This little volume contains one hundred stories, each told in exactly one hundred words, written one hundred years after they might have taken place.
They are naturally
of great interest to me as I am also writing in this era. Although my own historical
work is set mainly in the 1940s and World War II, much of my work has
connections with that time.
The one hundred
word story requires some delicate craft. The whole story arc must be contained
there, and arguably there should be a three act structure as well. Dawn Knox
manages this demanding task very well.
She has clearly
invested in a great deal of research and sustains the variety. There are some
really heart-breaking stories such of that of the young man facing a firing
squad and another one about the young men who make up that firing squad. One
young man, who has been sent back to Blighty because of a hand injury, is
constantly accosted by the young women of the White Flower Movement. There are
lighter-hearted stories too: the young man who grumbles because his parcel from
home is constantly delivered to another man with same name, the man who
survives but misses his pals after the war, the Land Girl who appreciates
working in the fresh air instead of in a munitions factory.
This great little book
looks at so many different aspects of the Great War. The short extracts make it
very easy to digest and always tell a very human story. A great resource for
anyone wishing to learn about this terrible war.
