Now The War Is Over

by Annie Murray

The Second World War has finally come to a close. Birmingham is welcoming home its menfolk, and a new chapter is beginning in Rachel Booker's life. Her husband has returned, and the family is now together. But as family life settles into a routine, Rachel starts to yearn for more. As the gloom of the 1940s passes by and the promise of the 1950s dawns, a whole new world of opportunity opens up. Rachel and her daughter, Melly have to decide whether their loyalties still lie with the family and friends they clung to throughout the war years or if it's time to move on...

564 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Annie Murray was a ‘childhood writer.’ Her career was helped a great deal by belonging to Tindal Street Fiction Group in Birmingham and by winning the SHE/Granada TV Short Story Competition in 1991. She has published short stories in a number of anthologies as well as SHE magazine. Her first regional saga, Birmingham Rose appeared in 1995 and reached the Times bestseller list. She has since published more than a dozen others, including the ‘Cadbury books,’ Chocolate Girls and The Bells of Bournville Green, Family of Women and her latest, A Hopscotch Summer. Annie has four children and lives near Reading.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now The War Is Over by Annie Murray is a fabulous historical novel continuing on from where War Babies left off. It can be read as a stand-alone though.
Covering the years 1951-1962 in Birmingham, the book's focus is on Melly who is nine in 1951. We experience life from her viewpoint. She is the same caring child she always was. A very likable and lovable character.
The world is moving into the modern age. The reader witnesses the social change. Inner city back to backs are abandoned for the more leafy suburbs and a semi detached. As the housing fell into disrepair so this is mirrored by community life which fractured in the suburbs as life was more isolated from ones neighbours.
The NHS began in 1948 and with it came health visitors and an improved attitude towards the disabled. Special schools were beginning to cope with complex needs. Tommy, a child with cerebral palsy is told "You don't need to be on your own any longer." Previously Tommy preferred to be hidden away as he was treated abominably by both children and adults.
People are still suffering from World War II. Some husbands never returned. Those who did bore scars, some invisible. "The war took my man from me, chewed him up, spat him out ... my husband came back, like a ghost."Families suffered but there was love and loyalty. Shell shock was little understood and there was very little help.
Dreams begun in childhood begin to be realised. Childhood crushes put aside, would they ever be reignited?
Some characters really lodge in your heart. For me, it was Melly and Tommy. I loved their sibling bond and her huge heart. The prejudice and ignorance directed towards Tommy broke my heart.
Now The War Is Over is a brilliant novel on so many levels. It is a great story; a social commentary on the time revealing the changing attitudes towards the disabled and it shows a move into a more cosmopolitan Britain.
Absolutely fabulous. I cannot get enough of Annie Murray's books.

[Anne Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in post-war Birmingham, I gather that this is a continuation of the story of Rachel and Danny, who had married very young at the start of WWII. This one, though, describes the early life of young Melissa (Melly) and her disabled brother, Tommy, throughout the immediate post-war years. It continues with her becoming a student nurse and falling in love with Reggie, a neighbour. However, I didn’t particularly like the story – I found it too long-winded and drawn out and would like to have known more about Melly’s later life. Maybe that’s for another book? I shan’t be reading it.

[Nivedita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it if you read for the sake of reading. A sort of a bildungsroman about a family dealing with the aftermath of the second world war. Found it extremely redundant, superfluous and dragged. A more than 500 page long novel about nothing. It attempts to talk about Post war trauma, drudgery, poverty, complexity of growing in times of rationing and also about physical and emotional handicap. It's just about everything but fails to deal appropriately with anything.

[mois reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a winner

As all of Annie's books this one is a winner as the character's are brought to life I would recommend it to everyone looking forward to your next one annie

[Kelly Rushby · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW 📕

NOW THE WAR IS OVER BY ANNIE MURRAY

Well, i just love a historical read and I was completely taken back into time and felt as if I was right within the heart of the family, based in Birmingham after the second world war.

We follow the viewpoint of Melly, a young, caring girl who is part of a large family and is wrapped up in a cosy, community. Melly desperately wants to become a nurse. Although the war is over and food is no longer rationed, times are still hard and they are still living in a run down terraced street but neighbours are their extended family and friends. Men have been to war and returned but are former shadows of the people they once were.

I found all of the historic differences to todays world, absolutely fascinating. The outside lavatories shared by 20 people, neighbours all sharing the same yard space, disabled people been labelled as ‘spastics’ with no real hope or help for them apart from the national spastics society and a school for spastics. No specialised disability equipment and them fashioning a wheelchair out of a dining chair, no awareness or diagnosis. Huge families living together and mucking in. The rag market in Birmingham, a solid family tradition with stalls passed through the generations.

Every hardship in this story is overcome by love and loyalty. You will fall in love with every single character and find out what Birmingham was like after WW2 and learn about nursing life before the NHS came into play. A fascinating outlook. Hard to put down. The characters will stay with me for a long time. #ww2 #bookstagrammer #boksta #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookish #anniemurray #booksaboutww2 #birmingham #ragmarket #1950 #lovestory #historicalfiction #fivestarreview #nowthewarisover #warbabies

[Jane Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Author

What a brilliant book this is, showing diversity of how disabled people were treated until people got to know them. Treating them as stupid without trying to give the person the respect they deserved.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now the war is over, great follow on from war babies

This book is another great read by Annie Murray. I luv the way the characters follow on from war babies but the story keeps you wanting to read more all the time. Thank you for getting me back into reading xx

[Annette Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good easy read

Very enjoyable book with good believable characters. It was refreshing to have a character like Tommy with cerabal palsy, not a condition often, if ever, mentioned in novels.

[Noreen Llewellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading matter for traveling

Brilliant read enjoyed emensly once started had to finish it always enjoy reading books by this author look forward to her next

[Alison Hydes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book though didn't realise it was a sequel.

[jean clarkson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely fantastic, I couldn't put it down, it was a real page turner

[Tiffany Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Melly is a very interesting character the changes she goes through.

[Sandra]

Another great Annie Murray book! I really love the way she writes and I feel like I know the characters. I've just about exhausted our library's stock of Ms Murray's books and I will be sad when there are no more for me to read!

[Pol · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed