Sunday Books & Culture
Today's review takes readers to Paris, and back to the Second World War.
THE EXCITEMENTS
by CJ WRAY
Published by William Morrow (January 30, 2024)
Paperback $15.99
Audiobook $14.99
Reviewed by Penny A Parrish
The cover of this delightful book shows the Eiffel Tower and two women “of a certain age.” One is even named Penny, so what’s not to like!
I figured “the excitements” would be the two women, but they are actually adventures put together by their great-nephew Archie. He adores the Williamson sisters, Josephine and Penny. As a lad, they took him on “excitements” from fly fishing to dances to museums. Gifts from the sisters included books on lethal combat techniques (for his tenth birthday) and instructions on making the perfect martini.
Now that his aunts are in their late 90s, Archie is dedicated to giving them “excitements.” When he learns they are both to receive the Legion d’honneur for their part in the liberation of France during WWII, he decides they must all go to Paris for the ceremony. Josephine was in the WRENS (Women’s Royal Naval Service) and Penny was a FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) during the war. As it turns out, both were involved in much more than that.
There are a few issues Archie has to deal with on the trip from London. The aging women are rarely on time, sometimes they forget things (or do they?), and one of them has a problem with “accidentally” taking things from stores without paying. Archie has his hands full with the Paris ceremony and an evening at an auction house. Despite Archie’s watchfulness, the sisters have plans for a final mission that includes revenge, a heist, and the clever use of an umbrella.
The book goes back and forth between the present and past, revealing details of the actions of the sisters during the war, and the bravery they have never talked about due to the “official secrets” act. The author interviewed two sisters who actually were in service during WWII, and incorporated many of their stories into the narrative.
One of my favorite lines is this one:
There’s a degree of simple genetic luck involved in living to a grand old age, but there’s also a question of having sufficient motivation to push on through the years when your bones ache and your eyes have dimmed and the soundtrack to your day-to-day life is the whine of a faulty hearing aid.
Such sentences, written with both heart and humor, abound in this wonderful read. I truly loved this book and reading about these feisty women of a generation that is fast disappearing.
Penny A Parrish is a long-time book reviewer and artist. Learn more about her by visiting her page at Brush Strokes Gallery, which is in downtown Fredericksburg.
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