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A review by wart
The Bells of Times Square by Amy Lane
5.0
You can read this and other reviews at Things I Find While Shelving
I received a free ARC via NetGalley
Ouch. This book hurts.
Well, I mean, it’s a WWII novel with a gay Jewish main character so the chances of not hurting were very slim, and the amount that it hurts is just a testament to how well Amy Lane has crafted this beautiful, moving story.
We begin with modern times. Our main character, Nate, has had a stroke and can no longer talk and is wheelchair bound. But he still insists on going to Times Square every New Years, listening for bells he knows will never ring, as he has been doing since the end of WWII, listening for the bells that will connect him and the love he lost.
This year, his grandson takes him. And his grandson’s boyfriend comes to, and it begins with a sweet, heart wrenching coming out scene as Nate thinks of his own first love and struggles to speak to his grandson, to give him the words he’s hoping to hear.
And then we get Nate’s flashback. We go through everything he went through, from a crashed plane to a lost midwesterner nursing him back to health. Walter has been holed up in a house in the German countryside for quite awhile after escaping a POW camp. Now he brings Nate into his sanctuary, his safe haven, and they slowly develop a friendship and, deep down, Nate longs for something more. He won’t admit it at first, between a lack of cultural acceptance and a religious background that generally frowns upon such things, Nate has been denying his attraction to men for a long time.
But he’s falling for Walter. It isn’t just physical attraction, he is truly falling in love with Walther. And though it takes a lot for him to admit it - living in a world that insists it isn’t possible for people like them - Walter falls for Nate.
And then they have a chance to get out, to get back to relative safety. And they have resistance members who will help them - partly because one of them is the reason that they can’t just hide any more.
But…well.
I won’t tell you any more. Because this book. It is quite the story, very well written, well crafted, and heart wrenching. And beautiful. Very beautiful.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley
Ouch. This book hurts.
Well, I mean, it’s a WWII novel with a gay Jewish main character so the chances of not hurting were very slim, and the amount that it hurts is just a testament to how well Amy Lane has crafted this beautiful, moving story.
We begin with modern times. Our main character, Nate, has had a stroke and can no longer talk and is wheelchair bound. But he still insists on going to Times Square every New Years, listening for bells he knows will never ring, as he has been doing since the end of WWII, listening for the bells that will connect him and the love he lost.
This year, his grandson takes him. And his grandson’s boyfriend comes to, and it begins with a sweet, heart wrenching coming out scene as Nate thinks of his own first love and struggles to speak to his grandson, to give him the words he’s hoping to hear.
And then we get Nate’s flashback. We go through everything he went through, from a crashed plane to a lost midwesterner nursing him back to health. Walter has been holed up in a house in the German countryside for quite awhile after escaping a POW camp. Now he brings Nate into his sanctuary, his safe haven, and they slowly develop a friendship and, deep down, Nate longs for something more. He won’t admit it at first, between a lack of cultural acceptance and a religious background that generally frowns upon such things, Nate has been denying his attraction to men for a long time.
But he’s falling for Walter. It isn’t just physical attraction, he is truly falling in love with Walther. And though it takes a lot for him to admit it - living in a world that insists it isn’t possible for people like them - Walter falls for Nate.
And then they have a chance to get out, to get back to relative safety. And they have resistance members who will help them - partly because one of them is the reason that they can’t just hide any more.
But…well.
I won’t tell you any more. Because this book. It is quite the story, very well written, well crafted, and heart wrenching. And beautiful. Very beautiful.