War Paint

by Tom Wakefield

In the mining village of Padmore, years after the death of local school teacher, Miss Roper, a question mark hangs over her who was she, who was the father to whom she devoted herself, and was her friendship with the Italians in the local POW camp allit seemed?

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each time I read this book I fall in love with Kay Roper again along with the rest of her village. It's been over 10 years since I last read it, but I've pined for it the whole time. My copy was lent out and forgotten years ago, and the book was out of print with single copies going for $100 on Amazon.

Upon this reading, being in my 30s instead of my 20s, I realized that "knowing" Kay Roper through this book changed my life. She was/is a role model to me. She taught me so many lessons and the memory of her character gave me bravery and pride at times when I was low. It was a revelation to me seeing that when I was younger I loved the book for its compassion and feminism, and now I love it for those reasons and more. As a mother, I love it for its raw portrayal of motherhood. As a nearly-40-year-old woman, I love it for its value and appreciation of women of all ages. As a wife, I love it for its portrayal of real, true love and marriage in real, true situations. It's real life wrapped in a spell of a fairytale princess named Kay Roper.

[Martyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

For most of the book I wanted to give it one or two stars, then the twist of the last few pages made me feel like increasing it to three stars, but, on reconsideration I'm going to stick with two. It's not to say that Wakefield was a bad writer, but I just found the content so dreary and depressing, or crude and unwholesome and disgusting. Being a gay man I have no desire to read such intimate details about women and their bodies. At the end of the day, as it turned out, there was a reason for Wakefield to create such unpleasant scenes and go into so much graphic detail, but that still didn't make it an enjoyable experience having to read it all and I never want to have to undergo such torture again. The style of storytelling was also rather hard work, written in the first person by several different narrators. The constant switching back and forth between narrators and having readjust to each transition and work out who you were meant to be was confusing and disruptive.

For anyone who starts the book and feels inclined to give up part way, I think it is worth persevering to the end. But if you haven't started it then there are plenty of far more enjoyable books to devote your time to.

[Wendy Charlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and evocative tale with the distinctive Kay Roper who bursts into the village and makes a mark on so many of the villagers lives. The twist is brilliantly written as is the pathos. I have re read this book four times and it is still as fresh as the first time.

[Austen to Zafón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful page-turner about a woman who comes into a dreary mining community during WWII, bringing with her the whiff of perfume, the colorful clothes and make-up of a starlet, and a sense of purpose & freedom for her female students and their mothers. If you've read Wakefield's memoir, "Forties' Child," you'll recognize many events, people, and scenes. I only took one star off because some of the premise seemed a little unbelievable. I still have questions in my mind. Still, I read in in two days and loved it.