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I Can't Begin to Tell You
Denmark, 1940.
War has come and everyone must choose a side.
For British-born Kay Eberstern, living on her husband Bror's country estate, the Nazi invasion and occupation of her adopted country is a time of terrible uncertainty and inner conflict.
With Bror desperate to preserve the legacy of his family home, even if it means co-existing with the enemy, Kay knows she cannot do the same. Lured by British Intelligence into a covert world of resistance and sabotage, her betrayal of Bror is complete as she puts her family in danger. Tasked with protecting an enigmatic SOE agent, a man who cannot even tell her his name, Kay learns the art of subterfuge. From this moment on, she must risk everything for the sake of this stranger - a stranger who becomes entangled in her world in ways she never expected. Caught on opposing sides of a war that has ripped apart a continent, will Kay and Bror ever find their way back to one another?
War has come and everyone must choose a side.
For British-born Kay Eberstern, living on her husband Bror's country estate, the Nazi invasion and occupation of her adopted country is a time of terrible uncertainty and inner conflict.
With Bror desperate to preserve the legacy of his family home, even if it means co-existing with the enemy, Kay knows she cannot do the same. Lured by British Intelligence into a covert world of resistance and sabotage, her betrayal of Bror is complete as she puts her family in danger. Tasked with protecting an enigmatic SOE agent, a man who cannot even tell her his name, Kay learns the art of subterfuge. From this moment on, she must risk everything for the sake of this stranger - a stranger who becomes entangled in her world in ways she never expected. Caught on opposing sides of a war that has ripped apart a continent, will Kay and Bror ever find their way back to one another?
512 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2014
56 people are currently reading
884 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Buchan
51 books307 followersElizabeth Buchan began her career as a blurb writer at Penguin Books after graduating from the University of Kent with a double degree in English and History. She moved on to become a fiction editor at Random House before leaving to write full time. Her novels include the prizewinning Consider the Lily – reviewed in the Independent as ‘a gorgeously well written tale: funny, sad and sophisticated’. A subsequent novel, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman became an international bestseller and was made into a CBS Primetime Drama. Later novels included The Second Wife, Separate Beds and Daughters. Her latest, I Can’t Begin to Tell You, a story of resistance in wartime Denmark, was published by Penguin in August 2014.
Elizabeth Buchan’s short stories are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in magazines. She reviews for the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail, and has chaired the Betty Trask and Desmond Elliot literary prizes, and also been a judge for the Whitbread First Novel Award and for 2014 Costa Novel Award. She is a patron of the Guildford Book Festival and of The National Academy of Writing, and sits on the author committee for The Reading Agency.
Elizabeth Buchan’s short stories are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in magazines. She reviews for the Sunday Times and the Daily Mail, and has chaired the Betty Trask and Desmond Elliot literary prizes, and also been a judge for the Whitbread First Novel Award and for 2014 Costa Novel Award. She is a patron of the Guildford Book Festival and of The National Academy of Writing, and sits on the author committee for The Reading Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
August 11, 2018
I’m drawn to historical fiction set during WWII, especially when it centres around the role women played during the war. And I haven’t read a novel focusing on the Danish resistance before, so that was the appeal.
However, I struggled with this one, really struggled to finish the book (but I did)! I couldn’t get on board with the writing style at all, it wasn’t engaging enough, to be brutally honest, it bored me at times, making this an incredibly slow read. There was just no momentum to propel me on.
And I struggled to believe in the characters. This lack of authenticity really made it hard to become invested in their plight. I found it hard to believe spies would love and trust so easily in time’s of war 🤷🏾♀️ And if you’ve read this one, everything about Tanne had me rolling my eyes.
I did find the information on Morse code interesting. And I liked the idea of there being a divide between husband (collaborating) and the wife (resisting), even though the tension I was hoping for didn’t manifest.
Overall, this novel just didn’t work for me but I am incredibly grateful to the author for sending me a copy to read.
However, I struggled with this one, really struggled to finish the book (but I did)! I couldn’t get on board with the writing style at all, it wasn’t engaging enough, to be brutally honest, it bored me at times, making this an incredibly slow read. There was just no momentum to propel me on.
And I struggled to believe in the characters. This lack of authenticity really made it hard to become invested in their plight. I found it hard to believe spies would love and trust so easily in time’s of war 🤷🏾♀️ And if you’ve read this one, everything about Tanne had me rolling my eyes.
I did find the information on Morse code interesting. And I liked the idea of there being a divide between husband (collaborating) and the wife (resisting), even though the tension I was hoping for didn’t manifest.
Overall, this novel just didn’t work for me but I am incredibly grateful to the author for sending me a copy to read.
