1944. After the fall of Russia and the failed D-Day landings, a German counterattack lands on British soil. Within a month, half of Britain is o... read full description
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Oct 18, 2008
Philip
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A valley side too far - Resistance by Owen Sheers
In Resistance Owen Sheers re-writes the history of World War Two. Germany has invaded Britain. The United States, having suffered reversals both east and west, has retreated home to navel gaze. Britain thus is occupied, but has not yet succumbed.
In a remote rural community on the Welsh borders, a whole valley of farming families awakes one morning to find that all the men have gone. No-one knows where. They were recruited, More...
In Resistance Owen Sheers re-writes the history of World War Two. Germany has invaded Britain. The United States, having suffered reversals both east and west, has retreated home to navel gaze. Britain thus is occupied, but has not yet succumbed.
In a remote rural community on the Welsh borders, a whole valley of farming families awakes one morning to find that all the men have gone. No-one knows where. They were recruited, More...
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Feb 16, 2009
Sarah
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This novel was a very beautiful character study with a twinge of suspense. It speculates the state of England had the Nazis succeeded in invading during WWII. Though the story at times examines the national reaction, the focus is really on a small group of women living alone in the Welsh borderlands. Their husbands have left without warning to join the resistance in fighting the Nazis. Within weeks, a patrol of Nazi soliders comes to their remote valley and establishes themselves for a cover
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Jan 02, 2009
Gavin
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Resistance by Owen Sheers is based on the premise that D-Day failed and that Germany invaded Great Britain. The author, a poet, grew up in the area where the story takes place and this shows in the writing. It is highly descriptive and quite beautiful, weaving the history of the land, a valley on the Welsh border, with the lives of it's people. It is also a description of an occupation and the consequences of war.
There are many ways that people can resist, and Sheers layers his More...
There are many ways that people can resist, and Sheers layers his More...
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Mar 02, 2009
Melody
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I’ve read a couple of other books set during WWII with German soldiers who were presented as sympathetic characters. This one is now added to that list. Resistance is a novel set during WWII with a “what if” thrown in the mix. The D-Day landing was a failure and England is occupied by German troops. Since there is no official British military to protect its citizens the only resistance is offered by way of secret operations by insurgents – made up of mostly untrained citizens who spy and do
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Nov 28, 2009
Bettie
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Apr 23, 2008
Melissa
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What if the D-Day Invasion failed, and the Germans counterattacked successfully? In the remote Welsh countryside, the men have left to form counterinsurgent cells without any notice to their wives. The wives carry on with the planting, gardening, and sheep tending until a German patron stumbles into their valley. The small group of German soldiers becomes unwitting over-winter residents when an early snowstorm closes the mountain pass. As the bitter winter closes in, the women and the soldiers r
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Nov 01, 2008
Diana
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An imaginatively scary alternative ending to the Second World War, in which the Germans invade England, taking it over bit by bit. The novel focuses on a group of women living in a valley in rural Wales, abruptly abandoned by their husbands who head off to join some kind of underground resistance movement. After a short time, the women are joined by a unit of deserting German soldiers, and in time the two groups come to trust each other in a delicate balance of friendship and respect.
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Dec 03, 2011
Gav
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Owen Sheers’ debut novel follows on from his two award-winning poetry collections and The Dust Diaries the Welsh Book of the Year for 2005. So the pressure to live up his previous works is high.
Resistance re-imagines a Second World War where the Nazis successfully cross The Channel and bring the fighting to British soil. As a consequence the women of the isolated Olchon valley wake up to find their men missing presuming they have left them to go to join the war.
The novel focu More...
Resistance re-imagines a Second World War where the Nazis successfully cross The Channel and bring the fighting to British soil. As a consequence the women of the isolated Olchon valley wake up to find their men missing presuming they have left them to go to join the war.
The novel focu More...
May 06, 2010
Tammy
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Imagine a WWII scenario where the invasion of Normandy failed. Where the German army survives the Russian winter. Where England is invaded and conquered by the Nazis. Owen Sheers’ novel, “Resistance,” begins with these historical revisionings.
Set in an isolated valley in England, Sheers explores the dynamics between a German patrol and a collection of English women suddenly left alone to manage their farms. With the husbands suddenly, silently, and collectively abandoning their w More...
Set in an isolated valley in England, Sheers explores the dynamics between a German patrol and a collection of English women suddenly left alone to manage their farms. With the husbands suddenly, silently, and collectively abandoning their w More...
May 20, 2009
Eliane
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A beautifully written alternative history rooted in fact, this is the story of an isolated valley on the border of England and Wales and what could have happened had the Germans succeeded and invaded Britain in World War II.
For my book group, the book had particular relevance as we live only a few miles from the Olchon Valley, Llanthony and Longtown. The descriptions of how the women carry on working their farms through the bitter winter resonate strongly when you can see farms just More...
For my book group, the book had particular relevance as we live only a few miles from the Olchon Valley, Llanthony and Longtown. The descriptions of how the women carry on working their farms through the bitter winter resonate strongly when you can see farms just More...
