The Death of the Fronsac: A Novel

This is a very gripping story but also without being in the least didactic tells us a lot about a bit of WW2 from the perspective of the Poles. It takes place in Greenock where a lot of Polish soldiers were stationed after the defeat of the French. The story focuses on one family where the Polish narrator is boarding. He falls in love with the mother. Three generations of this family have solid parts to play and besides the domestic inter-relations there is the big unanswered question of who was responsible for the sinking of the Fronsac, a French ship anchored at Greenock. It is enough of a detection story to maximise the tension but it is far far more than that.

Sometime it felt like this was history/journalistic view of events at other times a fiction but didn't really succeed as either. Didn't find any of the characters engaging or believable. And as a Scot who travelled between many of the towns mentioned for summer holidays in the 60s & 70s I wish it has been as quick as the main protagonist appeared to do in this story in 1940s wartime!

Best book I've read in ages. I wasn't sure how interesting a book on some polish officer in Scotland would be, but it was excellent, extremely well written, up there with the greats.

Well written and a story from a different perspective. Life in wartime Glasgow is very well described, as are the characters. Well worth reading

As always great prose, well researched and a penetrating insight into a country conflict many forget or are not now aware of.

Ascherson is a distinguished journalist and historian. Now in his eighties he has written his first novel. It is very good. The author's latest book is his second to focus on Poland. It is a moving story of the fate of that torn land in the 20th century. Few countries have suffered successive invasions from East and West as has Poland. It is a novel that encompasses sadness, betrayal, and sabotage. The setting is 1940. A French ship explodes in the Firth of Clydebank killing many. Jackie, a young girl, witnesses what happens and thinks she was the cause because she had run away from school. The death of the Fronsac changes the lives of her mother Helen, her young officer husband and a Polish soldier. Poland has just been divided up between Hitler and Stalin.The story opens in Greenock in the first year of W W 11. It had once been Scotland 's door to Ireland and the Atlantic. For over one hundred bears its shipyards had built many navies and merchant fleets. It was a very thriving place loud with the voices of many nations including Poland. Many Poles had escaped to England then Scotland when their land had been invaded in 1939. A young Polish officer is the focus of this story. Aspects of this tale are based on events that actually happened. Names have been changed. The book is dedicated to Poles who have enriched Scotland by working and living there.Mike an exiled Polish soldier lodges with the Melville family. The family is uprooted. The husband is believed dead but returns. His wife meanwhile flees to Canada before returning to Greenock. The narrative switches between Scotland and post war Poland to create an absorbing tale.Ascherson has written a fine engrossing novel. It captures brilliantly the mood of 1940. It also reminds us of the contribution of Polish soldiiers and airmen in the fight against the Nazis. He has written a story that is an intelligent exploration of identity and home.

It's a long time since I've been so gripped by a novel. Its structure, flow and character development made for effortless reading. The vocabulary is accessible to all, and the meaning of local words and phrases is obvious from the context in which they appear. Thoroughly enjoyable, believable and educational.

Bought as a present. Have not bread myself. delivery OK.