November 5, 2014
I Can’t Begin to Tell You was a marvelous page turner! The plot revolved around the action of the Resistance in Denmark during WWII. Heroine Kay Eberstern was a British woman happily married to a wealthy Dane, with two grown children. Witnessing with horror the cruelty of the occupying Germans, she was unable to turn her back and was drawn into the Resistance movement. It was all there, familiar, and yet fascinating – the parachute jumps into blackness, the isolation, the insecurity of never knowing who could be trusted, the sheer terror, the short life expectancy, heartbreak, and quiet heroism, the incredible selflessness. Part of the action takes place in the Special Operations Executive headquarters in London, and so the reader glimpses the pressures and challenges of those supporting the Resistance from afar. Engrossing, well written and carefully researched, this was a splendid novel! I remember liking Elizabeth Buchan’s earlier work, Revenge of the Middle-Aged woman, and was motivated to track this one down after seeing many glowing reviews by my Goodreads friends!
May 14, 2014
I Can't Begin to Tell You is one of the best books I have read in a long time.
Set during WWII, it tells the story of Kay, and Englishwoman who married a Dane many years before and they now have two grown up children. Her husband's family have relatives in Germany and when the Nazis occupy Denmark, his sympathies - in the interest of preservation of self and their estate - most definitely lie with them. Kay is put in the very uncomfortable position of entertaining a German General and his wife at their home, Rosenlund.
Not all Danes think in this way though, and there is an underground movement beginning to get set up, but slowly - very slowly. Kay has no intentions of becoming involved even though she admires their courage greatly, but her conscience leads her to do one small kindness to an agent and from there she gets slowly sucked in. But who can she trust? And what will be the cost to her marriage?
Where this book is different to most set during this period is that we also follow the staff in London who are at the other end of the wireless sets which the undercover agents use to send messages and the reader really gets the feeling of no one person knowing what happens with anyone else in the chain. You really become involved in every character's job, the frustrations and the successes ... and the stress and strain of being only one link.
This book is an excellent tale, well told with compelling characters. It draws you in and you are rewarded with a terrific read. I would recommend this book very highly to anyone who enjoys books sent during the second world war.
Set during WWII, it tells the story of Kay, and Englishwoman who married a Dane many years before and they now have two grown up children. Her husband's family have relatives in Germany and when the Nazis occupy Denmark, his sympathies - in the interest of preservation of self and their estate - most definitely lie with them. Kay is put in the very uncomfortable position of entertaining a German General and his wife at their home, Rosenlund.
Not all Danes think in this way though, and there is an underground movement beginning to get set up, but slowly - very slowly. Kay has no intentions of becoming involved even though she admires their courage greatly, but her conscience leads her to do one small kindness to an agent and from there she gets slowly sucked in. But who can she trust? And what will be the cost to her marriage?
Where this book is different to most set during this period is that we also follow the staff in London who are at the other end of the wireless sets which the undercover agents use to send messages and the reader really gets the feeling of no one person knowing what happens with anyone else in the chain. You really become involved in every character's job, the frustrations and the successes ... and the stress and strain of being only one link.
This book is an excellent tale, well told with compelling characters. It draws you in and you are rewarded with a terrific read. I would recommend this book very highly to anyone who enjoys books sent during the second world war.
April 24, 2015
This is not your usual type of book from Elizabeth Buchan, she has traveled into the market of historical fiction here which is something I gave up reading years ago. I thought I would try to carry on reading it though as I do love this authors books.
Its time zone is based around Denmark in the 1940's
Kay is a born British citizen living in her husbands country estate.
The time of Nazi invasion, life is uncertain to say the least.
They need to secure and maintain their legacy.
A stranger comes her way and she risks ALL.
Its a well written book, and on the whole is was OK. I would say, if you love historical fiction and war time stories, this is the book for you.
Thanks go to Penguin Books (UK) via Net galley for my copy to read and review
November 27, 2014
This has to be Elizabeth Buchan's best book. I recommend it highly. Not only is there a good story of friends and lovers (actually two good stories) but there is a wealth of historical information about the Resistance in London and Denmark during WW2. An excellent read.
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September 18, 2015Just could not get into this book!
August 21, 2014
Elizabeth Buchan takes a step into historical fiction with this stunning and powerful novel set in 1940s Denmark. Buchan is an established name in romance and 'chick lit' but I Can't Begin To Tell You marks a major departure. Tales of derring-do from World War Two are hardly new, even while the conflict was still being fought films such as Went The Day Well were being released, allowing those on the sidelines to imagine themselves at the heart of the drama. I Can't Begin To Tell You takes a more subtle approach however; it is a very feminine approach to espionage and rather than gunfights and high-jinx, Buchan considers the personal cost of involvement with wartime surveillance. While contemporary stories such as Agatha Christie's nauseating Tommy and Tuppence in N or M might make light of intelligence work, I Can't Begin To Tell You has a more mournful tone and from the very beginning, the reader feels braced for devastating consequences.
