WWII from a different perspective. How the War affected the lives of everyday people in the mist of it in Europe and in a small town on Cape Cod.

The Postmistress gets off to a slow start. If you can get through the first 75 pages or so, it gets so much better after that. I really liked that part of it was set in the US before we entered WW11. It was interesting to read about what life was like on the eve of war. Our book club had some thought-provoking discussion about relationships, war, the news, and the sharing/withholding of information. Overall, most of our members liked the book but didn't love it.

It was difficult in the beginning and got a little better throughout, but kinda slow and boring

After reading so many WWII novels, I wasnt sure there was more to read, but this was a new twist. The author portrayed the effects of the war to personal families in a small New England town and foiled it against an American radio commentator in Europe, and then tied it all up together. It was an enlightening read.

Excellent for discussion.

Very slow, very wordy and very boring.

My rating is of three stars reflects my love for the character Frankie and her plot line taking place in Europe, but as for the characters set in Homefront USA, I would give it a two. The book does stimulate discussion.

I liked it--good believable characters, good story, pleasant read.

I've read many books set during WWII, but this one was lacking. Too many chance encounters--it just didn't grab me.

This book is not about plot so much as it is about character and a time that most of us do not remember. When letters were our lifeline to the outside world and the only way to contact our loved ones. Set in WWII, this transoceanic story contains a number of subplots, all of which intertwine through the postmistress of a sleepy east coast town. The characters are very well written and although it is historical fiction, depicts a turbulent time in the world's history with great care and depth. I wished there had been another chapter to tie up some of the loose ends but overall, a delight to read.

Excellent book! Our club had a very lively discussion. Some of our members are old enough to remember WWII so their insights were especially interesting.

The story winds around unrealized expectations, guilt and purposeful withholding of information. It is another twist on the holocaust theme.

Thought provoking and beautifully written, I could not stop reading.

THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake takes place in the early 1940s, shortly before the U.S. entered World War II. But it was raging in Europe, and Londoners were enduring continual German bombings.

I don’t know why this book is called THE POSTMISTRESS because the postmistress is just one of the main characters. (By the way, there’s no such thing as “postmistress” in the U.S. She would nave been properly called “postmaster.”)

There’s also a young doctor who feels a mysterious need to leave his new wife and go to London to help the victims of the German bombings.

And there’s the young wife left behind who, of course, is left pregnant. (Isn’t that almost a cliché?)

And there’s the Austrian man who everyone thinks is German. He’s Jewish, but he doesn’t tell anyone. And, to show how mean we are to people we think represent the enemy, most everyone is suspicious of him.

And there’s the postmistress’s (postmaster’s) boyfriend who watches for U boats.

And there’s an American radio reporter in London who gets an assignment to travel on trains across Europe and record refugees trying to get out.

I thought the book was a bit dull at first but got better with the story of the radio reporter in Europe recording refugees on trains. But when the story moved back to the US, it was a bit syrupy for my taste, with people having premonitions of bad news.

Blake tried too hard to remind the reader that this was the 1940s, so different from the 2010s. Everyone smoked at every opportunity, and she even went so far as to describe a woman having her period in the time before tampons. Blake even described the woman's use of a kotex belt rather than the oh-so-modern adhesive.

Gimme a break; that was more than I needed to know!

The book wasn't bad, but it didn't live up to the recommendations I read.

Slow at first but once you get into it the book is lovely. The characters grow on you and the ending is not what I was expecting. The story abit cliche as mentioned by other readers but the story is absolutely thought provoking and opens up many conversations for your bookclub. Sarah Blake is a very good writer and very descriptive. Leaves nothing to the immagination when reading and paints a picture with her words. Good read.

Sarah Blake writes her novel in an omniscience voice. Which is a difficult point of view for any author to write and difficult for any reader to know who is talking which ends up leading to a lack of connection or identification to any of the characters. Thus leading to an unsatisfying read for our book club. Blake is very descriptive but it can't over come the lack of identification of with the characters. We felt the book had an identity problem it aspires to be literary fiction, but it is more of a romance written with too much formula and too little substance.

I loved this book. It was a great character study and taught me quite a bit about WW2.

The book is the intertwining story of people affected by WWII. An American reporter covering WW!! In Europe, overwhelmed by the horror and ugliness, and angered by the seeming apathy of Americans at home -and Americans in a small town in Massachusetts who slowly hear about the war through the radio voice of the reporter and others before it became a harsh reality to them all. It explores the question of whether or not we really want to know the truth. Are we better off living in ignorance and hope or not? Do we have an obligation to tell someone something that will hurt them? When is it right to cushion the news? Would people rather hear a lie than the truth? Who is watching over us? I thoroughly enjoyed this book

An insightful look at the 2nd world war which America was on the verge of entering. Frankie Bard. the reporter overseas gives us the frightening accounting of what is happening in Europe while back in America we experience the lives here through Iris the Postmistress and Harry the mechanic who is sure the war is coming to America's shores.

I didn't actually finish this book. It was not interesting enough.

Some stories don't get told. Some you hold on to. Perhaps it should also be said that some stories hold on to you. Long after you turn the last page and close the book, the people from within those pages and their stories linger. This is one of those stories. It's a story about the power of words, the written word, spoken words, voices and how they carry our history and our stories. Told largely though the eyes and voices of women, this is a very different kind of war story and it is indeed one that will stay with you and hold on long after you close the cover, tuck it neatly into the dust jacket and set it on the shelf. The words, the voices, the story will hold on to you.

A holocaust book that tells the story on the periphery. Interesting view of the media, especially in comparison to today's pervasive paparazzi. A book that asks the question of what do you do when you learn the horrors of genocide being perpetrated against innocent people.

The first half of this book is boring the second half got interesting. No one in our club really loved this book however it was a very lively discussion.

I do recommend this because of the good discussion even though all of us were just kind of meh on the book.

My book group enjoyed The Postmistress. It got the highest rating of any book we have read. The story is interesting and kept our attention. We highly recommend this book to other book groups.