I loved this book it was the sort of story I really love. Set during the Second World War in the Channel Islands it’s descriptions of the islanders struggles with food after the Germans invaded the islands.
The fact that the story was also in present day was just as fascinating to me and I didn’t want it to end.
I do hope this author writes more as I will certainly want to read more.

Just a beautiful book- I truly loved this story, I felt the fear, the pain, the love, all coming from within its pages. Well written, the writing immerses you into the 1940s Nazi occupied Guernsey. A beautiful book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found the historical aspects very fascinating. I would definitely recommend this book.

A beautiful poignant historical love-story that captured my heart and pulled me into its pages from very early on. I found it very hard to put down.

A story which moves between Helene during the 1940s and her daughter Roz over 40 years later as she tries to unravel the messy truth surrounding her mother's life. Through its pages, I found it immensely interesting discovering about an area of history that was previously unknown to me; that of the German occupation of the Channel Islands - Guernsey (and Aldernay) during the second world war.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

Oh my, what a story. Such wonderful characters with their various problems which ensued in Guernsey during the war.

Occupation must have been a terrible thing and the inhabitants had to deal with it as best they could.

Such an emotional book, tears were forming in my eyes and my heart was breaking for Helene, but I don't want to spoil it for readers.

There are still lots of questions I would like to ask. If only there could be a sequel as I feel there is a gap in Helene's story which I'd like to read about. When did she finally leave Guernsey?

Such a brilliant writer who can stir your emotions to tears.

A riveting story, superbly told and had me romping through the pages right up until the end of Helene’s story. I felt her anguish, her torment, her every emotion as I did with Roz in her quest to find her unknown father. Then Helene’s story just stops and we are left with a huge gaping hole - suddenly another sister appears ! Within months I am led to believe yet another baby girl is born! How? Why? Where? Why the need for this unnecessary twist? The story was doing brilliantly without it! I believed in every character, in their individual hardships all embroiled in the tragic history that is Guernsey but at the conclusion I felt I must have missed an entire chapter which left me feeling a little bewildered and oonfused! Despite this it was well worth the read.

This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I learned a lot about the island of Guernsey and also of the life during the war. The characters were interesting and real, they had everything compassion towards their fellow men. There were parts that were sad but overall a good book to read..

I really enjoyed this book. It was so interesting to read about life during WW2 in the Channel Islands; as well as different pieces of art that left Europe after the Nazi's stole it.
A love story with a difference; secrets, lies, families and determination to find out the past.
The book was written well; it flowed at a natural pace. The characters blended in to the storyline well and the historical context i really enjoyed.
A great book for people who enjoy modern history love stories.

It has taken me a while to process this book after I finished reading because there was just so much to take in and ponder. It has one of the most intriguing, gripping and interesting plots to a story that I have read for quite some time.

Island Song is split between the story of Helene who lives on the Island of Guernsey during it’s German occupation in the Second World War and then nearer the present day, her daughter Roz who after her mother dies discovers what she has been told about her family and who she is might not be altogether correct. The book switches between the two generations while piecing together what really happened on Guernsey during the war and to her mother since with lots of fabricated stories, tales of second hand gossip and twists and turns along the way.

Bunting has obviously done her research on the occupation and has managed to really develop both the plot line and characters fully. I really appreciated that the characters were fully dimensional with strengths and weaknesses and there was a real humanity in this making it believable and all the more poignant as to what people did experience during occupation. I also loved that she didn’t answer all the questions but deliberately left some lines not fully spelt out for the reader to negotiate with their own imaginations.
This had me on the edge of my seat until the last page as just when you think you’ve got the story sussed something else happened.
I absolutely loved reading this and if there was an option for more than 5 stars it would be getting so many more!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh wow, what a beautiful book. Madeleine Bunting has created a very moving and poignant story in Island Song. It is so beautifully written and is full of drama and intrigue that keep you guessing right until the very end.
The story gives us a heart breaking insight into life on Guernsey during the war and perfectly captures how love can occur in the most unexpected of situations. I didn’t know much about the history of Guernsey during the war, but this book is a beautiful history lesson interweaving wartime Guernsey with a present day mystery of trying to unravel the past. A delightful read – thank you Madeleine.

What a wonderful story full of drama and intrigue set among the world war 2 occupation of Guernsey. What is right and wrong when survival of your loved ones is at stake? Throw in an international art theft and you have it all. Nice conclusion, recommended.

A thoroughly enjoyable book at during the 2nd world war on the island of Guernsey.
The book taught me a lot about low on the islands over this period when it was under German occupation.
The book tells of the search for a father after the death of a mother.
It leads us through two stories, one in the present day as well as the equine period , The story charts the at times reluctant development of a young war bride and a German officer. At the same time as there relationship is being developed we are following the discovery of this relationship in the present day.
The book is well written and enjoyable with a number of twists. Very enjoyable

Few people realize that a small corner of Britain was captured by the Nazis during World War II. The Channel Islands have been hit hard, and on Guernsey, Helene is trying to survive and protect both her father and grandmother from the Nazis brutal rule. With her husband gone to join the fight overseas, Helene must do whatever it takes to protect those she loves. It’s not until four decades later, when her daughter Roz, looking for information about her father, comes across the truth about her mother’s secret life during those desperate years and the ugly truth about her father. This is an incredible read and the ending will blow you away

Wow, what a tour de force! I have read a number of books set (in part at least) in the war torn Channel Islands and this is the best so far. The characters are intriguing and the settings in Guernsey lovingly described. Part of the tension relies on people mis-remembering facts from the distant past and confusing dates/ sequences of events. It's amazing to think that people not only survived through such dreadful times, but also discovered love and friendship. Highly recommended.

