Review: Beyond the Dark Oceans by Alison Huntingford
Today, I'm delighted to welcome Alison Huntingford to Ruins & Reading. I'm sharing my review of her evocative tale, Beyond the Dark Oceans. Based on Alison's family history, it makes for compelling reading. Have a look!
Beyond the Dark Oceans is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find fascinating family history posts, enticing excerpts, and more fabulous reviews HERE!
Beyond the Dark Oceans
Alison Huntingford
.jpg)
Review:
As a fan of family history and ancestry, I was looking forward to reading Alison Huntingford's fictionalised account of her own family’s lives at the beginning of the last century. And it made for interesting reading!
The main protagonist is Georgy, still a boy with two younger brothers at the beginning of the novel in 1904. The story starts with sadness and loss, which shows the hazards of the era. The events are sensitively told, evoking an emotional response from readers. Two years later, the family decides to move to Canada, on a working visa Georgy's father got as a plumber. The journey and arrival aren't quite what they expected, but soon they settle in, first in Halifax, and later in Moncton.
The boys grow up surrounded in a still wild countryside, but as towns grow, life becomes safer. With the arrival of more children, the family grows, and the pressure is on Georgy's father to earn good money. Once he is of a certain age, he helps his father as an apprentice.
But with WWI looming on the horizon, pressure mounts on the boys to sign up. Georgy is hesitant, but his younger brother, William, is keen. Once finally of age, William is off on his ’adventure’, leaving the family – especially his mother – distraught. But with the war going badly, more recruits are needed, and eventually, Georgy agrees to sign up, too.
Soon, he finds himself in a base on southern England. Unbeknownst to his family, he has contacted his mother's brother's family, and meets his cousin, Nellie, again, after a decade away. They instantly form a close bond. But they are still cousins! Then his unit is sent too France...
Will Georgy return from the front, unscathed? Can they convince their families of their commitment? And what happened to William?
Well, read the novel to find out!
Beyond the Dark Oceans is clearly a work of love and respect. The narrative is, for the most part, gentle and understanding – with a hint of hindsight and family research. We must remember that these are the author's grandfather's siblings, and their lives and fates have a profound effect on the rest of the family.
The scenes of daily life, first in England and later in Canada, give us a close perspective of the hazards of life a hundred years ago. Stillbirth, infectious diseases, job losses – we experience it all closely with the immediate members of this family. Ms Huntingford brings them to life in a way that pulls at our heartstrings. I dare say they'd be very proud of how they are depicted in this novel.
I found Georgy's bouts of PTSD particularly harrowing, and his feelings of guilt warring with the realisation that he couldn't do anything made for heartbreaking reading. So many young men – the fortunate ones who returned home – were left to fend for themselves. The attitudes of other characters in the novel – that the soldiers are 'heroes’ and they should just 'tell it all’ to the curious who stayed behind, and then 'get on with life’ – struck a real chord. It showed how propaganda worked at home, whereas the brutal reality of war was quite different. Georgy's sensitivity, which some considered cowardice, was a moving aspect in the novel, and we feel his pain greatly. Ms Huntingford's careful observations about Georgy's post-war experiences make for exceptional reading.
Georgy's relationship with Nellie is going well, but it takes time. A lot of time! He didn't seem to want to stand up against his elders, but rather wait it out. But with the great Depression starting, work was hard to come by, so he waited. And waited.
At times, I wanted Georgy to tell his parents (and especially his scheming aunt, Nellie’s mother) straight, but we must not regard those people with modern eyes. Times were different. Parents demanded respect, way beyond childhood age, and in every aspect of their lives.
William's fate is a tragic one, as is Ellen's, in a different way, and I hope the family eventually found peace.
Beyond the Dark Oceans is a compelling story of family, loyalty, duty, the horrors of war – and secret love. A must-read for fans of ancestry, family history, and historical fiction with a strong sense of realism.
~~~
A family united, a family divided…
In 1906, the Huntingford family leaves England for a hopeful new life in Canada, but for eldest son Georgy, the promise of opportunity quickly becomes a test of endurance, responsibility, and fate. As he comes of age amid the hardships of immigrant life, the outbreak of the First World War pulls him back across the ocean and into a world forever changed by loss and sacrifice.
When Georgy’s brother disappears in the chaos of war, grief and uncertainty fracture the family he is fighting to hold together. Reunited with his cousin Nellie, Georgy finds solace in a love as powerful as it is forbidden—one that offers hope in the darkest of times while threatening to tear his family apart.
Based on true events, Beyond the Dark Oceans is a moving story of love, loyalty, and resilience, exploring how ordinary lives are shaped—and divided—by extraordinary moments in history.
Buy Link:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Alison Huntingford
Alison Huntingford is a writer with a deep passion for family history and storytelling. With a background rooted in the rich traditions of the Huntingford family, Alison seeks to honour the stories passed down through generations. She is the author of a successful series of works that explore historical and personal narratives. She is an only child of two only children and so has always felt a distinct lack of family. This has inspired her work.
After an upheaval in her personal life, Alison achieved a degree in humanities with literature through the Open University which helped to give her a new start. A teaching career followed which then led naturally to writing. She is now retired from full-time work, but busier than ever.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their pets, listening to music, going to the cinema, and gardening on her allotment. She also runs the South Hams Authors Network, a local writers collective based in South Devon.
Connect with Alison:
Comments
Post a Comment