It was an interesting choice to set the action in Denmark. While we are used to tales of the French resistance, Denmark has always been slightly forgotten. Even during the war itself, the Allies tended to ignore it except as a tool for diversion tactics. The Germans used Danish factories during World War II to make their uniforms, so the Danish and German soldiers even looked rather similar. Initially this led to a great deal of distrust for the inmates of Colditz who were not sure what to make of their Danish fellow-residents but later it became a real advantage when making costumes for escape. Its geographical closeness to Germany and cultural similarities meant that many Danes felt a sympathy for the German expansion mission. I Can't Begin To Tell You is a novel about strong women, the main character is Kay Eberstern, a British woman who married into the Danish gentry twenty-five years before. As the novel opens, she waits anxiously in the woods of her husband's estate, promising herself that it will be the only time, almost hoping that the agent she has been asked to wait for will never arrive.
Kay Eberstern is a woman who has enjoyed her life so far. She is happily married to Bror, she has her two grown-up children Tanne and Nils, she enjoys her flirtatious lunches out with her husband's cousin Anton and takes pleasure in dressing and looking her best. She is comfortable with her life, in her position, in her marriage. She has everything she wants, there is no itching foot to be satisfied, she has no sense of lacking fulfilment. Still, Buchan captures perfectly Kay's horror as her husband Bror begins to collaborate willingly with the Nazis. Kay is a British woman, her husband is a Danish man with a host German relatives. Despite over twenty years of marriage, the two are cast suddenly at odds. A key question in the novel becomes how can one maintain a relationship where one partner has to deceive the other. Fra Eberstern may be physically faithful to her husband but her politics are another matter and it heartbreaking as she is slowly ripped from him by the barrier of diverging ideologies.
Fiction set in World War Two often invites the reader to speculate how they themselves might behave were they to be transplanted into these situations. Although it has been seventy years, World War Two still seems like recent history. Buchan's novel takes this as a particularly strong theme as the main characters hope and pray that they will have the courage to remain steadfast during interrogation should they be caught. It is that sense that we cannot truly know ourselves and we are capable of that adds an extra layer of fear. One character goes through training to be an agent and is given a mock interrogation, although she knows that it is not real it is nonetheless a horrific scene. Kay may have only meant to dabble her toe in the waters of espionage but Buchan makes clear that there is no middle-ground; once you have said yes once, you are as culpable as the rest.
Mavis Lever
As Kay tries to protect the young agent Felix from prying eyes, back in Britain there are a host of secret listeners working to take down and analyse transmissions. Mary Voss and her colleagues come to know and recognise the 'fists' of the agents who are signalling to them and the young Ruby Ingram has a creative eye for increasing security. Ruby was a particularly well-drawn character with more than a passing resemblance to the celebrated Mavis Lever. Again, there is a nurturing feel to I Can't Begin To Tell You which is absent from the majority of spy fiction as Mary remarks on how she cares for and worries about her agents, longing to send them some kind of sign of encouragement. Ruby frets that the 'poem code' system which the agents have to follow is open to abuse but all struggle to have their voices heard in the male-dominated environment.
The novel is based on the unspoken, on that which cannot be said out loud. Ruby and her love interest Major Martin ponder whether or not one of their agents has been broken and how he might begin to let them know if this were the case. Mary feels adrift, alone and unmarried and unable to tell anybody about the work she is doing. Kay is forced to create distance between herself and her family both because she is unsure who can be trusted and also as she does not want to endanger them. Men and women fall in love but are unable to ask each other the most simple questions. Relationships wither as secrets bloom. The British secret service was legendary for its successes but its insistence on the separation of different departments here makes it almost impossible to find out the truth when nobody who knows anything will be allowed to speak.
For my full review - http://girlwithherheadinabook.blogspo...
It was an interesting choice to set the action in Denmark. While we are used to tales of the French resistance, Denmark has always been slightly forgotten. Even during the war itself, the Allies tended to ignore it except as a tool for diversion tactics. The Germans used Danish factories during World War II to make their uniforms, so the Danish and German soldiers even looked rather similar. Initially this led to a great deal of distrust for the inmates of Colditz who were not sure what to make of their Danish fellow-residents but later it became a real advantage when making costumes for escape. Its geographical closeness to Germany and cultural similarities meant that many Danes felt a sympathy for the German expansion mission. I Can't Begin To Tell You is a novel about strong women, the main character is Kay Eberstern, a British woman who married into the Danish gentry twenty-five years before. As the novel opens, she waits anxiously in the woods of her husband's estate, promising herself that it will be the only time, almost hoping that the agent she has been asked to wait for will never arrive.