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Dec 09, 2009
Julie
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On a September morning in 1944, in a remote valley in Wales, the women who farm with their husbands wake to find all the men have disappeared. The fading BBC broadcasts on the wireless warn of the approaching German army, which has all but crushed London in its wake. D-Day was a disaster and the Allies are sinking under the might of the SS and Wehrmacht forces.
A small band of German soldiers arrives in this rugged valley shortly after the Welsh men have disappeared. They remain thro More...
A small band of German soldiers arrives in this rugged valley shortly after the Welsh men have disappeared. They remain thro More...
Feb 18, 2010
Kate
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September 1944: the women of a remote valley in Wales wake to find their husbands have disappeared in the night with neither explanation nor warning. Within weeks, a German patrol moves into the valley on some unstated mission, their commanding officer assuring the women that, contrary to reports of rape and murder by occupying forces, they will not be harmed. So begins an uneasy peace between the women reeling from their husbands’ disappearance and the battle weary patrol.
Sheers occasionall More...
Sheers occasionall More...
Aug 17, 2011
Louise
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'What if...?' tales of had the Nazis invaded Britain have been done before, but this one takes a slightly different angle. Its the story of the women of a small Welsh valley who on the news that the Nazis have successfully landed in the South of England, wake to find all the men gone; presumably to be part of some sort of resistance movement.
Some of the characters are a little clichéd- there is the German officer who is an honourable man really and resents what he has to do in the Wehr More...
Some of the characters are a little clichéd- there is the German officer who is an honourable man really and resents what he has to do in the Wehr More...
May 23, 2010
Trawets
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Resistance by Owen Sheers is set in Wales in September 1944. However in this tale the Normandy landings have failed and having subdued the Russians the Germans have invaded the UK.
The women in a remote Welsh valley wake one morning to find their menfolk have left, presumably to join the resistance. Fearful of retributions for being related to "insurgents", the women tell no one outside their small community that the men have gone. They are joined in the valley by a special German More...
The women in a remote Welsh valley wake one morning to find their menfolk have left, presumably to join the resistance. Fearful of retributions for being related to "insurgents", the women tell no one outside their small community that the men have gone. They are joined in the valley by a special German More...
Sep 01, 2010
Lisa
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I really liked the idea for this story, but I felt that the author had a problem with telling instead of showing. Since the story takes place on a farm I found this especially tedious, and the book dragged on at certain points (I am a city girl though, I'm sure others would find sheep farming more engaging). This is not a war story, the war is a plot device to explore the unique situations and relationships that occur between the wives and their nations invaders. It seemed like a lot of historic
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May 18, 2009
Elizabeth
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I saw Owen Sheers at a poetry reading featuring Welsh authors at Busboys and Poets in DC a few months ago. His poetry is amazing, and I bought a book of poems at the time. I was recently at the library and found Resistance on "to be shelved" book cart. I enjoyed the book, which explores the alternative reality of what if the Normandy invasion had failed, and the Germans had occupied England and Wales. I don't usually like "alternative reality" books, that take historic events
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Jul 13, 2010
Sarah
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I was surprised to learn that Sheers bases the entire story upon historically true ideas and facts. Though Britain never was invaded by Germany, Sheers utilizes the plans that were actually made by the English and Welsh, should the invasion have ever occurred, as the foundation for his book.
Though the story has some rough patches and occasional awkward plot lines, the overall effect is brilliant. Sheers takes the image of a rough, damaging, hell-on-earth war and brings it to a quiet vall More...
Though the story has some rough patches and occasional awkward plot lines, the overall effect is brilliant. Sheers takes the image of a rough, damaging, hell-on-earth war and brings it to a quiet vall More...
Jul 15, 2011
Debbie
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The author is a poet, so this book was beautifully written, although, for me it had too many poet descriptions. There were many times in the book I just wanted him to get on with the story. I should have read his Afterword before I read the book, for it would have helped me. This book is place in England, WWII, 1944. He has written an alternative history where Germany has won the war and rules all of Europe. This was disturbing and difficult for me to read, for I don't think history should b
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Feb 15, 2010
Michael
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Before reading this I was a little lukewarm, anticipating a so so alternative history that focused on the Germans successfully invading Britain in 1940. In fact the story focuses on the impact of a small platoon of German soldiers trapped by snow and circumstances in a small Welsh valley inhabited by women whose men have mysteriously disappeared. The beauty of the tale is how the two groups slowly come to terms with and find happiness in the needs of the other.
The other thing I real More...
The other thing I real More...
