You know how Amazon offers you monthly “free reads” if you are prime subscriber? I mean, they offer you a free copy of any of half a dozen books, I think generally books that are debuting that month. Since the books are free, I usually pick one and drop it onto my kindle to read, you know, some day.
Here is the one I picked for September:
Here is the description: that made me click through:
For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and The Nightingale comes an emotionally gripping, beautifully written historical novel.…
I don’t know anything about the comp titles mentioned, but they’re all good titles. “The Ragged Edge of Night” is also a great title. I like historical novels, evocative, poetic title, sure, tell me more.
Here is the full description from Amazon:
Germany, 1942. Franciscan friar Anton Starzmann is stripped of his place in the world when his school is seized by the Nazis. He relocates to a small German hamlet to wed Elisabeth Herter, a widow who seeks a marriage—in name only—to a man who can help raise her three children. Anton seeks something too—atonement for failing to protect his young students from the wrath of the Nazis. But neither he nor Elisabeth expects their lives to be shaken once again by the inescapable rumble of war.
As Anton struggles to adapt to the roles of husband and father, he learns of the Red Orchestra, an underground network of resisters plotting to assassinate Hitler. Despite Elisabeth’s reservations, Anton joins this army of shadows. But when the SS discovers his schemes, Anton will embark on a final act of defiance that may cost him his life—even if it means saying goodbye to the family he has come to love more than he ever believed possible.
Sounds like something I might like. I hope it’s not too tragic all the way through. It also says:
…an emotionally gripping, beautifully written historical novel about extraordinary hope, redemption, and one man’s search for light during the darkest times of World War II.
Phrases that work for me: extraordinary hope, redemption, search for light.
Now, let’s compare that to a book from which I reflexively flinched away:
Here is the description:
A brilliant, twisty novel about a missing woman, an unfaithful husband, and the dark secrets that will destroy two perfect families…
Phrases that absolutely do not work for me at all: dark secrets that will destroy two perfect families. Actually, not keen on the unfaithful husband either.
So, great description! Brilliant and twisty are not sufficient to make up for destroying families. Thank you for the warning. I can now back away without clicking through read the full description.
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