Kay Eberstern is a woman who has enjoyed her life so far. She is happily married to Bror, she has her two grown-up children Tanne and Nils, she enjoys her flirtatious lunches out with her husband's cousin Anton and takes pleasure in dressing and looking her best. She is comfortable with her life, in her position, in her marriage. She has everything she wants, there is no itching foot to be satisfied, she has no sense of lacking fulfilment. Still, Buchan captures perfectly Kay's horror as her husband Bror begins to collaborate willingly with the Nazis. Kay is a British woman, her husband is a Danish man with a host German relatives. Despite over twenty years of marriage, the two are cast suddenly at odds. A key question in the novel becomes how can one maintain a relationship where one partner has to deceive the other. Fra Eberstern may be physically faithful to her husband but her politics are another matter and it heartbreaking as she is slowly ripped from him by the barrier of diverging ideologies.
Fiction set in World War Two often invites the reader to speculate how they themselves might behave were they to be transplanted into these situations. Although it has been seventy years, World War Two still seems like recent history. Buchan's novel takes this as a particularly strong theme as the main characters hope and pray that they will have the courage to remain steadfast during interrogation should they be caught. It is that sense that we cannot truly know ourselves and we are capable of that adds an extra layer of fear. One character goes through training to be an agent and is given a mock interrogation, although she knows that it is not real it is nonetheless a horrific scene. Kay may have only meant to dabble her toe in the waters of espionage but Buchan makes clear that there is no middle-ground; once you have said yes once, you are as culpable as the rest.
Mavis Lever
As Kay tries to protect the young agent Felix from prying eyes, back in Britain there are a host of secret listeners working to take down and analyse transmissions. Mary Voss and her colleagues come to know and recognise the 'fists' of the agents who are signalling to them and the young Ruby Ingram has a creative eye for increasing security. Ruby was a particularly well-drawn character with more than a passing resemblance to the celebrated Mavis Lever. Again, there is a nurturing feel to I Can't Begin To Tell You which is absent from the majority of spy fiction as Mary remarks on how she cares for and worries about her agents, longing to send them some kind of sign of encouragement. Ruby frets that the 'poem code' system which the agents have to follow is open to abuse but all struggle to have their voices heard in the male-dominated environment.
The novel is based on the unspoken, on that which cannot be said out loud. Ruby and her love interest Major Martin ponder whether or not one of their agents has been broken and how he might begin to let them know if this were the case. Mary feels adrift, alone and unmarried and unable to tell anybody about the work she is doing. Kay is forced to create distance between herself and her family both because she is unsure who can be trusted and also as she does not want to endanger them. Men and women fall in love but are unable to ask each other the most simple questions. Relationships wither as secrets bloom. The British secret service was legendary for its successes but its insistence on the separation of different departments here makes it almost impossible to find out the truth when nobody who knows anything will be allowed to speak.
For my full review - http://girlwithherheadinabook.blogspo...
July 18, 2014
I Can’t Begin To Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan tells the story of various characters during the Second World War as they try to come to terms with wartime existence and, each in their own ways, fight for freedom and hope. It touches upon relationships between family members and how these are tested when allegiances between the Germans and the allies were brought into question, and also the contribution, no matter how small, that so many different people had towards the war effort. Without giving too much away, it is really refreshing to read a novel that centres on military intelligence and espionage and in which the majority of the protagonists are women – and strong women at that, who may in some ways be flawed but are all the more admirable for it! Let me hear a cheer for strong women!
The novel completely drew me in from the moment I picked it up, and Elizabeth Buchan’s fantastic writing immersed me completely in wartime life, with its ups and many downs. I felt that the novel flows really well and the language she uses fits the tone if the novel really well.
I always find books about life during the war really interesting, particularly when it focuses on narratives that are a little different. Life for Kay, Tanne, Mary and the many other characters fits into this category as a book that offers something different, particularly as it takes the reader outside of the usual London setting (although part of the novel is based there, and it’s still very interesting) to Denmark. It made me consider what life was like for those in a Nazi-occupied country, as well as for those in Britain.
Though at times the pace slowed a little, and some parts I had to re-read to make sure I understood what I’d read properly, the narrative continued to engage and interest me. Buchan includes interesting, believable characters and really opened my eyes to the undercover, understated fights
against dictatorship and repression by ordinary (and not so ordinary) people during the Second World War.
I hugely enjoyed reading the wonderfully written I Can’t Begin to Tell You, particularly as it addresses the choices women were forced to make during wartime, both in England and Denmark. It was really interesting to be read about the way war affects relationships, both romantic and familial.
