After Berlin

by Martin Corrick, Philip? Dinsdale (Reader)

Charles Beevor teaches Elizabeth Bowman to fly his Gypsy Moth, and their passion for flying leads them to war. Charles flies a bomber, part of the enormous effort to crush Germany's will by destroying its cities. Elizabeth is a ferry pilot, the most delightful job that she can imagine, but when her engineer and best friend, Alice, is killed on their last trip, Elizabeth is devastated. Adapting back to a mundane life after such experiences proves to be impossible. Charles and Elizabeth have come from an English estate, pastoral and idyllic, but the war has made returning unthinkable. They meet again in the East End of London and begin to construct a new life in a place that cares nothing for rank or position. They are Charlie and Lizzie now, running their little business from a railway arch among the bomb sites and the East End families struggling to rebuild their own lives.

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Katie Grainger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that at times this novel was slightly disjointed and I wasn't 100% sure sometimes where it was going. The story is ultimately quite simple about two people who survive WW2, love flying and start a photographic business. However the events of the war never quite leave and for Lizzie the memory of a fateful flight to Berlin at the end of the war is almost her undoing. One thing I loved about this book was the fact that it taught me things about aircraft I never knew and more about the history of Berlin than I was familiar with. Slow in parts but ultimately a heart-warming story this is a good read for anyone interested in post war fiction and aviation.