Such a lovely story. I do like books that twist through time lines and I thought this was done so well as not to be confusing which can happen sometimes. We cannot imagine what life was like during the wars thankgoodness but I felt this gave me a new insight to the hard times the islanders had. We hear about the mainland but I have never read anything about the Channel Islands. Helene and Roz to me were very similar possibly Roz through the coolness of her mother as she was growing up and understandable for Helene who lived through the toughest of times. The men in her life were well thought out and I had a great deal of sympathy for Heinrich and I am sure there were many people who were exactly like him on both sides fighting for what they saw as a waste of life and felt this was told with a compassion for others. The art that went missing through this time is well documented and I am sure this story is true to that time. I loved the way Alexei was reintroduced into the story – it seemed to finish off that chapter and, of course, the meeting of family in Germany - lovely

This has to be the best book I have read this year and I fact the best book I have ever read. It will remain with me for ever and I will in the future read it again and again.
Following her mother’s death Roz is handed a letter by her mothers solicitor and everything that she believed of her life is thrown in the air. The man who she believed was her father is not the case. So she sets out to find out who he is. Little does she know what she will find.
A story of unending love lies deception and art theft all intertwined with the war time occupation of Guernsey .
I cannot recommend it enough

War and love – conflicting emotions.

Rosamund Wardle (Roz) is handed a letter by the family solicitor after her mother, Helene's funeral. In it, her father Justin reveals that he is not her real father. He explains how he met her mother when Roz was a very young child. They had met when Helene brought in paintings for him to sell. The paintings had been stolen by Nazi soldiers during WW2. He never questioned how her mother had come to possess them.

The letter shatters Roz’s very comfortable world, and she decides to start investigating her mother’s past. With the bit of information that she has, she travels to Guernsey, her mother’s place of birth to see if she can trace her real father and to find out how her mother survived the German occupation of the island during WW2.

Helene’s father had been the parish priest of Torteval. It was here, in the Vicarage that she passed the years of the occupation. Her brother, Edward and husband of a few days, Tom left in high spirits to join up. It was also here that she met Kapitän Heinrich Schulze, a German soldier. He “adopted” the family and ensured that they received whatever luxuries he could find.

It was also here, in the Vicarage, that Helene managed to hide Alexei, a young Russian who had managed to escape from the Germans.

Madeleine Bunting has created a remarkable and moving story about Roz’s need to discover the truth about her birth and her real father. The story gives us the heart-breaking insight into life on Guernsey during the war. She has perfectly captured how love can occur between captured and captor, and the consequences of this love.

The characters who we follow through this tale are strong, alive and make the story feel as though it’s a video we’re watching as events unfold as we travel with Roz as she tries to unravel the truth about her mother’s time living through the very dark days of occupation.

I loved every single beautiful word in this novel. I leave it feeling so sad. Sad that the islanders suffered the most appalling treatment at the hands of the Germans, even worse the “slaves” they brought from places like Russia, often just young boys who were starved, beaten and held in the most appalling conditions. I’ve learnt so much from this novel. Not just about conditions people endured but the research that has gone into reuniting owners of paintings stolen from them by the Germans.

I think this quote sums the book, “We need to know where we come from – even if we only ever end up with myths. Without a story of origins, we’re at sea.”

A truly beautiful story – thank you, Madeleine Bunting.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This novel was strikingly well-researched and intelligently written – the words flowed as if written fluidly by a pen. I’m in awe. It’s descriptive of places I’ve never been, particularly Guernsey. I felt as if I was involved in visiting Guernsey; it was so vivid. The other fascinating side of the coin was Heinrich’s vivid description of what it was like growing up in Berlin including the cultural side of Berlin at one point in time. It was a historical mystery but also a moving, touching, heart-rending and poignant love story. It filled your heart with joy, pain and the tense fear of detection that was experienced by Helene and Heinrich. Love doesn’t discriminate and transcends all boundaries. I came to the story with a basic knowledge of the German invasion. There was a series on TV years ago which was interesting, but after the first series, they decided the ratings were too poor to put on a second series. I didn’t realise that the Germans occupied the islands for five years. I would love to browse around the museum that the book mentioned. It amused me that the German soldiers viewed their role as 'a holiday at the seaside' and enjoyed decadent parties. It places the war on a plateau of understanding I’ve not read before keenly revealing both sides of the disruption it caused to countries, communities, families and individuals. Most astonishing was how it changed people’s personalities. I learnt such a lot from reading this novel. I’m not likely to forget its themes. Thank you to NetGalley and Granta Books.

I love books that switch between different time periods, and this did not disappoint. We follow Roz on a mission to uncover the truth about her mother's past - and her own - and in the process move back and forth between the present day and Guernsey's German occupation during the war.

I've read a few other books set during the latter period - but this one seemed grittier in detail, and I suspect is probably closer to the truth of how people lived and survived those days.

A fabulously absorbing read - I couldn't put it down - and I'm looking forward to reading other novels by Madeleine Bunting.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

I have just finished this book and am slightly blown away by it. I'm a fussy reader at the best of times, but this marvellous novel drew me in right at the beginning and held me there until the end. The writing is so natural, so clever, I don't even really know why it is so effective, but it carried me into a world of wartime Guernsey and 1990s London I was reluctant to leave.

The premise is not an original one; mysterious mother dies leaving daughter to uncover the truth about her life, but the richness of the storytelling and the layers of complexity made it an absolute joy to read. Easily my book of the year so far and I recommend it withour reservation.