I’d definitely recommend this novel, and am looking forward to reading more of Buchan’s novels as a result of this!
**For more book reviews follow my blog: http://snazzybooks.wordpress.com **
The novel completely drew me in from the moment I picked it up, and Elizabeth Buchan’s fantastic writing immersed me completely in wartime life, with its ups and many downs. I felt that the novel flows really well and the language she uses fits the tone if the novel really well.
I always find books about life during the war really interesting, particularly when it focuses on narratives that are a little different. Life for Kay, Tanne, Mary and the many other characters fits into this category as a book that offers something different, particularly as it takes the reader outside of the usual London setting (although part of the novel is based there, and it’s still very interesting) to Denmark. It made me consider what life was like for those in a Nazi-occupied country, as well as for those in Britain.
Though at times the pace slowed a little, and some parts I had to re-read to make sure I understood what I’d read properly, the narrative continued to engage and interest me. Buchan includes interesting, believable characters and really opened my eyes to the undercover, understated fights
against dictatorship and repression by ordinary (and not so ordinary) people during the Second World War.
I hugely enjoyed reading the wonderfully written I Can’t Begin to Tell You, particularly as it addresses the choices women were forced to make during wartime, both in England and Denmark. It was really interesting to be read about the way war affects relationships, both romantic and familial.
I’d definitely recommend this novel, and am looking forward to reading more of Buchan’s novels as a result of this!
**For more book reviews follow my blog: http://snazzybooks.wordpress.com **
April 5, 2016
Excellent, riveting read. A departure from her previous genre and one I don't personally enjoy. So this was a very pleasant and enjoyable surprise.
August 19, 2018
This book tells the story of the German occupation of Denmark during World War 2 and looks at the role of British Intelligence during that time, looking at the code breakers who were working in London and the resistance fighters on the ground in Denmark,.
The story centres around Kay, a middle aged British woman living in Denmark. When the Nazis invade Denmark she is shocked that her husband of 25 years, collaborates with the enemy to preserve the legacy of the family home.
Kay is soon lured into a covert world of resistance putting both her life and the lives of her husband and grown up children in danger. Soon she is working with an Special Operations Executive (SOE) operative known as Felix, helping him send and receive messages to the code breakers in London.
As well as Kay we get to know some of the code breakers in London including Mary whose job it is to record the Morse code messages that arrive and send out new ones and Ruby whose job as a cipher clerk means she has to encrypt and decode the messages.
I was intrigued by this book as I do enjoy books set in World War 2, especially those told from different perspectives. This one primarily is very female led and many of the women featured are brave and intelligent.
I did enjoy it for the most part but wasn't that keen on the writing style - it didn't flow for me and I didn't feel emotionally invested in the characters. I was trying to think why, and I think it's because the author was trying to focus on the lives of too many characters. I also think it maybe could have been a little shorter which would have kept the pacing better. However, I did enjoy learning more about the special operatives who operated as part of the resistance and the code breakers - it was made me want to read more around the subject.
Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book.
The story centres around Kay, a middle aged British woman living in Denmark. When the Nazis invade Denmark she is shocked that her husband of 25 years, collaborates with the enemy to preserve the legacy of the family home.
Kay is soon lured into a covert world of resistance putting both her life and the lives of her husband and grown up children in danger. Soon she is working with an Special Operations Executive (SOE) operative known as Felix, helping him send and receive messages to the code breakers in London.
As well as Kay we get to know some of the code breakers in London including Mary whose job it is to record the Morse code messages that arrive and send out new ones and Ruby whose job as a cipher clerk means she has to encrypt and decode the messages.
I was intrigued by this book as I do enjoy books set in World War 2, especially those told from different perspectives. This one primarily is very female led and many of the women featured are brave and intelligent.
I did enjoy it for the most part but wasn't that keen on the writing style - it didn't flow for me and I didn't feel emotionally invested in the characters. I was trying to think why, and I think it's because the author was trying to focus on the lives of too many characters. I also think it maybe could have been a little shorter which would have kept the pacing better. However, I did enjoy learning more about the special operatives who operated as part of the resistance and the code breakers - it was made me want to read more around the subject.
Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book.
