I have read a good number of books so far focused on World War 2. All of which have been largely historical fictions focusing on the lives of few individuals. Often these books that I have read are from the perspective of those who were tormented, and wanted to get free like The Volunteer. Or others that have been on people who wanted to contribute towards freeing the sufferers or being their voice like in The Nightingale, or Every Man Dies Alone. Some have been on the effects of World War 2 in other regions such as The Elephant of Belfast, or Between Shades of Gray. Each of these stories are the tales of individuals spiralling in a whirlpool with millions others towards the eye. Each one clinging on to the other, hoping to be spit out from the hole they are being sucked into. While these are all stories worth telling and worth reading, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn looks at the war from another lens. A lens of resilience, patriotism, and above all female friendship.
Set in London, the book runs in two timelines, one is the present where a royal wedding is soon to happen in a couple of days, and the other is of the events that happened 8-9 years ago. Mab, Osla, and Beth. The three women that run this book. They were employed in Bletchley Park, and would break the codes of German military as well as those of Italian military and thus intercept secret messages, other times make way for passing of trade ships without loss from bombing, and sometimes feed futile information to the enemy through their own codes. This was a top secret job, where everyone employed was bound by an oath of secrecy. While all did respect this oath, even when if broken, it could have saved a few loved ones of their own or of their friends, there is one informer within this community of patriots who changes the course of life of Beth. What happens, how it unfolds, and who was the traitor, and how in the moments of terror and darkness Mab and Osla set out to believe Beth, are plots enough to hook you for hours in this book of more than 600 pages.
When the bogus saying of women being women’s biggest enemies is so casually spoken in society so often, one should shut their mouth and minds too, and grab a book like this. When no body believes you, it is your female friends who will always want to believe you and will eventually be there. Having friends particularly those made on your own without the interference or association of your family, partners but your own self, is a blessing no less than the Sun shining through the clouds, thunder or the beautiful springtime. I had no idea about Bletchley Park and its people before, but this book has moved me so much that I have added visiting BP to my bucket list. Let’s see when it comes true.
Aali Pant 