Dear Heart

by Jenny Davis

Book by Davis, Jenny

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, War

143 pages, Hardcover

First published December 12, 1981

About the author

Jenny Davis is a Perth actor, writer and director.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sad and sentimental reading of the letters of a London wife sent to her solider husband who was captured by the Japanese during WW2 and spent the remainder of his short life interred in the horrific conditions of a POW camp.
She never truly knew where he was and if he was alive but continued to send her upbeat and loving letters and postcards all the same.
Very well narrated by a husband and wife acting duo. A valuable insight into those times.
Only 1 hour and 47 minutes long.

Listened to it as part of my reading for the 1900-1950s readathon. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Amelia Rockliff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bolinda audiobook. Great story, awful execution. Was I meant to care about these characters/people? Maybe if these were people I had met or I had the family connection to, then I would care. As a shallow epistolary narrative about strangers it just doesn't engage.
However, I would LOVE to see it turned into a fictionalised full length novel with actual characterisation. I'd read that fo sho.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened on audio, and the female narrator made Winn sound so childish and simple, and For me, it ruined the experience of Winns letters. What is clear is the love sent in these letters and they are a symbol of the many lives left destroyed by war, and an example of probably millions of letters sent and received during that time. The love story contained in this short book was of love and friendship between not two people but three. It’s a good quick read.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down. Fantastic book, made me sad but it was so worth it

[Kara Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy read about war and losing someone you love against all hope. Set in the form of the letters written from wife to husband it is short, quick and insightful.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This true life story was written by Jenny Davis in 1988 after discovering the letters her aunt sent to her first husband during his war service and then internment as a prisoner of war. The letters span the period between 1941-45. The book is brief and an easy but disturbing read as the facts unfold.
The story is told around the heartfelt daily letters pledging her undying love and telling of her daily life in wartime England.
How did the women and families cope? Made of sterner stuff than later generations for sure. Win's life pans out differently than she had dreamed but it was a good lifeThis has been performed as a play and I can understand why it has been a success.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very emotional. Good read. Short and to the point.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved books written in letters, it just seems like you come closer to the characters. And I did and the story was heart felt.