August 17, 2025
I do believe this is the first WWII book I have read set in Denmark. Denmark was occupied by the Nazis during the war, but we just don't seem to hear as much about what happened there as we hear about France or the Netherlands or Poland. This book takes a look at the development of the resistance in Denmark. Kay Eberstern is an English woman married to a wealthy Danish landowner. When the war comes to Denmark, life seems to continue on normally at first, but Kay becomes uncomfortable with her husband's apparent collaboration with the Nazis. As Kay begins to see a gradual erosion of freedoms and rights, and increasing acts of violence and injustice, she gets sucked into working with the resistance. Eventually her grown daughter gets pulled in too. The toll this takes on Kay's marriage is huge, as she must create discord in their marriage in order to keep her husband at a distance from what she is doing. The book also focusses on the secret service agents in England who trained, supplied and communicated with the resistance in Denmark. Character development could have been better, as I did not find all of the characters and relationships to be believable, and I am not a fan of the ending. I feel like if the author was not going to take us through to the end of the war, I need an epilogue to tell me what happened to all the characters I came to care about.
September 13, 2014
I often find that I struggle with novels about the Resistance - I blame too many Sunday afternoon war films and a surfeit of Allo Allo. I struggled with Rachel Hore's The Gathering Storm because of it - it also stopped me being as enthusiastic as others about that particular thread in Jojo Moyes' The Girl You Left Behind. And I really thought I was going to have to wrestle with this one too - until I passed the first fifty pages, and realised I was getting really involved and turning the pages faster and faster.
The setting is one I haven't come across before - the whole Danish wartime experience really comes to life, and is plainly exceptionally well researched. The research also shines through in the lives of the codebreakers and listeners back in England, the petty politics hampering operations, and the training of the SOE agents. I learned things I never knew before, about the way in which the "fist" of an agent could be recognised by listeners, the use of words from poems as codes (despite recognised weaknesses) and was fascinated by the unit dealing with the "indecipherables".
At the start, I did find it a little difficult to warm to the characters, but I soon got caught up in their story. Kay Eberstern was born in England, but has been married to Bror for long enough to have two grown up children. When war breaks out they have a comfortable life, living on a substantial estate: following the occupation, Bror takes the path of least resistance by pledging his support to the Nazis. They find themselves entertaining high ranking German officials in their home, while Kay and her daughter Tanne become increasingly attracted by and involved in the growing resistance movement. The story is gripping and exciting - from the moment that they hide an SOE agent in their pigeon loft, their lives will never be the same again.
It's an excellent story about love and loyalty, quite thrilling as the story develops, and it all builds to a devastating crescendo with a quite perfect ending that takes your breath away. If the characters failed to get my emotional involvement at the start, things had certainly come full circle by the time I came to the end. It's an exciting read, exercises your every emotion, and its impact remains with you for a long time after you finish. It's the meticulous research and detailed background that make it something very different and so thoroughly engrossing. I've read earlier novels by Elizabeth Buchan, and this is quite a departure from her earlier style and subject matter - I really did enjoy it very much, and look forward to seeing what she turns her hand to next.
I Can't Begin To Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan was published by Penguin Books UK/Michael Joseph on 28 August. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for my advance reading e-copy.
The setting is one I haven't come across before - the whole Danish wartime experience really comes to life, and is plainly exceptionally well researched. The research also shines through in the lives of the codebreakers and listeners back in England, the petty politics hampering operations, and the training of the SOE agents. I learned things I never knew before, about the way in which the "fist" of an agent could be recognised by listeners, the use of words from poems as codes (despite recognised weaknesses) and was fascinated by the unit dealing with the "indecipherables".
At the start, I did find it a little difficult to warm to the characters, but I soon got caught up in their story. Kay Eberstern was born in England, but has been married to Bror for long enough to have two grown up children. When war breaks out they have a comfortable life, living on a substantial estate: following the occupation, Bror takes the path of least resistance by pledging his support to the Nazis. They find themselves entertaining high ranking German officials in their home, while Kay and her daughter Tanne become increasingly attracted by and involved in the growing resistance movement. The story is gripping and exciting - from the moment that they hide an SOE agent in their pigeon loft, their lives will never be the same again.
It's an excellent story about love and loyalty, quite thrilling as the story develops, and it all builds to a devastating crescendo with a quite perfect ending that takes your breath away. If the characters failed to get my emotional involvement at the start, things had certainly come full circle by the time I came to the end. It's an exciting read, exercises your every emotion, and its impact remains with you for a long time after you finish. It's the meticulous research and detailed background that make it something very different and so thoroughly engrossing. I've read earlier novels by Elizabeth Buchan, and this is quite a departure from her earlier style and subject matter - I really did enjoy it very much, and look forward to seeing what she turns her hand to next.
I Can't Begin To Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan was published by Penguin Books UK/Michael Joseph on 28 August. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for my advance reading e-copy.
May 6, 2014
I was lucky enough to receive a copy from Netgalley and just loved it. It's very good story telling, beautifully written and keeps flowing from beginning to end. It is focussed on Denmark in WW2 and the role of the resistance fighters but also explores the devastating role war can have on relationships. However, very cleverly it also shows how war empowered women to find so much more within themselves than had ever been possible in peacetime. Thoroughly recommended on all levels.
