards. They also hide under the floor while a Nazi officer fucks a French resistance fighter in the room above them. They have a lot of life and adventure in a short amount of time together. It’s a book about friendship, Nate and Walter are friends, Nate has other friends he’s not even aware off at the time. Fellow Airmen, pilots, fighters, his family, they all help him in their own way.

This is an angsty book, as Amy knows how to do. It’s all of the things we expect from her, dark and sad, sweet and beautiful. Nate and Walter are both gentle souls in a very bad place. They are great characters, but there are so many others as well, both good and bad, that all add to this story. Amy’s research makes this seem like a plausible story, she gives us lots of details about the time, I especially liked the Yiddish that Nate uses, and his bits of Jewish belief. It made it all much more real for me. It appears Amy has a family connection to the war, I can only imagine the stories her grandparents told. We all know Amy is an amazing writer, this is another example of her incredible skill. I don’t have the words to tell you how good she is. She just is…

You’ll need your box of tissues, it is a bittersweet story, but it is so worth reading.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Riptide

Amazon

Amazon UK

ARe