Review by angiedeeh1 -- The Weeping Woman of Putten
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angiedeeh1
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Review by angiedeeh1 -- The Weeping Woman of Putten
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Weeping Woman of Putten" by Alyce Bailey.]
Alyce Bailey tells a sorrowful, yet inspiring tale of one woman who fought hard for the people she loved, for a home that she loved, enduring months full of uncertainty and fear, always holding on to hope. As of October 1944, over four years after Germany first invaded the Netherlands, the presence of German soldiers in Putten wasn’t frequent but was never a good sign. As a family friend stood on their doorstep shortly after seeing soldiers up the road, Janneke was stirred to action. Her father had already sent her two brothers off, hoping to keep them away from the fight. Any able-bodied male could be put to use and not voluntarily.
Janneke was a caretaker by nature and a nurse by profession. Although her family didn't know, she often aided the efforts of the Dutch resistance; her uniform and credentials got her in and out of places others couldn't go. Janneke suggested the men go and hide until she could find out more. She would go into town in uniform under pretenses to investigate and bring word back to her family. The soldiers certainly wouldn't keep her from assisting anyone in need of medical attention, would they? What were they doing here? Her journey into town that day was just the beginning, as the villagers of Putten faced their longest, hardest day since the war began.
Eight months were marked since that day until the war was finally over, and the people of Putten were liberated. What happened in between began when a small group from the Dutch resistance ambushed a car containing German soldiers, sending most running from the car and wounding another. That’s how it all began; Putten and Janneke were never the same again.
The Weeping Woman of Putten was a very well written, at times agonizing fictional story that sheds light on a small village in the Netherlands. The author, Alyce Bailey, grew up in Putten, and unlike many others, her father was fortunate enough to survive the war. Born in 1947, she immigrated to the United States at age 23, but not before collecting many stories from the people of Putten about what happened there in late 1944. Her research became the basis for this book.
I liked the sense of responsibility and courage the protagonist of the story portrayed. Janneke is a strong character, and while supported by her fiance, parents, aunts, uncles, and so on, she takes the lead throughout. I often got the sense that no one told her what to do; she called the shots. It was mostly to her credit as she used it almost always to help someone else. Johan and Dirk (Janneke’s uncle and his son), are also important, but later in the story, because their paths were much different. I appreciated the way the author follows after them separately, giving us a picture of the impact the German raids had on Putten. While I know this is fictional, there are some obvious truths. Anyone who has learned anything about the Nazis during World War II should see those.
The book was well edited and proofread as I found only a couple of minor issues with punctuation. There was one minor use of profanity and a sentence that mentions intimacy, but there were no details. As the story takes place during World War II, some scenes discuss details of work camps and related material, although none of it is too graphic.
I enjoyed reading about this village and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about the Holocaust, or any fan of historical fiction. I wouldn’t suggest this book to young readers; I would recommend it for teens and above. With all of this in mind, I give this 4 out of 4 stars.
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The Weeping Woman of Putten
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Alyce Bailey tells a sorrowful, yet inspiring tale of one woman who fought hard for the people she loved, for a home that she loved, enduring months full of uncertainty and fear, always holding on to hope. As of October 1944, over four years after Germany first invaded the Netherlands, the presence of German soldiers in Putten wasn’t frequent but was never a good sign. As a family friend stood on their doorstep shortly after seeing soldiers up the road, Janneke was stirred to action. Her father had already sent her two brothers off, hoping to keep them away from the fight. Any able-bodied male could be put to use and not voluntarily.
Janneke was a caretaker by nature and a nurse by profession. Although her family didn't know, she often aided the efforts of the Dutch resistance; her uniform and credentials got her in and out of places others couldn't go. Janneke suggested the men go and hide until she could find out more. She would go into town in uniform under pretenses to investigate and bring word back to her family. The soldiers certainly wouldn't keep her from assisting anyone in need of medical attention, would they? What were they doing here? Her journey into town that day was just the beginning, as the villagers of Putten faced their longest, hardest day since the war began.
Eight months were marked since that day until the war was finally over, and the people of Putten were liberated. What happened in between began when a small group from the Dutch resistance ambushed a car containing German soldiers, sending most running from the car and wounding another. That’s how it all began; Putten and Janneke were never the same again.
The Weeping Woman of Putten was a very well written, at times agonizing fictional story that sheds light on a small village in the Netherlands. The author, Alyce Bailey, grew up in Putten, and unlike many others, her father was fortunate enough to survive the war. Born in 1947, she immigrated to the United States at age 23, but not before collecting many stories from the people of Putten about what happened there in late 1944. Her research became the basis for this book.
I liked the sense of responsibility and courage the protagonist of the story portrayed. Janneke is a strong character, and while supported by her fiance, parents, aunts, uncles, and so on, she takes the lead throughout. I often got the sense that no one told her what to do; she called the shots. It was mostly to her credit as she used it almost always to help someone else. Johan and Dirk (Janneke’s uncle and his son), are also important, but later in the story, because their paths were much different. I appreciated the way the author follows after them separately, giving us a picture of the impact the German raids had on Putten. While I know this is fictional, there are some obvious truths. Anyone who has learned anything about the Nazis during World War II should see those.
The book was well edited and proofread as I found only a couple of minor issues with punctuation. There was one minor use of profanity and a sentence that mentions intimacy, but there were no details. As the story takes place during World War II, some scenes discuss details of work camps and related material, although none of it is too graphic.
I enjoyed reading about this village and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about the Holocaust, or any fan of historical fiction. I wouldn’t suggest this book to young readers; I would recommend it for teens and above. With all of this in mind, I give this 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Weeping Woman of Putten
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