August 12, 2015
It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I didn't want to put it away. The story is gripping and the ending is one I did not necessarily anticipate. One thing that rather bothers me is how one-dimensional Bror stays. His role is such an important one, yet I never really felt anything for him. The relationship between him and Kay is so strong, but the reader doesn't get enough of it to really feel with them.
October 11, 2015
I really enjoyed this book and after a slightly slow start I found it very gripping. It is about resistance workers in Denmark in WW2 and the people who supported them in England as wireless operators, code breakers and trainers. It explores the changes in their lives due to the war and the effect this had on them and on their relationships.
August 5, 2014
I got to read a pre-publication proof copy of this title for my book group. Interesting story told from the different perspective of WW2 in Denmark, but the book is let down by poor editing, sometimes clumsy writing and a rushed conclusion after nearly 500 pages.
Read
August 24, 2014Shelved as “maybe later”, but this book was just not quite my “thing”, being somewhat more traditional action drama than I was expecting.
August 2, 2016
Got this book from the world book night,its a great spy war time story.well written book.
December 10, 2019
Kay Eberstein is British but married a man from Denmark. WWII breaks out and Denmark is quietly invaded by the Germans. Danish people are quiet and most have made the decision to keep their head down and try to ignore the German invasion.
Her husband signs a Declaration which upsets Kay very much. I never really did figure out exactly what that was. Kay is horrified and is persuaded to do a simple covert errand by her husband's cousin. She soon discovers that one errand leads to another.
A man who worked as an architect is upset with what is happening with his country and decides to find out a way to start fighting back. He travels to London and is taught how to develop a resistance group in Denmark. The story switches back and forth between Felix, the former architect and Kay.
Its a very interesting book which gives a glimpse of the Danish resistance circle that existed during that period of time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book partly because I'm fascinated by that period of time and also I have a friend who is Danish who's mother was British and who's father was Danish. Her mother wrote a story about her own experience during the war years.
Her husband signs a Declaration which upsets Kay very much. I never really did figure out exactly what that was. Kay is horrified and is persuaded to do a simple covert errand by her husband's cousin. She soon discovers that one errand leads to another.
A man who worked as an architect is upset with what is happening with his country and decides to find out a way to start fighting back. He travels to London and is taught how to develop a resistance group in Denmark. The story switches back and forth between Felix, the former architect and Kay.
Its a very interesting book which gives a glimpse of the Danish resistance circle that existed during that period of time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book partly because I'm fascinated by that period of time and also I have a friend who is Danish who's mother was British and who's father was Danish. Her mother wrote a story about her own experience during the war years.
January 4, 2019
I have read a number of Elizabeth Buchan's books and enjoyed them all, but the writing was so poor in this one that it was almost like it was written by a different person. Over-explanation of the obvious, lots of weird one-sentence paragraphs, clumsy sentences and what appear to be failed attempts to create emotion and tension. But worse, I never got a sense of what Kay and her daughter Tanne's motivation was to join the resistance, or what the attraction was between Tanne and resistance leader Felix. Also the events in the book were not set up properly so you felt a rising tension. It was like, oh now we're doing this and this is the way we might be caught, and now that. So you had no real investment in the characters or in the outcomes.
I think the raw material is there for a good story but it just didn't work. Maybe it had an incompetent editor or something.
I'd probably give it two and a half stars as I did find the stuff about coding interesting, but Goodreads doesn't let you do that.
I think the raw material is there for a good story but it just didn't work. Maybe it had an incompetent editor or something.
I'd probably give it two and a half stars as I did find the stuff about coding interesting, but Goodreads doesn't let you do that.
September 20, 2017
Ms. Buchan is one of my favorite authors. That said, I had to go to London to find this book! Ok, I was in Harrod's in London and recalled that I could not get the book in the US except used copies through Amazon. I read all of my books electronically so this was the first novel I "paged" through in a long time. And it was well worth the lack of a dictionary with only a light tap on the word and the other features I am accustomed to with electronic reading. Set in recently occupied Denmark, a nation that slowly realized that an underground resistance would be essential to defeating the Nazis, London calls the shots on training Danes who sought to save their country. It is a gripping novel that ends too soon, but it ends at the right time. I will happily lend it to my local friends, but I will reread this book.
March 3, 2018
This is another book about WW2 and how it affected the lives of people. This time set in Denmark.
Without giving too much away I was really drawn into the lives of those undercover agents risking their lives daily. The writer conveys the encroaching danger to English born Kay as she enters bit by bit into this world, while her Danish husband chooses to cooperate with the Nazis for the sake of Denmark and his wealthy land holding. How can Kay reconcile such conflicting emotions? Can she be true to her values and in doing so risk her life and the lives of her children and husband?
