- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday Canada; Trade PB edition (May 18 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385258380
- ISBN-13: 978-0385258388
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 463 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,464,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"This is high-class fiction: tense, compassionate, surprising and moving." --Independent on Sunday
Book Description
It is 1943, and the German Army has been defeated at Stalingrad. The Russians have taken 91,000 prisoners; 145,000 German soldiers have been killed. The tide is beginning to turn.
But on Guernsey and the rest of the Channel Islands, the only British territory to have been occupied by German troops, such a reversal is unimaginable. Here, in idyllic surroundings, the reality of war seems a lifetime away. While resentment runs high, life goes on, parties are held, love affairs blossom and the Guernsey Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Players can still stage productions of Private Lives, Babes in the Wood and Peter Pan--albeit with suspiciously jackbooted pirates.
But when a young local woman is found murdered, both the islanders and the occupiers are forced to acknowledge that this most civilized of wars conceals a struggle that is darker and more bitter than anyone cares to recognize.
But on Guernsey and the rest of the Channel Islands, the only British territory to have been occupied by German troops, such a reversal is unimaginable. Here, in idyllic surroundings, the reality of war seems a lifetime away. While resentment runs high, life goes on, parties are held, love affairs blossom and the Guernsey Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Players can still stage productions of Private Lives, Babes in the Wood and Peter Pan--albeit with suspiciously jackbooted pirates.
But when a young local woman is found murdered, both the islanders and the occupiers are forced to acknowledge that this most civilized of wars conceals a struggle that is darker and more bitter than anyone cares to recognize.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Living out a War,
By Ian Gordon Malcomson (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Island Madness (Paperback)
In"Island Madness", Binding produces a very complex story about people's values during a very challenging time in their lives. It is 1941, on the island of Guernsey, and the local inhabitants are living under Nazi occupation. Those who have not escaped to the safety of England have stayed behind to make their own peace with the enemy. There are those islanders like the call girls who outrightly cavort with the enemy for personal gain, and then there are other locals who maintain an uneasy truce just to survive the uncertain vagaries of captivity. Then there is the inimical presence of the forced labor camp operated by the Todt (Nazi Ministry of Labor) on the other side of the island, meant to remind the reader that all is not well in this unassuming backwater of World War II. Some of the citizens obviously know of the installation but choose not to talk about it in their daily conversations, for fear that it might come back to haunt them. There are many subplots running through this novel that only effectively come together at the end as the Germans abandon their little paradise in the English Channel and Guernsyites prepare for liberation. However, there will be those who don't make it because they have become the unwitting victims of their own insatiable desire for power, pleasure and wealth in a crazy, mixed-up, make-belief world of fun and games in the middle of war. Some of the more naive ones, like Isobel Van Dielen, never realized the terrible price to be paid for making a pact with the devil. As the story winds down, it should become obvious to the reader that Guernsey was never quite prepared to handle an invading army whose sense of occupation was every bit as vague as it captives. One of Binding's effective qualities as a writer is that he develops his characters and setting well, which in turn contributes to a both a plausible and suspenseful tale. A very enjoyable read!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening & Provocative,
By spideranansie (Singapore - Manchester) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Island Madness (Audio CD)
Tim Binding's book sets as its scene the German occupation of Guernsey during the Second World War. The people, who differ from the mainland English due to their former French identity, are made to live with their occupants in 'harmony'. This is something that some characters find easy to do while others struggle at it. Some, however, do it for convenience and to raise their social standing. The novel questions the moral decisions these characters make in a world which is distorted and unreal, making the entire question of morality warped as the island is camptured in a time when nothing feels real. What the would have decided at peacetime is not something they will opt for in times of trouble. Binding's novel is illuminating in exploring the human condition, and the prioritisation of values which bring out the true nature of a human being in crisis. A good read.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening & Provocative,
By spideranansie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Island Madness (Audio CD)
Tim Binding's book sets as its scene the German occupation of Guernsey during the Second World War. The people, who differ from the mainland English due to their former French identity, are made to live with their occupants in 'harmony'. This is something that some characters find easy to do while others struggle at it. Some, however, do it for convenience and to raise their social standing. The novel questions the moral decisions these characters make in a world which is distorted and unreal, making the entire question of morality warped as the island is camptured in a time when nothing feels real. What the would have decided at peacetime is not something they will opt for in times of trouble. Binding's novel is illuminating in exploring the human condition, and the prioritisation of values which bring out the true nature of a human being in crisis. A good read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fair Warning,
By C. K. Place - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Island Madness (Paperback)
This seems to be an alternative title for "Lying with the Enemy." Same picture on cover, etc. Do wish they'd warn us so we don't wind up with 2 copies of the same book--just different titles.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top notch in it's field.,
By M. Fox - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: ISLAND MADNESS. (Hardcover)
Very interesting,well-written book about the WW2 occupation by the Nazis of the Channel Islands for the duration of the war. Very human story-well presented-an excellent read that holds one's interest to the very end.
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