Aug 28, 2009
Erin
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7 out of 10 stars. As usual, I began this book on a recommendation without knowing anything about it. I assumed it was historical-fiction based on WWII. But after getting into the book I was pretty confused as to the facts and only then realized it is classified as an "alternate history." It is based on the premise of "what if the D-day invasions had failed and Britain is occupied by the Germans." The story is set in a valley on the Welsh border where all the men have lef
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Jan 07, 2009
Tess
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Imagine if - Germany occupies Britain in 1944: the action centres around a small group of farmers' wives in a remote valley in Wales and a small group of German soldiers. It's a very believable and absorbing story with a likeable main character - a stoic and down to earth young farmer's wife who deeply loves her missing husband. I also liked the insights of how war has affected these young soldiers in different ways - the erudite scholar who can think like a killer, the grown up Nazi youth who
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Feb 28, 2010
Sheri
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This was a hauntingly beautiful book. Very heartbreaking...but what did I expect really. It is set in an alternate historical reality~the Germans have taken Euorpe and are in the process of taking England. The women in a small valley wake up one day and all their men have gone...it is the story of how they cope, especially when a patrol of German soldiers arrive followed by a hard winter. Wouldn't the world be an easier place if good was only good and evil was only evil, instead of such mixe
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Dec 22, 2011
Beni
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Resistance is a ‘what if?’ novel. In this case the ‘what if?’ question is - what if the second world war had gone the other way and the Germans had successfully invaded Britain in 1944?
The novel begins in the autumn of 1944, in a remote valley in Wales; the D-Day invasion has been repulsed and the Germans have driven the Allies out of the southern half of Great Britain. One morning, the farm wives of the valley awake to find their husbands have disappeared, joining a silent, invisible re More...
The novel begins in the autumn of 1944, in a remote valley in Wales; the D-Day invasion has been repulsed and the Germans have driven the Allies out of the southern half of Great Britain. One morning, the farm wives of the valley awake to find their husbands have disappeared, joining a silent, invisible re More...
May 17, 2009
Ryan Mac
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I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. It turned out to be a very well written story about a village in Britain in an alternate World War II history. The landing at Normandy failed and Germany has invaded Britain. The story focuses on a small village in a secluded valley where the women wake up one day to find out that all the men in the village have left. It is a very interesting story of the women's coping and moving on with life along with some tangents involving some German soldier
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Nov 02, 2011
Matti
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Owen Shearsin esikoisromaani "Vastarinta" (Otava, 2009) on vaihtoehtohistoriallinen romaani toisesta maailmansodasta. Katastrofiin päättynyt Normandian maihinnousu on kääntänyt sotaonnen päälaelleen: saksalaiset ovat nousseet maihin Englannin etelärannikolla ja aloittavat nyt hitaan mutta varman etenemisen kohti pohjoista.
Pienen walesilaisen laakson naiset saavat eräänä aamuna huomata miehiensä kadonneen kukkuloille, jossa näiden tarkoituksena on jatkaa taistelua miehittäjää More...
Pienen walesilaisen laakson naiset saavat eräänä aamuna huomata miehiensä kadonneen kukkuloille, jossa näiden tarkoituksena on jatkaa taistelua miehittäjää More...
Dec 07, 2011
RebeccaLouise
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Alternative realities, where history takes the road less travelled by, allow the writer – and reader – to imagine a ‘What if...’ from the safety of our own reality. Yet it is a fine line that separates these two worlds. Albrecht contemplates this and the possibility that “maybe all this, a German victory, the end of the war, was down to one man.” [202] The idea that one man’s actions can change the course of history is daunting but highlights the importance of individual responsibility. This res
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Jun 05, 2011
Helmisade
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What a disappointment! Such a great idea, an obviously talented author and a book that never really goes anywhere. Plus the female lead (Sarah) is probably the most boring woman in the history of literature. She has no thoughts, ideas or opinions of her own. She thinks about sheep and her husband and seems to act purely on impulse. I hope she was not intented as a tribute to Welsh women.
The opening chapters promise excitement, tension and scandalous love affairs. Unfortunately the bo More...
The opening chapters promise excitement, tension and scandalous love affairs. Unfortunately the bo More...
Nov 15, 2008
Jessica
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I highly recommend this book. It starts with the premise that the Allied invasion of Normandy has failed and the Germans have counter-attacked, invading Britain. All of the women in one Welsh valley wake up to find that their husbands have gone away - presumably to join the British resistance to Nazi occupation. Later, a patrol of war- weary German soldiers moves into the valley, and the women and Germans develop a close - if wary - relationship over the course of a harsh winter. The counterf
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Oct 15, 2008
Robyn
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Just as the modern re-envisioning of Battlestar Galactica on television accomplishes a "us or them" mentality at the beginning of its third season, this revisionist history tale of a Nazi-occupied Britain leads one down a thorny philosophical path. If the Germans had repulsed D-Day and the Battle of Britain had actually led to German occupation forces on British and Welsh shores, how would a small village in the isolated highlands react? The men quickly disappear into a secretive rog
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Aug 27, 2008
Tripp
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Thanks to Philip Roth's the Plot Against America, the alternative history novel gained a bit more cachet and interest than it once had. This wasn't the first literary alternative history novel, you could certainly point to the Man in the High Castle or Pavane as literary works, but it is much more rare to see a non-genre writer working in alternate history. In his debut novel, Resistance, Owen Sheers approaches this genre subject from the literary viewpoint.
In the book, the female re More...
In the book, the female re More...