We read how War brings out the ultimate sacrifice in some, the desire to stay safe in others and in some, the readiness to betray for self gain or preservation.
Characters were well developed and this book didn’t disappoint.
Without giving too much away I was really drawn into the lives of those undercover agents risking their lives daily. The writer conveys the encroaching danger to English born Kay as she enters bit by bit into this world, while her Danish husband chooses to cooperate with the Nazis for the sake of Denmark and his wealthy land holding. How can Kay reconcile such conflicting emotions? Can she be true to her values and in doing so risk her life and the lives of her children and husband?
We read how War brings out the ultimate sacrifice in some, the desire to stay safe in others and in some, the readiness to betray for self gain or preservation.
Characters were well developed and this book didn’t disappoint.
October 15, 2018
Espionage and resistance during WW2.
I‘ve read several books of this genre but this is one with a difference or two...
Firstly, novels on agents and resistance workers tend to often be set in France. This one takes place in Denmark - which, along with Norway, tends to be overlooked in historical fiction about WW2. Therefore it was interesting to gain a detailed insight into how the Danish population coped with occupation during the war.
Secondly, most books of this genre tend to rely on fast-paced action and suspense. This one doesn‘t. It is actually quite a slow burner so perhaps not everyone‘s cup of tea.
I enjoyed the story although it took me a while to get into it. Although the writing is very good, Buchan tends to go into a lot of (unnecessary?) detail which can be a bit dull. It did pick up and gather a bit of pace in the second half, however.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
I‘ve read several books of this genre but this is one with a difference or two...
Firstly, novels on agents and resistance workers tend to often be set in France. This one takes place in Denmark - which, along with Norway, tends to be overlooked in historical fiction about WW2. Therefore it was interesting to gain a detailed insight into how the Danish population coped with occupation during the war.
Secondly, most books of this genre tend to rely on fast-paced action and suspense. This one doesn‘t. It is actually quite a slow burner so perhaps not everyone‘s cup of tea.
I enjoyed the story although it took me a while to get into it. Although the writing is very good, Buchan tends to go into a lot of (unnecessary?) detail which can be a bit dull. It did pick up and gather a bit of pace in the second half, however.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
March 7, 2022
Set in ww2 German occupied Denmark which is unlikely the modern reader will have heard much about. But an incredible amount of attention to detail is paid to the process of messaging to and from London, and the importance of the women who received and decoded the incoming morse. Throw into the mix that the embryonic Danish resistance are ubenounst to them being used as a foil by London to divert the German's attention away from larger operations, leaving the men and women vulnerable .In the searchbeam are 4 fiesty females : in London we have Mary the wireless operator and Ruby the mastermind behind the messaging teams. In Denmark we have Kay and her daughter Tanne who both become entangled into the resistance by Felix the resistance leader. It is the bravery of Kay in particular that leaves us with a sense of foreboding that she will not survive. A fantastic read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2021
This book bore just a little too much similarity to the author’s novel about French resistance radio operator, Under the Light of the Moon. I’m sure I would have liked the pre-war character Kay if she’d been a person, but I wasn’t wild about her as a character. (Unlike Misty in the author’s book, Wives Behaving Badly. I hated her but she made an interesting character.) I just didn’t find her very plausible. I couldn’t see this wealthy, middle-aged woman joining the Danish resistant. I liked the behind-the-scene English and would have liked to see their and Nils stories fleshed out more.
November 11, 2017
This was a soul searching book about the resistance movement in Denmark during the occupation of the country by German troops. It dealt well with the rights and wrongs of those people who tolerated but did not approve and those who actively fought. It also dealt with the system set up in England to receive and decode messages from those active in the field.
April 4, 2022
I like historical novels set in many time periods and am often drawn to WW2 stories, and this one appealed because of the setting, and the synopsis of the story. I havent previously read any WW2 stories set largely in Denmark, and it gave me an insight into that countrys views towards the German occupiers and people, as well as it gave a good storyline.
December 21, 2017
This was an interesting book and a good read about the use of Morse code during the war. Although there were frequent changes of character and point of view, I understood and believed the characters. Siting the novel in Denmark introduced an interesting dimension.
April 20, 2018
A bit of a slow starter, which improves once more characters and locations are added. I've read better stories about the subject, and the detail surrounding the Danish resistance seemed a little lacking - especially considering this was the main thrust of the story.
June 29, 2019
Bit of a disappointment as I thought this would be an odds on winner but I found it unexciting, plodding and pedestrian. I was much more interested in the English signallers and decoders than the Danish characters.
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